Changes

Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 12: Line 12:     
I disagree that the designation of "right" to connote "conservative" and "left" to connote "liberal" is purely arbitrary.  John's use of the Greek word for "right" may be a political statement here.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 15:50, 27 February 2010 (EST)
 
I disagree that the designation of "right" to connote "conservative" and "left" to connote "liberal" is purely arbitrary.  John's use of the Greek word for "right" may be a political statement here.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 15:50, 27 February 2010 (EST)
 +
 +
:Well, THAT modern political meaning did not exist at the time yet. Of course you can claim that Jesus, being the Son of God, could know the modern meaning, but barring that, the word did not have that meaning at the time. Modern usage derives from French Revolution assemblies, in which those who favoured the Ancien Régime (monarchists, aristocrats, clergymen) would sit at the right, and those who were in favour of the republic, secularization, and the need for revolutionary changes, were at the left.
 +
 +
:Of course, in many cultures the "right" hand meant skill, strength, virtue and therefore "good", whereas the "left" hand meant lack of skill, clumsiness, and therefore came to mean "bad". That's because most people are naturally right-handed; the word "dexterity" comes from the latin word for "right" (as in "right hand"), and many left-handed people were forced to become right-handed, because being left-handed was seen as something to be corrected rather than accepted... in Italy, it still happened as late as the early second half of the 20th century. --[[User:Maquissar|Maquissar]] 16:02, 27 February 2010 (EST)
97

edits

Navigation menu