December 01, 2008
UTNE READER

The Power of ?Evil?

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It?s no stretch to say that the Bush administration will go down in history. The debate over whether its legacy will be notorious or heroic is as heated and dramatic as the words the president has used to call the nation to war. ZNet columnist Danny Schechter, dissects what some say will be remembered as President Bush?s most antagonistic and fiery rhetorical catchphrase, ?axis of evil.? Taking a look at the accessibility this term has taken on in the past year, through all branches of the media (Internet, television, Hollywood, etc.), Schechter warns that without thought, throwing such powerful?and ultimately theological?words around is dangerous. ?The ambiguities inherent in, and the fears evoked by, the rhetoric of evil forcefully silences dissent,? says Schechter. He notes the cycle of life imitating art or vice versa was closed neatly when Newsweek put North Korea?s Kim Jong Il on the cover and called him, ?North Korea?s Dr. Evil.? The fact remains, for speech writers and marketing execs out there, it won?t cut it anymore to call someone, ?Dr. Annoying? or ?Dr. Doesn?t See it My Way.?
-Jessica Misslin

Go there>> http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2003-01/14schechter.cfm


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