Word of the Day: Republic

republic re-pub-lic / rĭ-pŭb-lĭk   noun 1. a form of government in which the people, through elected representatives, retain the supreme power; or the political unit or nation with such a government I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Pledge was originally written by Francis Bellamy, 1855 – 1931   2. a political unit that is not governed by a monarch but rather an elected official such as a president Debt is the fatal disease of republics, the first thing and the mightiest to undermine governments and corrupt the people. Wendell Phillips, 1811 – 1884   3. Republic, a specific republican government of a political unit or nation The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money. Alexis de Tocqueville, 1805 – 1859   4. a mostly independent political or territorial unit voluntarily associated with others through a federation In 1994, Ukraine became the first formerly Soviet republic to experience a peaceful transfer of power via the ballot box, when Leonid Kuchma won a presidential election, replacing Leonid Kravchuk. Luke Harding, “Post-Soviet world: what you need to know about the 15 states”, ‘The Guardian’, www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/09/-sp-profiles-post-soviet-states, accessed July 13, 2022   5. a group, working in the same field, whose members function as equals In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous. Robert Green Ingersoll, 1833 – 1899