Fred Bauder wrote:
Any characterization of behavior is subject to the
criticism that it could
be replaced with a description of the phenomenon. We use these forms as a
shorthand for such descriptions. "Sneak attack", for example, can serve in
place of a long description explaining how a plan to declare war at 6 AM and
attack at 7 failed because of a delay in decoding.
The words "patriotic", "brave", "noble" and
"democratic" come to mind in
this context. These are words which express point of view. They don't need
to be banned, just used consciously.
What's important about your comments is that they show that the same
kind of problem can arise when the word in question has positive overtones.
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