Where did that word come from? Ever asked that question?

[chknltl]

36. The irony of 'idiots'

A few years back Thom Hartmann delved into the etymology of the word 'idiot'. I believe Thom claimed the word's origin was ancient Greek and it described a person unconcerned with public affairs. If I recall accurately he further said the word was not intended as a derogatory it simply described someone who had yet to attain a level of education needed to participate in local civic matters.

I have recently looked the word up myself and found this bit which supports what I heard Thom Hartmann say:

An idiot in Athenian democracy was someone who was characterized by self-centeredness and concerned almost exclusively with private—as opposed to public—affairs.[6] Idiocy was the natural state of ignorance into which all persons were born and its opposite, citizenship, was effected through formalized education.[6] In Athenian democracy, idiots were born and citizens were made through education (although citizenship was also largely hereditary). "Idiot" originally referred to "layman, person lacking professional skill", "person so mentally deficient as to be incapable of ordinary reasoning". Declining to take part in public life, such as democratic government of the polis (city state), was considered dishonorable. "Idiots" were seen as having bad judgment in public and political matters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot

And a bit more here: ἰδιώτης • (idiōtēs) (genitive ἰδιώτου ) m, first declension
1.a private person, one not engaged in public affairs
2.(adjectival use) private, homely
3.commoner, plebeian
4.uneducated person, layman, amateur
5.one who is not in the know, an outsider
6.an ignorant person, idiot
7.one who is awkward, clumsy
8.(in the plural) one's countrymen

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%B0%CE%B4%CE%B9%CF%8E%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82#Ancient_Greek

The irony as I see it is that one could today rightfully attach the label of idiot to those who lack the proper education to vote in their and their fellow citizens best interests. A further irony is in that when we call fellow DUers who refuse to vote 'idiots', we might not be far off on calling them exactly what those ancient Greeks would have called them.