The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
Since the presidency of George W. Bush, many leaders in the Republican Party have consistently referred to the Democratic Party as the “Democrat Party.” It is an intentionally snide remark, but most people, probably including most Democrats, do not perceive it in a negative light, because they have not thought about what it connotes.
If it is proper to call the Democratic Party the “Democrat Party,” then it is proper to call the Republican Party the “Republic Party.” However, it is improper to shorten the nomenclature of either party. The words Democratic and Republican, when affixed to the two major American political conglomerates, are adjectives with significant historical meaning; they are not nouns. They become nouns only when joined to the word Party.
Furthermore, the two adjectives imply two distinct ways of perceiving American government. The Democratic Party emphasizes “the people” as the essence of government, demos being the Greek root for “people.” The Republican Party emphasizes the republican aspect of American government. It is the elected representatives of the people who govern; it is not the people themselves who do. In Latin, republica connoted a form of government that was not a monarchy, but a collection of representatives who together ruled on behalf of the entire population.
Since January 20 of 2017, representatives of the Republican Party have not ruled the land. Instead, one person, our chief executive and magistrate, Donald J. Trump, has taken almost complete control of the mechanisms of the American state. As the result, the “Republic” Party in the process of “dissolu.” Nearly all of its elected representatives have supinely deferred to their putative leader to determine the direction of their party. It is no longer Republicans who lay out the party platform. It is the single Republican, the president, who autocratically (as well as very erratically) calls the shots.
Suffixes, as well as prefixes, are important parts in the meaning of words. Without them, words take on meanings no language ever intended.
The United States of America is not a true democracy, where everyone votes on everything. We are a republic, governed by representatives who are elected by the people. Will Rogers famously observed that “I am not a member of an organized political party; I’m a Democrat.” But he was a member of the Democratic, not the Democrat, Party.
Too many members of the Republican Party consciously or subconsciously express a growing meanness of spirit when smarmily referring to the nonexistent Democrat Party. The GOP has been captured by too many Know Nothings. Pejorative words do not enhance useful, civil debate of political issues. To call Democrats socialists and anarchists is to debase political discourse into the language of the fifth grade rough-edged playground.
The Democratic Party is certainly not thriving, especially because of COVID-19. But the Republican Party is in danger of turning itself into a terminally-injured personality cult, in worship of a seriously deficient person. If the president is re-elected, neither of our parties will matter much, and American democracy will face a rapid dissolu-tion.
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.