Sunday, March 17, 2002
This post brought to you by the letter J and the number 9
I don't have the background to be commenting on the Heffernan vs Kirby story thats taken up so much copy and broadcast time this week. I'm not going to pull apart the speech & go & dig up other documents - Matt's already done that.
I do know, however, that the Sunday program plays a part in setting the political agenda for the week. So this week, keep an eye out for the term 'Jihad' & watch and see who picks up this ball & runs with it, beacause in this mornings political interview with Tony Abbott, Laurie Oakes described Sen. Heffernans' pursuit of Kirby J as a Jihad.
ji·had also je·had (j-häd)
n.
1. A Muslim holy war or spiritual struggle against infidels.
2. A crusade or struggle: "The war against smoking is turning into a jihad against people who smoke" (Fortune).
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[Arabic jihd, from jahada, to strive. See ghd in Semitic Roots.]
Ok, so the second definition fits, but what do these terms generally bring to mind? For me, say 'Crusade' and I think 'bunch of knights running around looking for relics, with some death thrown in' or 'battler working for a good cause'; say 'Jihad' and I'm thinking 'terrorists, bombs, wanton violence'.
Such is the art of subtle persuasion and influence.
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