Babeled

Word Power will be a weekly blog that is intended to teach you the etymology and construction of everyday words.  Etymology in short is understanding the origin of words and how the word has evolved throughout history.  Today’s lesson is to understand the etymology of the word republican and other words associated with it.

Republican (Noun):  [re-pub-li-can]

1. One who favors a republic as the best form of government.
2. A member of the Republican party of the United States.  (American Heritage Dictionary)

Etymology

Before Rome was the great Empire that stretched across the majority of Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor, Rome was a Republic.  The word republican has its origins in the 6th century B.C. when Rome was established as a republic.  In order to understand the word republican, we need to drop off the suffix -an and get right to the root, republic.

Republic (Noun):  [re-pub-lic]

1. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them.
2. A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in modern times is usually a president. (American Heritage Dictionary)

Res

Unlike many Latin words, the word res was not used in the ancient greek language or culture.  The definition of res is a thing, matter, affair, object, etc.  There is not much to talk about with this word, except for the fact that its origin comes from the Indo-European root, re-.  Most of us use a derrivative of re- in every day speech, in the form of the word real, which in noun form means a thing having actual existence.

Publicus-a-um

In latin, the word publicus was an adjective that meant belonging to the people.  In two thousand years, the meaning of this word has not changed much.  The word public is commonly used today when referring to people in general.  Additionally, the root publicus can be seen in words such as publication (the act of making public) and pub (slang for a public house).  In 510 B.C., after the fall of the monarchy, Rome established res publica, which literally translated into a matter belonging to the people.  The two words joined in Roman times to form respublica and then when the French got a hold of this word, it became republique.  Eventually through the changing of dialects, the -que dropped off and was replaced by the letter c to make the word republic.

Summary

The term Republican in today’s society usually conjures up images of patriotic elephants and conservative right wing members of the GOP.  Although words and their meanings are an ever changing idea, the literal translation of republican is a person that belongs to all affairs of the people.  So the next time somebody starts talking trash about bipartisan nonsense, inform them that the true definition of the word republican actually means one that is simply involved in the affairs of the people and not one that divides the political process with their own self interests.

Extra Credit

The bipartisan system is not new to governments, actually the two party system has ancient roots firmly planted in the Roman Republic.  However, instead of Republicans and Democrats, they were called plebeians and patricians.  The Plebeians, also referred to as plebs, were the common citizens of the Roman Republic and the patricians were the elite nobles of Rome.  For hundreds of years these two parties clashed with each other trying to get their way and pass self serving legislature.

Tune in next week for the breakdown of the word Democrat.

Image Used In This Post

GOP elephant mascot image courtesy of Flickr user makelessnoise under the CC license.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Say what you will about negotiation with terrorists, but it appears that diplomacy is finally yielding a breakthrough in the War on Terror.

The News

According to a CNN report, on September 24-27, the final days of Ramadan, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia held talks with 11 Taliban delegates, two Afghan government officials, a representative of former mujahadeen commander and U.S. foe Gulbadin Hekmatyar, and three others.

The purpose of these talks was to come to some sort of negotiation about how best to end the current conflict in Afghanistan.  Both parties agreed that continued violence would not yield peace any time soon. Rather, the Taliban admitted that they cannot match the U.S. led coalition.

During the meetings the Taliban emphasized the fact that they have severed ties with al Qaeda.

How does this change the game?

These are only the first of many scheduled talks between Saudi Arabia and the Taliban. The information that is already being revealed from these meetings seems to suggest that Iran is playing the role of instigator.

Several Afghan sources familiar with Iranian activities in Afghanistan have said Iranian officials and diplomats who are investing in business and building education facilities are lobbying politicians in Kabul. Coalition commanders regularly accuse Iran of arming the Taliban, and Western diplomats privately suggest that Iran is working against U.S. interests in Afghanistan, making it harder to bring peace. (CNN)

If what the Taliban say about al Qaeda is true, and if these talks are any indication that an Arab coalition may be forming that will help the US achieve its military goals, then it is clear that a confrontation with Iran is inevitable.

The Key to Ending the War on Terror

Al Qaeda, the embodiment of Radical Islam, is the door.  What lies beyond the door is a fruitful alliegiance between the West and the Middle East.  The door is currently locked.  The lock is a unified Arab Coalition.  The key is Iran.

By defining Iran as the key, we are faced with a dilemma.  We can either approach Iran as an enemy that needs to be forced out of the way, or we can approach Iran as a future-friend who has yet to understand how cooperation would be to their advantage.

In my opinion, diplomacy is the only choice.  If we continue acting from the belief that Iran is an “axis of evil” and destined to be a force of destruction in the Middle East, then we close ourselves off from any possibility of a unified Arab Coalition.  Likewise, we also close ourselves into an inevitable conflict with Iran.

Without cooperation from Iran,  peace in Afghanistan will take that much longer.  And the longer it takes to achieve peace, the longer it takes to bring our troops home.

Popularity: 10% [?]

“Cada arma que se hace, cada buque de guerra puesto en marcha, cada cohete significa, en el sentido final, un robo de los que tienen hambre y no son alimentados, de los que tienen frío y no son vestidos. El mundo en armas no es solo gastar dinero .Es el gasto el sudor de sus trabajadores, el genio de sus científicos, las esperanzas de sus niños.”

Translation

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Cotai Strip in Macau, China is an impressive site to behold, so I am told. Macau was a Portuguese colony until 1999, then it was handed over to the People’s Republic of China. Macau is still supposed to maintain a certain degree of autonomy until 2049 per the transition agreement.  It is the only place with legal gambling within hundreds of miles in the most densely populated region of the world.  In 2002, the red tape was cut and six gambling licenses were issued to U.S. companies.  This precipitated one of the most expansive and fervently-paced construction projects in history.

The Venetian Macau, a Las Vegas Sands resort property on the Cotai Strip is the third largest building in the world. It is what is known as a fully-integrated resort because it includes the following small list of amenities: three thousand guest suites, 1.2 million square feet of convention space, 1.6 million square feet of retail space, the largest casino space in the world at 550,000 square feet, and to top it off: a 15,000 seat arena that can host concerts or sporting events.

As the name would indicate, the Cotai Strip will encompass many resorts once completed.  The Venetian is one of many mega-resorts that brought 22 million visitors in 2006 and 25 million in 2007.  As the captive market is seemingly an endless horde of tourists from mainland China and Hong Kong, the hotels continue to go up.  Macau is the most densely populated place in the world with 18,196 people per square kilometer.  The entire Cotai Strip is planned from the start, unlike the Las Vegas Strip, and this results in a far more elegant design.

It turns out that it is not that difficult for U.S. citizen to go to Macau because it still maintains its own currency, immigration policies, police force, budget and taxation.  English is spoken, not widely, but those who speak it may be hotel employees since the islands’ economies rest mostly on the shoulders of the tourism industry.

Cotai Strip Panoramic photo courtesy of Flikr user b.cx under the CC license.

Popularity: 8% [?]

In the Middle-East, where the climate is generally hot year-round and conflicts divide nations for generations, time is a very needed resource. These nations find a way to reach out to the west, often individually, by forming trade relations. In addition, countries which establish a relation with the empires overseas often use these contacts to seek help with their internal disputes. This type of situation also reflects the Israeli connection to the US.  With time running out in the Middle-East, the next president of the US will have a rough job because basically the Mid-East peace-process is in freeze mode. While leaders in the region are waiting for the US presidential election results, these leaders are developing strategies to approach the next president.  Today, Israel had its own internal election at the leading (and biggest) party Kadima.

The internal party representatives were  voting to select a successor to Ehud Olmert, the current prime minister, who was forced to resign. The Israeli media reported that Ms. Zipi Livni won the election, marking the second time in Israeli’s history that a woman (most likely) will become head of the state. The first woman prime minister was Golda Meir, who was elected prime minister in 1969 and was known as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics. Livni’s leadership style will soon be put to the test in this turbulent country, in such a way that she would be required to form a coalition and present it to the president Mr. Shimeon Peres. If this coalition isn’t strong enough, the Kadima party would fall from ruling the Knesset (the Israeli Congress) and a general election would be inevitable.

The biggest stake in this election is the future of Israel’s peace talks with the Palestinians. Livni aims to move the process along and serve as the chief negotiator in these talks. As a former Mossad (the highly credited external secret services agency) agent and department head she is known as a tough negotiator, but she certainly enjoys a lot of popularity among other political leaders internationally and the Israeli population as well. Some of her critics ask, can Israel afford to have a leader with minimal military experience? In my opinion, Yes. And the US can too.

The whole issue raises questions of how closely Israeli politics follow American politics.  Candidates in this election could make history with Livni as a female politician and Mr. Shaul Mofaz, her main rival, as the first Sephardic nominee for prime-minister.  Mr. Mofaz was born in Iran and thusly raised a Sephardic Jew. In many ways, Mofaz is Israel’s Obama, while Livni might as well symbolize Clinton.  Other issues that are parallel between Israel and the U.S. are the rise of females politicians, the abandonment of traditional ideals (i.e. military generals being the best leaders), and the frequent use of the word “change” in politics; all ingredients affecting each nation’s policies and governance. All of these issues are common in both nations and possibly reflect a worldwide political atmosphere that is ready to start moving forward. I am sure that I will open up a long conversation on this post (Comments please!), but it is just history evolving in front of our eyes.

Image Used in this Post

Ms. Zipi Livni, Israel’s next prime minister. Adopted from www.haaretz.co.il

Popularity: 8% [?]