Hands off my trope (blog/vanity)

I do not believe that Sarah Palin was intending to use surveyor symbols on her campaign map. I like guns, I play video games that have guns which use crosshairs, I have done at least a little research on guns and gun accessories. Even still, when I saw the symbols on the map I thought they were simplified images representing targets. I did not think she was trying to send a message that anyone should be shot or killed. I did not think that Sarah Palin wanted anyone to carry out an attack on a public figure. I did not think that because I understand the use of metaphor.

War metaphors have been a part of politics for generations. During any election you can count on references to “battleground” states or districts. Pundits, politicians, and the media talk about “targeting” an opponent. Supporters of a candidate are “on the ground”and “in the trenches” to garner support for the person they want elected. They are said to be “on the march.” Even material used to discredit a candidate is called “ammunition.” This use of terminology is nothing new. With this terminology comes visual cues, symbols that are understood to represent the war metaphors used in political speech.

Bill Clinton had a “war room.” Barack Obama tells liberals to “punish their enemies,” and former Democratic congressman Kanjorski suggests that a gubernatorial candidate should be “put against a wall and shot.”

In the aftermath of the shooting in Tucson, Constitutional rights are once again under fire. The obvious target of the liberal agenda is the right to bear arms. Leftists are citing Sharron Angle’s “second amendment solution” in support of their statist push to abolish public ownership of guns. We all saw this coming. It’s not a surprise. Perhaps more disconcerting is the attack on free speech.

Liberals never stop whining about conservative talk radio. If you’re talking to a liberal who isn’t complaining about it, that just means someone else in the hive mind is carrying out the task. Blame is placed upon people like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. The claim is that they promote hate and anger in their shows. I admit that I have not heard every episode of every show, but I cannot think of a single call to violence that liberals love to cite. In other words, it’s all nonsense and these people are making stuff up. Perhaps most ironic is that as liberals accuse conservatives of hateful speech and violent behavior they are contributing to the detestable mentality of the left. They deny that liberals behave in such a manner, and somehow manage to completely ignore all evidence that contradicts their claims.

This trend is not limited to the rank and file liberals. The troops who carry the leftist banner are only part of a bigger picture. It takes strategists and generals to make a war machine effective. As mentioned above, the current plan is a blitz to take down free speech.

Democratic Congressman Robert Brady of Philadelphia is trying to launch legislation that would ban certain forms of speech. Specifically, he wants to ban “symbols or language that threaten a congressman, senator or federal judge." His bill would make the use of threatening imagery illegal. Apparently he, like practically every other liberal I have encountered since the Tucson shooting, believes that Americans are too stupid to understand the use of metaphor or symbols.

In an underwhelming jab at conservatives, Rep. Brady said “you can't threaten the president with a bullseye or a crosshair."

Apparently what he meant was “you can’t threaten the president with a bullseye or a crosshair unless you’re a liberal.”

I have no fear that this ridiculous bill will pass. It is just the opening salvo of a new assault on free speech. But if it is somehow passed then a powerful and effective mode of expression will be illegal. It will no longer be permissible to refer to “battleground states,” or to call an important topic a “powder keg.” We will not be able to “target” anyone and God forbid an uninvolved party gets caught in the “crossfire” of debate. Liberals can’t process metaphor therefore nobody should be allowed to use it. That is the message being sent.

What comes next? When political metaphor is banned what will the Left go after? My prediction is that they will try to ban the simile.

If we can no longer call a contested state a “battleground state,” we will have to say a state is “like a battlefield.” Even that is too close to “violent rhetoric.” Perhaps we will have to say “the state of politics in Louisiana is like a hurricane.” Saying that would be comparing a campaign to the destructive force of a violent natural occurrence. What happens when the comparison reminds someone of Hurricane Katrina? What if the use of this simile brings back memories of the floods, of the destruction, the lives lost? Will liberals then include such descriptions in their control of speech?

I will admit that this is hyperbole. I’m trying to use it while I still can. As ridiculous as this seems, the Left is known for being ridiculous. It is ridiculous to have a statist radio station funded by tax dollars but liberals want to shut down radio stations that support themselves. It is ridiculous that liberals are fuming over a map with crosshairs on it but ignoring a similar use of bullseyes by Democrats. It is ridiculous that we were told not to “jump to conclusions” when a Muslim opened fire on fellow soldiers and civilians at Fort Hood yet the left immediately jumped to conclusions when someone gunned down a member of congress, a judge and a nine year old girl.

Use your analogies, indulge in allegory, and enjoy alliteration while you still can. The Left is on the march and if they have their way nobody will be able to speak a word because at some point all things are offensive or can be twisted to seem dangerous. Despite their hateful rhetoric and violent behavior, liberals continue to claim to be the voice of reason and the icons of virtue. Their vitriol- favorite liberal SAT word of the week- will continue to pour like rain until their corrosive influence has eaten away at everything that we hold dear. The Left will be telling stories about the evil of the Right long after free speech has died.

It seems the only thing safe is irony.

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