2004-02-18

2004-02-25

Editorial - SPIN AND SPINNERS- 101

This is the first in a series of editorials on SPIN. We will consider some abuses that have been popular amongst "spinners" for some time and that have readily been adopted by those who wish to be considered "in," "sophisticated," "team members," etc.

101- Military Assets

Military "assets" are not really assets. The word "asset" as used by the military is a

euphemism. A "euphemism" is the use of an inoffensive or "nice" term as a substitute for a term that is negative or has bad implications. For example, referring to someone as a "dim bulb" instead of a "stupid ass" is a euphemism. Referring to an economic policy as "trickle down" instead of "pissing on" is a euphemism. Similarly, asset is a euphemism for calling a bomb a weapon of mass destruction. Our military employs euphemisms as emotional weapons. For example, they will say that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction while at the same time they will refer to our huge stores of weapons of mass destruction as assets. As used by our military, the term "assets" is SPIN. It is a form of thought control. They don't want you to focus on the FACT that this country has more weapons of mass destruction than any country in the world and that we have used them (remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Assets is a term they use to de-emphasize the horrible destructive aspects of war. The military doesn't want you to think of horrible things such as arms and legs being blasted off of little children. So it spins you assets. You should realize that the military also refers to soldiers, your sons and daughters, as assets instead of cannon fodder. They want you to think your kids are important and not expendable pawns to be used in fighting in and dying in completely unnecessary wars.

In truth, military assets, that is, weapons of mass destruction actually destroy the real assets of the country they are used against. Human beings are destroyed, homes are destroyed, museums are destroyed, factories are destroyed, hospitals are destroyed, the infrastructures of cities, towns and villages are destroyed. Those are the real assets of a country. They have lasting value. Military assets do not have lasting value. Their value disappears the moment they are used. Poof! And they are gone. Billions of dollars worth of missiles, bombs, airplanes. Poof! Your hard earned money. But more important, you must remember that to the military, to this government, assets not only refers to munitions but to our men and women soldiers. Your kids and mine are considered to be assets. When some general refers to your soldier kid as an asset, he doesn't mean the same thing as you do when you say, "Jimmy or Jane is a real asset around the house. Believe me. He views your kid as an expendable. He has so many tanks, so many guns, so many Jimmys and so many Janes. Poof! Gone!