Why do politicians give us political terms that hide the true horrors of war and occupation(ex. friendly fire)?
It is true, although euphemisms were not invented by politicians and the military, those guys are really proficient at their use. However, I wouldn’t blame the politicians for those terms – you can blame them for a lot, but not that. These are military-invented terms that are now used as euphemisms in politics and in media presentations of the war, perhaps inappropriately carried over from their military usage, which is really much less about being euphemistic and more about keeping communication short and sweet. Also, I bet “friendly fire” doesn’t make a soldier feel quite as horrified and depressed as “in addition to being attacked by our enemies, we’ve also had some presumably accidental casualties by fatal gunshot wounds caused by your fellow soldiers in the ranks”. Nope, not as short, and certainly more bitter than sweet. I don’t know that any terms can really adequately do justice to the actual horrors of combat and war – even seeing it televised doesn’t come close, but it’s bett
