Reply #11: Yes, Hitler exploited the term...

[SmokingJacket]

I guess that's at the crux of why I feel the word "homeland" is so creepy translated into American parlance: we, too, are deeply sentimental and patriotic, and vulnerable to being taken advantage this way.

I can almost see a group of thugs (Cheney would be there, and Rove, not necessarily Bush) getting together shortly before or after 9-11 and deciding what words to use to take full advantage of the new sense of patriotism. "Home" is a loaded word here -- already overused by real estate agents -- along with "mother," "flag," etc., and it probably was perceived to appeal to women. "Land" is another powerful part of our identity, our nature-loving, guns/hunting masculine element. And it's a term that was NEVER used before 9-11.

It's SO contrived -- so marketed -- and so reminiscent of they way totalitarians and fascists use words.