Origin Of "Left Or Right " ......

[JohnHenry]

Left & Right...
Origin of Left & Right...
I have often wondered why it is that
Conservatives are called the "right" and
Liberals are called the "left."

By chance I stumbled upon this verse in the Bible:

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

Thus sayeth the Lord. Amen.

Can't get any simpler than that.

and now for a Spelling Lesson-------

The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats

End of lesson. Test to follow in November, 2012

Remember, November is to be set aside as rodent
removal month.

[jack404]

Amen !

[ampaterry]

I always think of it this way.

In an eclectic group of people, only some will be right (correct).
Remove them.
The rest are left.

[carver]

Originally Posted by JohnHenry

Left & Right...
Origin of Left & Right...
I have often wondered why it is that
Conservatives are called the "right" and
Liberals are called the "left."

By chance I stumbled upon this verse in the Bible:

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

Thus sayeth the Lord. Amen.

Can't get any simpler than that.

and now for a Spelling Lesson-------

The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats

End of lesson. Test to follow in November, 2012

Remember, November is to be set aside as rodent
removal month.

I like it! I also like verses 4, and 5!

[Jim K]

Some good thoughts, but not very historical or factual.

The actual origin of "right" and "left" came from the French National Assembly of 1789, where supporters of the king seated themselves to the right of the assembly president, that is to the left of the hall as seen from the rear. Supporters of the revolution sat on the president's left, or the right of the hall. Moderates, or those who couldn't make up their minds, sat in the center.

The use of "red" and "blue" for the Republicans and Democrats originated with Tim Russert in the 2000 election. Prior to that, the colors were used, but there was no consistency, with one network using the that scheme, another network reversing the colors, to the confusion of viewers who switched channels. Russert, a liberal, apparently chose red for Repblicans to irk them, since red had always been associated with revolution, Communism, anarchy, and the color of the "capitalist" blood that radical leftists wanted to shed. Naturally, the rest of the left-wing media picked up the idea and the Republicans became "communist red" and the Democrats "patriotic blue".

So the Republicans were once again victims of the left wing media.

Jim

[carver]

Originally Posted by Jim K

Some good thoughts, but not very historical or factual.

The actual origin of "right" and "left" came from the French National Assembly of 1789, where supporters of the king seated themselves to the right of the assembly president, that is to the left of the hall as seen from the rear. Supporters of the revolution sat on the president's left, or the right of the hall. Moderates, or those who couldn't make up their minds, sat in the center.

The use of "red" and "blue" for the Republicans and Democrats originated with Tim Russert in the 2000 election. Prior to that, the colors were used, but there was no consistency, with one network using the that scheme, another network reversing the colors, to the confusion of viewers who switched channels. Russert, a liberal, apparently chose red for Repblicans to irk them, since red had always been associated with revolution, Communism, anarchy, and the color of the "capitalist" blood that radical leftists wanted to shed. Naturally, the rest of the left-wing media picked up the idea and the Republicans became "communist red" and the Democrats "patriotic blue".

So the Republicans were once again victims of the left wing media.

Jim

Since Ecclesiastes was written around the 3rd century BC, I think it likely to be much older than the French National Assembly of 1789! How's that for origins!

As a side note on Ecclesiastes: Thomas Wolfe wrote: "of all I have ever seen or learned, that book seems to me the noblest, the wisest, and the most powerful expression of man’s life upon this earth — and also the highest flower of poetry, eloquence, and truth. I am not given to dogmatic judgments in the matter of literary creation, but if I had to make one I could say that Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound."