A real part of the legacy which George W. Bush will leave behind is in the use of words. Some are words created during his administration by advisers or by Bush himself. Some are existing words in new or extended usage.
But, in general, this government uses a different set of words than those previous… and it will take some time before they change or revert to earlier uses.
Some samples:
HOMELAND. We have taken this nomination for our country in much the same way the fascists did in the thirties: “Homeland Security” where we used to have “National Security”… we have an entire Federal Agency with the Homeland designation swallowing up lots of other agencies.
AXIS OF EVIL. This recalls the 30s and 40s where we had the Allied powers (good guys) and the Axis Powers (bad guys) and equates just about everyone we find not agreeing with us as Nazis.
ISLAMOFASCISM. Is it a religion? Is it a Nation? Is it a political power? Is the Muslim world per se the enemy? This is a word I really can’t stand.
DECIDER. I guess short for “Decision Maker” without the style… and it almost always seems like the decision is a simple black and white choice.
Surely you can think of many more.
Often he uses our trusted words (Democracy, Liberty, Freedom) to turn against us in concept… to be free means to be watched, to have our calls intercepted, to be on 800,000 name lists of potential terrorists.
And all this from a guy who can’t make a speech in more than 4-word bursts as he destroys the English Language.