Why Is the Democratic Party Considered the Left?

From the beginning of time when man gave up the use of such terms as ‘ugh’, ‘grunk’ and ‘ook’ and began to develop the first language, words have meant something.  They still do to most of us.  Historically, no descriptor, given name, adjective or identifier has been assigned to any person, place or thing randomly.  Track the life of any object back far enough and you’ll undoubtedly find the root of its name.  I’d be willing to bet if one took the time they’d discover the first user of fire called it ‘fire’ because his mother’s maiden name was Fyre.  You have to respect a guy that loves his mom.  We tend to forget labels are applied for specific reasons, whether we remember those reasons or not.

In my half century of existence the Democratic Party has always been referred to as the ‘left’.  Until recently I’ve never understood why.  That is, until I took the time to research the label, its roots and application.  For literally thousands of years the ‘left’, left side, left hand, left bank, left turn, left seat, what have you, has been considered bad, undesirable and in many cases, evil.  The less than stellar stigma associated with the left has crept into nearly every facet of society.  Don’t believe me?  When you spill a little salt which shoulder do you throw a pinch over to ward off evil?  The left.

There are numerous references to the dark nature of the left throughout history.  Most children know Joan of Arc was burned at the stake because she was considered to be a witch or heretic.  What most children, and adults, don’t know is Joan of Arc is universally depicted as being left-handed in paintings, not necessarily because she was left-handed.  In the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th centuries depicting your subject left-handed was means of making them ‘seem’ evil.  For a brief period in their history the Romans actually considered the left to be the lucky side of life.  Sadly, the Roman Empire is no longer with us.  Wonder why?  There is an indigenous tribe in Kenya called the Meru who believe the left hand of their witch-doctor is so powerfully evil he is required to keep his left hand hidden from the public at all times.  Just a safety precaution.  Granted, these are archaic examples from hundreds, if not thousands of years ago so let’s look a little closer to home. 

When someone sleeps in a king sized bed alone guess which side they usually choose?  The right.  Why?  The only explanation is hereditary memory.  Ever since Mrs. Kronk, formerly Ms. Fyre’s little boy discovered fire people have gravitated to the right and shunned the left.  A great deal of our modern culture is based on an avoidance of the left.  It’s generally understood if one rising in the morning placing his left foot on the floor first he, or she, is in for a bad day.  This adage is the basis for the expression ‘getting up on the wrong side of the bed’.  A persistent ringing in your left ear has come to mean someone is talking trash about you.  If your right hand itches for no apparent reasons you should be coming into some cash however, if it’s your left hand that itches, something’s going to cost you big time.

Bet you didn’t know we men wear our wedding rings on our left hands to ward off evil.  That seems to be a contradiction in terms or rather like closing the barn door after the cows have gotten out.  My grandmother used to say if you had a tic in your fight eye a friend was coming.  If the tic were in your left eye, lock your door.  Modern day dressmakers will not sew the left sleeve onto a dress, shirt or jacket before the right sleeve is in place.  No particular reason.  They’re just not going to take the chance.  If you’re scheduled to take a business trip and your left foot itches, don’t go.  Your trip will result in grief and failure.

I could go on and on and I’m sure you can think of quite a few ‘left’ examples yourselves.  Going back to my original premise, words mean something.  Historically, right is good, left is bad.  Since the dawn of time this has been true.  Words have meaning thus it’s no coincidence we refer to the Republican Right and the Democratic Left.  Sadly, three of my five sons are left handed.  I have a sneaking suspicion they might be Democrats.