"HOMELAND"? NO, THIS IS AMERICA!

HERE'S WHAT PROMPTED THIS 'RANT':
"Cyber War on the U.S."
January 28, 2013
http://www.cio.com/article/727691/Unseen_All_Out_Cyber_War_on_the_U.S._has_Begun?source=rss_all&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cio%2Ffeed%2Farticles+%28CIO.com+Feed+-+Articles%29

<<You can think of it as a war on the digital homeland. If you work for a power company, bank, defense contractor, transportation provider, or other critical infrastructure type of operation, your organization might be in the direct line of fire. And everyone can become collateral damage.>>

WELL, CIRCLE THE WAGONS, THE "HOMELAND" IS UNDER ATTACK? AGAIN?
THE "HOMELAND"?
SERIOUSLY?
IS THAT BETTER THAN, OH, MAYBE "AMERICA"?
WHY ARE WE REFERRING TO AMERICA AS THE "HOMELAND" MORE AND MORE SINCE 9/11?
"HOMELAND" SECURITY...WHAT WAS BUSH2 AND COMPANY THINKING?
AND NOW WE HAVE A "DIGITAL HOMELAND"?
ARE WE SUPPOSED TO PUFF UP WITH SOME SORT OF PRIDE NOW WHEN WE HEAR "HOMELAND"?
WHAT HAPPENED TO AMERICA, OR THE UNITED STATES, OR JUST THE U.S.?

"HOMELAND" SOUNDS VERY FOREBODING TO ME, OMINOUS SOMEHOW.
IT MAKES ME MORE THAN A LITTLE NERVOUS, IT MAKES ME SHIVER.
SLATE MAGAZINE SEEMED TO AGREE WITH ME BACK IN 2002:
"The Trouble With "Homeland" 
It's a creepy, morale-sapping word. Let's drop it."
June 14, 2002
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/kausfiles_special/2002/06/the_trouble_with_homeland.html
<<I know I'm not alone in this -- I've heard enough grumbling from friends who don't want to be unpatriotic but can't help cringing and wondering out loud why this suddenly became a word we all had to use. [Peggy] Noonan touches on the main problems,
[ in an article on 06-14-2002 in her 'OpinionJournal' column] but it's worth reviewing them in detail.
"Homeland," as Noonan notes, isn't a word Americans have been used to using.
Why ask us to suddenly start spouting an unfamiliar phrase in the name of patriotism?
 It's creepy: Morale is important in any war. If "homeland" becomes officially enshrined, I predict it will cause a non-trivial loss of morale.
"Department of Homeland Security" would be called the Department of Defense, which is the best description of what it is.
So what's wrong with "domestic security"? It gets the point across, without pretentious and disturbing PR [PUBLIC RELATIONS] overtones.>>

I AGREE! IT IS CREEPY!
I DON'T LIKE IT FOR MANY REASONS, BUT HERE'S THE TOP 3.

1~ THE VERY BEST ANY CITIZEN NOT OF 'AMERICAN INDIAN' (INDIGENOUS) LINEAGE CAN HOPE TO CLAIM IS THAT THEIR ANCESTORS HAVE BEEN HERE FOR ABOUT 500 YEARS.
IF WE ACCEPT THE 'USUAL' 40 YEARS PER GENERATION, THAT MEANS THE BEST THAT THOSE WITH EUROPEAN ANCESTRY CAN HOPE TO CLAIM IS A MERE 12-13 GENERATIONS HERE IN THE "NEW WORLD". [GIVEN THEIR LINEAGE IS SPANISH OR FRENCH]
IF WE ACCEPT THAT 70 YEARS IS A GENERATION, THEN MOST OF THE POPULATION WHOSE [SPANISH] ANCESTORS WERE HERE BY 1513 CAN ONLY CLAIM THIS AS THEIR "HOMELAND" FOR 7 GENERATIONS.
ENGLISH COLONIES WEREN'T REALLY ESTABLISHED HERE UNTIL1607 WHICH MEANS THEIR DESCENDANTS CAN CLAIM ONLY 10 GENERATIONS OR 5, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THEY USE THE 40 YEARS OR THE 70 YEARS PER GENERATION.
THE FRENCH CAME IN ABOUT 1524, SO DO THE MATH.
IS THAT REALLY ENOUGH TIME TO CALL THIS YOUR "HOMELAND"?
YOUR ANCESTORS SPENT MANY MORE GENERATIONS IN OTHER"HOMELANDS", MAYBE 10 TIMES MORE, MAYBE 20 TIMES MORE.
THE GENERALIZATION OF THIS BEING THE "NEWCOMERS' " HOMELAND....?
REALLY?
WHATEVER.

2~ "HOMELAND" REMINDS TOO MANY PEOPLE OF WORLD WAR TWO. I'M SORRY, THAT'S JUST WHAT MANY SAY. "HOMELAND" EVOKES WORDS LIKE "HEIMATLAND" OR EVEN "VATERLAND" ( TWO VERY BEAUTIFUL WORDS THAT GOT 'BUM RAPS') AND THOSE TWO WORDS HAVE BEEN USED IN TOO MANY HOLLYWOOD MOVIES ABOUT HITLER FOR THEM NOT TO BE SEEN AS A DIRECT LINK TO HIM. "HOMELAND" IS A WORD WE CONNECT WITH WAR AND WARTIME "HYPE".

[ MIT ENTSCHULDIGUNG NACH DEUTSCHLAND FÜR HOLLYWOOD. ICH DANKE DASS DU HIER LESEN. ]

3~ "HOMELAND" IS A TRY AT RAISING AMERICAN NATIONALISM, AT SUMMONING UP A NEW MOVE TOWARD PROTECTIONISM AND EVEN ISOLATIONISM. TO ME, IT'S A PROPAGANDA TERM TO WHIP THE MASSES INTO A "PATRIOTIC" FRENZY.
WE DON'T NEED ANYMORE OF THAT! WE NEED TO GET OFF THE POOR DEAD HORSE OF "WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" AND GET BACK TO FIXING WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS NATION...THE TRAITORS WE ELECT ARE SELLING US OUT!

IT WILL BE A SNOWY DAY IN HADES, WITH BOBSLED RACES ABOUNDING, WHEN I USE THE WORD "HOMELAND" TO SPEAK OF AMERICA!
AND MY ANCESTORS WERE HERE TO GREET THE BOATS IN 1513-1607.
I RECKON THEY WERE HERE AT THE DAWN OF TIME.
BUT NO, NO "HOMELAND" FOR ME!
THIS IS AMERICA!