When I attended church as a child, and the congregation recited the Apostle’s Creed, my mother always omitted the word “catholic.” Everyone around us said, “I believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church,” but Mom subbed in “Christian” for “catholic.” Her issue with the Roman Catholic Church stemmed from her childhood, when her father had a kerfuffle with the church over CCD attendance requirements and confirmation. Grandpa Willoughby ended up pulling everyone out of Catholic Church, and Mom acquired a distaste for all things Catholic. (Note the big C).

What Mom didn’t realize, or didn’t care about, was that the Apostle’s Creed uses “little c” catholic, which means “comprehensive or universal,” according to Merriam-Webster.

Along similar lines, I’m concerned that these days, as we hear talk about the United States being a “liberal democracy,” people might assume, and dare I say bristle at the notion, that the liberal in this term refers to “Big L” Liberal. As in, left leaning politics. That is not necessarily the case. Let’s be civically engaged citizens and clarify what this political term means.

According to Britannica, the idea of liberal democracy came about as a reaction to historical events of the 18th Century, including the European Enlightenment and the American and French Revolutions. Philosophers and politicians sought a form of government which upheld individual rights and allowed the people to rule themselves with limited state interference. The terms liberal and democracy existed separately before the revolutionary movements of the late 1700s.

Liberalism started with the 17th century philosopher John Locke during the Enlightenment. Locke proposed that every person had the natural right to life, liberty, and property. From Locke came the idea that government should function for the benefit of the people and according to their will.

The principles of democracy have a much older history. Records of a democratic government are found as far back as sixth century Greece. A political reformer in Athens started a new type of government called demokratia, meaning “rule of the people.” Much later, in 1215, the people of England embraced democratic ideals through the signing of the Magna Carta, a document that forced British monarchs to comply with written laws. But true democracy didn’t gain a foothold until the American Revolution.

After the United States gained independence from England, the Founding Fathers combined the principles of liberalism and democracy to form a unique government framework: a liberal democracy. This type of government incorporates several key principles.

First, plurality and tolerance are valued. This means power is dispersed among diverse groups and opposing political positions are accepted. Second, a liberal democracy uses a written constitution to resolve disagreements and maintain the rule of law. Third, such a democracy establishes a separation of powers between branches of government to prevent one branch from gaining dominance. Finally, a liberal democracy protects the civil rights of all individuals and allows the people choose (read: vote on) who will serve in government.

Now that we know a little more about what a liberal democracy should look like, we can better evaluate how well its principals show up in our current climate. If you are like me, you have concerns. But rather than becoming confused or discouraged, we must seek to understand current events in light of our country’s history This will give us a better perspective on how our government works and what we should demand as citizens of a liberal democracy. We the people must stay engaged, to protect not only our own rights and interests, but also the framework and values of this experiment in democracy that our Founders envisioned 250 years ago. I hope you will join me in that effort.

If you’d like to learn more political terms, check out my posts on:

• Authoritarian
• Populism
• Fascism
• Incumbent

Is there another political or historical term you’d like to share or learn more about? Tell me in the comments.

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

On August 20, the Texas State House of Representatives voted to approve a new congressional map. This map would change the US Congressional voting districts throughout the state of Texas and could give the Republican Party wins in five more districts than the previous map. Which could give Republicans five more seats in the House of Representatives in Washington during the 2026 midterm elections. As you have surely heard by now, this practice of redrawing maps to favor one political party over another is called gerrymandering. We should all pay attention to the actions of political parties and how they affect our ability to vote and participate in democratic activities. This Word Nerd also wanted to learn where this ridiculous sounding term originated.

Cue the research!

According to Merriam-Webster, the term Gerrymandering came about in the 1700s, thanks to a man named Elbridge Gerry. He was an active politician of the 18^th century. Gerry’s contributions to our country include signing the Declaration of Independence, serving as Governor of Massachusetts, and serving as Vice President of the US under James Madison. While acting as MA Governor, Gerry tried to change the shape of voting districts to give an advantage to his own party. These districts had unusual shapes, particularly Gerry’s own district, which resembled a newt (a type of salamander). When Gerry’s district map was presented to law makers, members of the opposing party noted the newt-like shape and chanted “Gerrymander!” The name stuck. So did the practice of rigging voting districts.

Our state voting districts were developed to empower citizens to elect law making bodies that accurately represent the interests of all communities. Traditionally, these maps are evaluated every ten years, at the turn of the decade after the national census, to determine if shifts in population require new maps, or redistricting.  The practice of gerrymandering, used by both political parties, interferes with this important democratic process.

Michael Li, of the Brennan Center for Justice, puts it this way:

Elections are supposed to produce results that reflect the preferences of voters. But when maps are gerrymandered, politicians and the powerful choose voters instead of voters choosing politicians.

Gerrymandering has always plagued American politics, but we are hearing more about it these days, and it’s not because of Texas. In 2019, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandered maps cannot be challenged in federal court. This leaves room for all political parties to leverage power in their favor. I was relieved to learn recently that as a citizen of Virginia, I shouldn’t have to worry about gerrymandering in my state. In 2020, Virginians voted to approve a Virginia Constitutional amendment to have district maps approved by a bipartisan commission. When that commission deadlocked, the issue was turned over to the Virginia Supreme Court. So, in theory, Virginia’s voting districts will continue to be based on impartial guidelines, like population, and not on political will. At least for now.

Do you know what laws, if any, exist regarding gerrymandering in your state? I encourage you to find out! Voters should choose politicians, not the other way around!

If you have thoughts about gerrymandering, or would like to discuss another political term, please share in the comments! You can learn more about gerrymandering here:

• Merriam-Webster
• Brennan Center for Justice

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!