I wrote this for my college newspaper, but I'd like to see what you all think of it as well!
Those of you fortunate enough not to be obsessed with words, their uses, and their etymology, may not have the same fascination I have with the etymology of words associated with peoples’ names. For example, I feel as though Prince Potemkin has been much maligned by the use of "Potemkin" as an adjective describing a false or deceptive appearance. One of the greatest politicians of the 18th century, and perhaps of all time, has been relegated to ignominy by the "Potemkin village." The Potemkin village is a kind of half-truth that has been propagated since 1787, originating in Empress Catherine's trip through the Crimea, where supposedly Potemkin had mock villages built along the river banks to give the appearance of a great and vibrant populace.
While Simon Sebag Montefiore in his book Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner laid this myth of the Potemkin village to rest, one of the greatest and most apt words remains. Vidkun Quisling is infamous for being the source of the now commonplace adjective "quisling" which has come to mean a traitor, but particularly a traitor in regards to foreign invaders. Vidkun Quisling was of course the Norwegian officer who became the "Minister President" of the German occupied Norway during World War II. Bearing this in mind, I would like to make a modest lexicographic proposal. Quisling is a wonderful word, both in its pronunciation and in its origin, but it remains somewhat limited by its connotations particularly as it tends to denote a situation of foreign occupation. For example, I couldn't properly describe Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate Majority Leader, as "quisling" because he is not a traitor selling out his constituents to foreign invaders. This leaves a substantial void in the lexicographic map, as I'd like to be able to describe the Democratic representatives who kowtow to the Bush administration in a very particular and descriptive way. My proposal is this – We create a new term, eponymous with Harry Reid, to describe one who knowingly and intentionally betrays his or her own people, and their duties as an elected official. This new term could be "reidling" as an adjective.
An example of such usage:
He certainly showed his reidling tendencies in forcing Senator Dodd to engage in an open filibuster of a bill that would give retroactive immunities to telecom companies who engaged in illegal spying upon the American public while allowing the Republican party to engage in multiple silent filibusters.
This new term could also be used as a noun, both singular and plural:
The American people now see many of their Democratic Representatives as little more than reidlings who have failed to stand up to the Bush administration's innumerable constitutional abuses.
I certainly hope the coining of a new word is not too presumptuous of me, however I've certainly done it more than once, often making much less sense, even to myself. As Calvin and Hobbes so eloquently put it, "verbing words weirds them." But failing to describe a situation as it truly is with precise, content laden words that are rich in nuance and connotation weirds reality. So it's with this in mind that I offer to you the word "reidling." It isn't in my spell check yet, but I hope to find it there within a few years.