"Homeland"...

[kentuck]

Does anyone else get an uneasy feeling when they hear our country called the "Homeland"?

Does it not remind you of the Fueher and the Fatherland?

I don't think I ever heard it called the "Homeland" until after 9/11?

I am suspicious of anyone that uses that term.

[drray23]

1. yeap

This is exactly the same reaction I had the first time they used this term. Whomever coined it either was clueless about its connotation or more likely did it on purpose.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. I hear that word as though Hitler were speaking it himself

(and it came from the Bush admin, so that's not far off)

I'll go your suspiciousness one better; I despise anyone who uses the term.

[kentuck]

4. If I were a betting man...

Is it likely that whomever uses that term is probably a war-monger and probably supported the invasion of Iraq?

[FiveGoodMen]

7. That's certainly the way I take it...

[arcane1]

3. The first time I ever heard it was when DHS was created and announced.

It sounded creepy then, and still does!

[Maedhros]

16. I read "Department of Homeland Security" and I see "Sicherheitsdienst." [n/t]

[trof]

39. Gestapo

[hlthe2b]

5. I too think it started with the Bushies* Neocons after 911

Yes, I shudder to hear that... then again there is an awful lot about the rise of authoritarian RW and racist/anti-immigrant factions in this country that has me fear we could have a "Fourth Reich" right here.

[Kablooie]

42. I wonder if the Nazi connotation was deliberate?

They kind of wanted unfettered control of the population and still do.

[hobbit709]

6. And "Homeland Security" translates directly from the original German.

As my mother says and she should know, living in Austria at the time.

[BillZBubb]

8. Yes, I don't like it. It has a creepy, uber-nationalist feel.

[madamesilverspurs]

9. It's always been cringe-worthy.

My first thought when the Bushites first uttered it: Uber alles?

Count me among those who would have preferred "Domestic Security" over what we have. Yeah, the connotations are awful, and we can only hope it was thoughtless rather than deliberate.

[femmocrat]

10. I hate that term, too. It is definitely post-9/11, cheney era.

Reminds me of the Nazis, too. Oh, and the neocons.

[Vattel]

11. Yes! It is creepy.

[aikoaiko]

12. As an American-German I find it comforting.

Like a big hug.

[dhill926]

13. yep, yep, yep….

and yep….

[Ino]

14. Yes it's very creepy.

Reminds me of Nazi Germany.

[sketchy]

15. Yuck!

I agree!

[Doctor_J]

17. Stupid and Big Media started using it after 9/11

Unfortunately his successor uses it as well

[Iggo]

18. Yup, ever since they started using it in the "everything's different now" days.

[lamp_shade]

19. Not me. I don't have a problem with the term.

and I don't understand why anybody would. Jeeze.

[oldhippie]

20. Yes, I agree ...

I never did like it. It just makes me a little queasy. Probably no good, rational reason for me to feel that way, but I do.

[al_liberal]

21. National, Central, and Defense were already taken and ignored anyway.

What do you suppose the hierarchy chart of those titles are in reference to "Homeland"?

The dimwits in the W admin couldn't think of any more synonyms and Googling something wasn't part of the lexicon.

[rock]

23. Ditto

Creepy.

[bigwillq]

24. No

I don't use it, but I don't get an uneasy feeling.
It's just a term.
I would never stress over it.

[kentuck]

27. Do you understand why some people might feel creepy...?

..with the term?

[bigwillq]

29. Sure.

Never said I don't approve of others feeling creeped out about it.

I just said that I don't.

[Baitball Blogger]

25. The same with "Legacy" and "Heritage."

Dog whistles.

[spanone]

26. 'HATE IT'

[Earth_First]

28. Absolutely despise it... nt

[steve2470]

30. yep, always has

Way too close to Fatherland for me. Department of National Security or Dept. of American Security would have been far better.

[The Blue Flower]

31. I've never heard it any other way

Its use was shocking to me from the first time I heard it uttered, and it still is like nails on a chalkboard to me. The word reeks of smarmy and gratuitous jingoism.

[kentuck]

32. Words matter...

I truly believe.

[adirondacker]

33. Multinationalist Corporations need a place to call "home". They're people too.

[FSogol]

45. Well, a place to call home until the taxes are due and then there are other suitable homes...

[adirondacker]

48. I guess I don't give all of the credit to the past administration for coming up with the meme

"It won’t come as any surprise that we found that the dozen tax dodging corporations invested heavily in Washington politics. While the extent to which these corporations and their executives spent is not knowable – corporations and wealthy executives regularly give to trade associations and political organizations without disclosing the donations – Public Campaign’s analysis found that the dozen corporations, their PACs, and executives spent more than $1 billion over the last ten years to influence Washington."

http://www.publicampaign.org/reports/artfuldodgers

[tularetom]

34. Homeland, Homeland uber alles

What's creepy is that DU auto corrected to capitalize the second "homeland".

[Rex]

35. Fatherland, Motherland...it is an Orwellian organization created under the BFEE

that only has one job - treat all American citizens as either; enemy combatants or enemy non-combatants.

[HereSince1628]

37. Honestly, Rodina would bother me as it would suggest we've been taken over

by persons I grew up knowing only as cold war opponents.

[EEO]

36. Fascism Light is still fascism.

[cantbeserious]

38. Faux Patriots - aka Republicans And Republican Enablers

eom

[gollygee]

40. Yes, though "Fatherland" would probably make me cringe more

Still, yes it's cringe-worthy. It's the kind of phrase people use who would put protecting the flag above protecting what the flag symbolizes.

[Kablooie]

41. I've always felt the same thing. Horrible choice of words.

I wonder if the Nazi connotation was deliberate?

It works OK a the TV show title though.
Kind of creates that uneasy, sense of evil that runs underneath the storyline.

[Skier101]

43. Creepy...

It sounded creepy when the Bush people used it and it's still totally uncomfortable - there's no way it doesn't harken back to the Third Reich feel!

[mountain grammy]

44. I hate it and all the phony patriotism and militarism that it goes with it.

I think we could march straight into hell with our right hand raised. We already have a few million in prisons, on parole and involved with the "justice" system.

[LiberalElite]

46. Yes nt

[etherealtruth]

47. Yes

[Scuba]

49. The Homeland is under attack! If you question this, you're a traitor!

[grahamhgreen]

50. Yup

[Man from Pickens]

51. "homelands" are for animals

and the people who use that term view you as an animal, and themselves as the owner of you-the-animal.