The youngster turned to his grandfather and asked, &uot;Well, Grandpa, what exactly was that election on Tuesday all about?&uot;

The wise man smiled and said, &uot;Son, let’s start with a vocabulary lesson. How about it?&uot;

&uot;Sure,&uot; the boy answered.

And so the grandfather began.

&uot;First, let’s begin with the Civil War. Like so many other terms we’ve heard in recent weeks, we can categorize ‘Civil War’ as something we call an oxymoron.&uot;

The child looking puzzled asked, &uot;does that mean the Civil War was dumb or something?&uot;

&uot;Well, it was a pretty foolish thing for brothers to fight brothers. In fact, son, more than 600,000 men died as a result of that war.

&uot;And, yes, oxymoron is a word derived from two old words that mean keenly foolish. But what I meant was that ‘civil’ and ‘war’ are strangely opposite; no war can be civil – that is, courteous.

&uot;Of course, the meaning of civil when we speak of the Civil War is supposed to be a different one. Civil also can mean ‘related to a citizenry.’ You know, this a good example of what makes the American-English language such a complicated one, very much like the people we are, diverse and complex.&uot;

The boy nodded and looked thoughtful. &uot;Well, Grandpa, did the people who talked about heritage win in the election?&uot;

&uot;There’s another good word,&uot; the grandfather said. &uot;If you consult your dictionary, you’ll find that heritage is something passed down from one generation to another as kind of a birthright. If it’s not property, then it’s a legacy or tradition.

&uot;Some people claimed the 1894 flag as a heritage. The problem is, though, that not all Mississippians feel that way, and that’s the main reason we had the election.&uot;

&uot;Is it that Confederate thing I heard people talking about?&uot; the lad asked.

&uot;Indeed. The old flag includes an emblem used by the Confederates during war. But then, more important, it was used in recent years by certain groups who stood for racism and bigotry.

&uot;The Confederacy was formed in 1861 when Southern states decided they didn’t want other people telling them what to do, mainly about what to do about the slaves.&uot;

&uot;What’s a slave, Grandpa?&uot;

&uot;Well, that word is good to know, too. It comes from Slav; the Slav people were held in servitude by other people long, long ago and the word evolved to slave. But the ones who were in servitude in the Southern states before the Civil War were mostly from African nations.&uot;

The youngster looked thoughtful again. &uot;Well, I suppose the people whose great-great-great grandparents were slaves would not think the old flag is their heritage then?&uot;

&uot;A bright boy you are, son. In fact, the old flag was designed at a time when there no longer were slaves but because of a new state Constitution black people were being disenfranchised.&uot;

&uot;That’s a big word, Grandpa.&uot;

He continued. &uot;That means that laws were passed to make it difficult for the people who had been born into slavery or were descended from slaves – even though they were then supposed to be free – to vote and have other rights that other Mississippians took for granted.&uot;

&uot;But those laws have changed, haven’t they, Grandpa? Now everyone can vote and have rights. Is that what the governor and those people at the capitol mean when they talk about bold leadership and a new Mississippi?&uot;

&uot;Ah, son,&uot; the old man said. &uot;Let’s go back to the beginning. Let’s get back to that word oxymoron.&uot;

Joan Gandy, special projects director for The Demcorat, can be reached at 445-3549 or via e-mail, joan.gandy@natchezdemocrat.com.