Ms. Picky Talks Politics

About the current political impasse in the U.S., one can’t help remembering the words of Benjamin Franklin: that nothing is certain, “except debt and taxes.”

Oh, sorry! It was “death and taxes,” wasn’t it? It only feels as if the certainty of debt has superseded even the certainty of death. . . .

What’s on everyone’s mind this week, of course, is politics: Will our elected officials have the courage to put their country ahead of their own political careers and come to agreement—or not? Unbelievably, it’s beginning to look as if they will not. 

Since Ms. Picky cannot think of anything except politics—yet has no control over the ongoing political discussion—she will discuss, not the meaning of Washington politics, but the meanings (and use) of the word “politics.”

Politics—a Singular or Plural Noun?

“Politics” is plural in form, but is sometimes treated as plural, and sometimes as singular. Here are the criteria for deciding which way to go:

When “politics” is used as an academic subject or discipline, it always takes a singular verb:

Politics was something she had studied as a freshman.

But, when “politics” is used as a noun encompassing many different political ideas, it is plural:

He told the reporter that his politics were his own affair.

The Adjective “Politic”

English adjectives don’t have number, and so its lack of an s has nothing to do with number, but the adjective “politic” is used to mean crafty or cunning, or polite or tactful.

Since he apologized profusely for reneging when she led a spade,

she did not think it politic to mention that it wasn’t the first time.

The Phrase “Body Politic”

The phrase “body politic” means a group of people in a nation, state, or society that is considered collectively as an organized group of citizens:

That country’s body politic does not allow for religious tolerance.

The Caucus

While we’re talking politics, what about the word “caucus”? We certainly have all heard enough of the word to know what it means, but where did it come from? 

The word “caucus” is actually believed to have had a Native American (American Indian) origin. In his 1624 Generall Historie of Virginia, Capt. John Smith reported:

“In all these places is a severall [separate] commander, which they [the Indians] call Werowance, except the Chickahamanians, who are governed by the Priests and their Assistants, or their Elders called Caw-cawwas-soughes.”

One hundred forty years later, in February 1763, a young John Adams wrote in his diary:

“This day learned that the Caucas Clubb meets at certain times in the Garret of Tom Daws, the Adjutant of the Boston Regiment. . . . There they smoke tobacco till you cannot see from one End of the Garrett to the other. . . . they choose a Moderator, who puts Questions to the Vote regularly, and select Men, Assessors, Collectors, Wardens, Fire Wards, and Representatives are Regularly chosen before they are chosen in the Town. . . . They send Committees to wait on the Merchants Clubb and to propose, and join, in the Choice of Men and Measures.”

Today, almost 250 years after John Adams described the activities of the “Caucas Clubb,” few things have changed: The smoke, of course, is gone from the caucus room (but not the hot air), and now there are a few women among the men, but the caucus itself, as an American political institution, lives on.*

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*America in So Many Words: Words That Have Shaped America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin: Allan Metcalf and David K. Barnhart, 1997.

Let’s all hope that by the time of next week’s blog posting, the different caucuses have come to their senses and not allowed the United States Government to shut down—and that’s all that’s politic for Ms. Picky to say about politics. . . .









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