War on Terra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The War on Terra is a catch phrase that refers to the environmental protection policies of the United States and other countries, mainly in relation to global warming. It is a pun on the word "terror" (as in the War on Terror), as Terra is Latin for Earth. The phrase was first used by protesters who objected to U.S. President George W. Bush's environmental and diplomatic policies and appeared on at least one protest sign, but it entered the everyday vernacular of millions of young people when it was used on The Daily Show by host Jon Stewart. Since then, several organizations have used the term.
Contents |
[edit] Origin and meanings
Jon Stewart did a segment about the War on Terra as a means by which Bush supposedly intended to destroy Mother Nature. Beginning with a report about melting ice caps in the Arctic Circle, Stewart claimed, "There is near-universal consensus that the melting is due to global warming, though the Bush administration counters that the ice caps are not melting; rather, the water has been liberated." Later, he transitioned to the issue of endangered species: "Of course, wrecking the planet is an abstract and long-term proposition. There's a more concrete satisfaction to be had: killing off a species." Stewart proceeded to discuss how tigers may go extinct due to the environmental policies of China.
In addition to the environmental meaning, the phrase has also been used to refer to Bush's pre-emptive military tactics, known as the Bush Doctrine. Although this was not the primary focus of Stewart's report, his claim about liberating water was based on Bush's claim that the invasion was to spread freedom; see Operation Enduring Freedom for more information. In this sense, Terra refers to a war against the entire world, largely because of the stiff opposition to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and Bush's vow to proceed unilaterally if necessary. (One example of the resultant fallout was the coining of the term "Freedom fries" by some Republicans who refused to use the term French fries after France opposed the invasion.)
[edit] Popular usage
The phrase has caught on among mainstream publications since its inception and, in addition to being a featured article on Uncyclopedia, has been humorously mentioned in several political cartoons. Uncyclopedia's article on the War on Terra attributes this (parody) quote to Bush:
- "We're fighting them here so we can fight them there too. Or we're fighting them everywhere so we're fighting them somewhere. Or we're preemptively responding so we don't have to postemptively respond. We will fight them in the streets and on the rooftops, in the hills and on the fields, so we don't have to fight them in our homes."
