25 May 2007

Nomenclature.

First, we had the "Axis of Evil." Now Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has coined the term "Evil Trio." Is it coincidental that both groups contain three characters?

As terms go, I think "Axis of Evil" is a better term. "Evil Trio" (which al-Sadr defines as the US, the UK, and Israel) sounds sort of lampoonish, something you might find in a Mel Brooks or Mike Myers film, although who knows what it actually sounds like in Arabic. But neither of them are very good terms, because "axis" is so derivative, and it's pretty obvious that "evil trio" is a derivative of Bush's term. It's very sad to be a derivative of a derivative.

I blame Bush for being so unoriginal in his terms to use "axis," a word that simply reverberates with World War II allusions to the alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan. I chalk that unoriginal usage up to Bush attempting desperately to make a pathetic two-bit dictator like hamstrung Saddam Hussein out to be Adolf Hitler. Saddam wasn't even a Mussolini. He was more like a cardboard cutout of Mussolini.

But the trinity resounds in world politics, doesn't it? Opposed to the Axis of WWII, you had the "Big Three": FDR, Churchill, and Stalin. And then in WWI, you had the "Triple Entente": the UK, France, and Russia.

4 comments:

Grad School Reject said...

Somone has missed the opportunity to invoke 3 Blind Mice.

Reya Mellicker said...

Evil Trio would be a great band name. It would also be a great name for a group blog. Don't you wonder how these terms will look in 20 years? Evil Trio is bound not to hold up so well over time.

B.K. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
m.a. said...

Evil Trio would be a good band name, Reya.

Perhaps it sounds better in another language? I don't know. It's interesting how easily people throw these terms around.