September 27, 2001
Ben Stein
So there's this one thing I can't get out of my mind. Dubya called for a crusade.
Am I over-reacting to Dubya's gargantuan malapropism? I went to a Jesuit high school whose mascot is the Crusaders, so I'm painfully aware of the meaning of the word crusade. But some people don't know the derivation. I received a forwarded email on the subject, allegedly written by an expert. An excerpt is below.
by Bernard Lewis
President Bush's use of the term "crusade" in calling for a powerful joint
effort against terrorism was unfortunate, but excusable. In Western usage,
this word has long since lost its original meaning of "a war for the
cross," and many are probably unaware that this is the derivation of the
name. At present, "crusade" almost always means simply a vigorous campaign
for a good cause. This cause may be political or military, though this is
rare; more commonly, it is social, moral or environmental. In modern
Western usage it is rarely if ever religious.
Mr. Lewis is professor emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton
University. His most recent book is "A Middle East Mosaic: Fragments of
Life, Letters and History" (Random House, 2000).
I decided I should ask an expert, Ben Stein.
As a quiz show host/contestant, Ben displays an encyclopedic knowledge of western civilization. And he was a speechwriter in the Nixon Whitehouse. Yeah, that's it, I'll ask Ben!
--------------
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 20:17:29 -0700
To: BenStein@aol.com
Subject: Presidential Question
Hey Ben,
Love the show. Gotta question.
As much as I'm appalled by the WTC attack, I'm also appalled by Bush's use of the word "crusade". Some people think I'm over-reacting to a nit. In your experience as a quiz show host, and as a member of Nixon's staff, is this a little boo-boo, or is this a display of a profound ignorance of a major chapter of world history? If it's the latter, I'm very afraid.
-Mark
--------------
From: BenStein@aol.com
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 01:19:13 EDT
Subject: Re: Presidential Question
X-Mailer: AOL 3.0 16-bit for Windows sub 38
I would be more worried that we are so confused that we even worry about
words right now.
--------------
While searching for Ben on the web, I came across some very worthwhile columns which comment on the WTC attacks.
what? ben stein got back to you within 4 hours. most people i know personally dont return my emails so briskly. but im wondering how you got a reply dated the 28th and yet your post is on the 27th. is this a time zone or a time warp? shouldnt you have asked ben to "save ferris"?
I'm also amazed to have gotten a reply from Ben. The only thing I got from Feinstein (whose salary I pay) was an autoreply, which offered "warmest personal regards".
Now, is that "regards" from her or from her computer?
The date stamps are a time zone thing. Ben replied within a couple of hours.
|
Ben Stein
So there's this one thing I can't get out of my mind. Dubya called for a crusade.
Am I over-reacting to Dubya's gargantuan malapropism? I went to a Jesuit high school whose mascot is the Crusaders, so I'm painfully aware of the meaning of the word crusade. But some people don't know the derivation. I received a forwarded email on the subject, allegedly written by an expert. An excerpt is below.
by Bernard Lewis
President Bush's use of the term "crusade" in calling for a powerful joint effort against terrorism was unfortunate, but excusable. In Western usage, this word has long since lost its original meaning of "a war for the cross," and many are probably unaware that this is the derivation of the name. At present, "crusade" almost always means simply a vigorous campaign for a good cause. This cause may be political or military, though this is rare; more commonly, it is social, moral or environmental. In modern Western usage it is rarely if ever religious.
Mr. Lewis is professor emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His most recent book is "A Middle East Mosaic: Fragments of Life, Letters and History" (Random House, 2000).
I decided I should ask an expert, Ben Stein.
As a quiz show host/contestant, Ben displays an encyclopedic knowledge of western civilization. And he was a speechwriter in the Nixon Whitehouse. Yeah, that's it, I'll ask Ben!
--------------
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 20:17:29 -0700
To: BenStein@aol.com
Subject: Presidential Question
Hey Ben,
Love the show. Gotta question.
As much as I'm appalled by the WTC attack, I'm also appalled by Bush's use of the word "crusade". Some people think I'm over-reacting to a nit. In your experience as a quiz show host, and as a member of Nixon's staff, is this a little boo-boo, or is this a display of a profound ignorance of a major chapter of world history? If it's the latter, I'm very afraid.
-Mark
--------------
From: BenStein@aol.com
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 01:19:13 EDT
Subject: Re: Presidential Question
X-Mailer: AOL 3.0 16-bit for Windows sub 38
I would be more worried that we are so confused that we even worry about words right now.
--------------
While searching for Ben on the web, I came across some very worthwhile columns which comment on the WTC attacks.
- mark 9-27-2001 11:31 pm
what? ben stein got back to you within 4 hours. most people i know personally dont return my emails so briskly. but im wondering how you got a reply dated the 28th and yet your post is on the 27th. is this a time zone or a time warp? shouldnt you have asked ben to "save ferris"?
- dave 9-28-2001 9:50 am [add a comment]
I'm also amazed to have gotten a reply from Ben. The only thing I got from Feinstein (whose salary I pay) was an autoreply, which offered "warmest personal regards".
Now, is that "regards" from her or from her computer?
The date stamps are a time zone thing. Ben replied within a couple of hours.
- mark 9-28-2001 4:15 pm [add a comment]