I like to compare radical theories or conspiracies to a thick slice of moist, dark chocolate cake. Personally, I have troubles resisting it’s sweet icing coated crust and moist fluffy bitter sweet dough. Nibbling bit by bit I can enjoy each bite as much as the last; dissecting it’s many flavours, each sending a shiver of delight through my spine. Soon, it’s sugars course through my veins fuelling a desire for action! But I know I will crash and crave another slice, so I sit calmly ignoring the rush. I know there is little nutrition to be had. I know I must still eat a regular fare. So I enjoy it while I digest what nutrition exists and move on.
In my last escapade of waning restraint, I was subjected to a barrage of ‘information’ covering various governments. In an attempt to strengthen his forthcoming treatise, the orator began by deconstructing the word ‘government’ into it’s Latin yoke. ‘Govern’ he said, comes from the word ‘gubernare’ which itself is derived from the Greek verb ‘kyberno’ which means to rule, direct or even control. He then went to say that ‘-ment’ is from the Latin word ‘mente’ which means ‘mindedly(sic)’ (or mind in the form of ‘mens’). This he compiled to define ‘government’ as ‘a control or rule of the mind’. I don’t feel to comment on his treatise, however this initial definition immediately, for me, deteriorated his credibility as an effective analyst. I agree with his point of ‘govern’ comes from ‘gubernare’. However I cannot agree with his point of ‘-ment’ being replaceable by mind, or ‘of the mind’. In fact, ‘-ment’ is a simply a suffix which forms a noun from a verb which describes the result or agent of that verb. If you had to trace the roots of ‘-ment’ to the Latin language, I believe you would find the Latin suffix ‘-men’ or -mentum which means ‘result of’ or ‘agent of’. What is also worrisome is the way he used his Latin associations to define government. While ‘gubernare mente’ to him means ‘control or directing of the mind’, it could also mean ‘the mind that directs’ or ‘the governing mind’ which would actually properly define the word ‘government’ (even though the defining method is wrong).
It is interesting how he inappropriately associated Latin roots to the word and then analyzed these associations to construct his own definition to fit his mandate. Maybe he did this by mistake, maybe not. He seemed very intelligent and well read, so I would guess that this mistake was either a conscious one or a result of the clouding passion he had for his conspiracies (I know, I know…). In any case, it’s comical that he was misdirecting to inform about misdirection. I listened to a small excerpt of which little was consumable but nevertheless entertaining, however, the initial letdown left me with a burnt, dry chocolate cake instead of a nice fluffy one.