ThirstyFish

There seems to be a war on everything these days. War on terror, war on women, war on drugs, war on cancer, war on working families, war on Christmas, war on religion, war on science, war on jobs, war on crime, war on words, war on nature and war on you. But why do we use war as a metaphor? It undermines the reality of war itself, while numbing us to social issues we should care for, and be properly informed about. No one wants to be someone else's foot soldier fighting in - let's choose - the war on women? Or, think of how you might fight Hollywood's War on God?

"War" is a dangerous metaphor. Even jihad sounds more subdued by comparison. The Islamic term jihad means both personal and social struggle or resistance that may or may not mean the use of violence (and, there is another word for war, "al-harb"). These days, no matter what you say, what metaphor you use, you get in trouble. But not all metaphors are the same. War implies violence and death, as does jihad under "certain?" conditions. Both are toxic. Therefore, I am not going to declare a jihad on war metaphors.