What Does it Mean To Be A Radical?

The meaning of language is often misunderstood, but the confusion that comes out of the pure ignorance for disregarding history, is boundless.  From Wikipedia: the term Radical (latin radix meaning root) has been used since the late 18th century as a label in political science for those favouring or trying to produce thoroughgoing or extreme political reforms which can include changes to the social order to a greater or lesser extent. Historical Radicalism was quite distinct from the modern American usage of radical to denote political extremes of right or left.  An insightful way to examine the meaning of being radical can be found in the tragic chronicle that destroyed the vaulted Republic.  The watershed event that caused the decisive destruction of the American experiment was the War of Northern Aggression.  In order to gain the significance of that era, a short account of the Republican party is most useful.

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