by Francis Porretto
I have a number of “favorite words.” They’re not my favorites because I use them often; I don’t. They’re not my favorites because they convey a meaning I find particularly valuable; they don’t. They’re my favorites because I laugh heartily whenever I see them used in a political or economic context.
“Fair” is one such word. As with most single-syllable words, it’s very old. And it does possess a dictionary definition:
Fair adj.: Characterized by frankness, honesty, impartiality, or candor; open; upright; free from suspicion or bias; equitable; just; — said of persons, character, or conduct; as, a fair man; fair dealing; a fair statement.
I must say, that’s not the way my stepdaughters used it when they were smaller. “It’s not fair!” translated to “But Iwant it!” in most cases; in the rest, it meant “Why can she have what she wants but I can’t?”
It’s also not the way the United Nations’ Human Rights chairwoman would use it:
The UN’s top human rights official again condemned Israel for its military actions to stop Hamas rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, accusing the Jewish state of “deliberately defying International Law… in a way that may constitute war crimes.”
