War as metaphor
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The use of war as metaphor is a literary trope of long-standing. Its currently liveliest metaphoric applications are circulated in the international effort of the "War on Terrorism" and in local efforts, such as the "War on Drugs" or the Culture War in the United States. In Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson describe Jimmy Carter's application of "war" as metaphor for the energy crisis of 1974.
Inter arma enim silent leges is a Latin phrase meaning "In the face of arms, the law falls mute," often rendered as "In time of war, the laws fall silent." This maxim was likely first written in these words by Cicero in his published oration Pro Milone[1]
In a corollary of this usage, the US government restricted American civil liberties in the name of quelling dissent, silencing criticism of political decisions and preserving national security in the American Civil War, when the writ of habeas corpus was suspended by Abraham Lincoln and during World War I.
In discussing the morality of the use of war as a metaphor, James Childress epitomized the dilemma: "In debating social policy through the language of war, we often forget the moral reality of war.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Cicero's actual wording was Silent enim leges inter arma.
[edit] External links
- James F. Childress, "The war metaphor in public policy" (pdf format) The moral use of war as metaphor
[edit] Further reading
- Steinert, Heinz 2003. "The Indispensable Metaphor of War: On Populist Politics and the Contradictions of the State's Monopoly of Force", Theoretical Criminology 7.3 (2003) pp 265-291
- Thomas, Ruth P. 1984 . "War as metaphor in La Princesse de Montpensier", Forum for Modern Language Studies 20.4 pp 323-332] Use in Mme de La Fayette's seventeenth-century classic.
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