Re:Internet 'kill switch' proposed for US
by lionhearted on Saturday June 19, 2010 @08:21AM
(#1444526)
Not sure if anyone still following this, but the point isn't that the grammar/syntax works, it's that the meaning and spirit of the phrases is retained when swapping "union" for "empire". Swapping in similar-but-different nouns "democracy" or "monarchy" changes the meaning of the phrase and it wouldn't work. Monarchy is obvious. But note that democracy wouldn't work either - because most likely the 1790's understanding of the Constitution was that States could leave the USA by democratic vote, and the Confederacy did precisely that.
So I didn't mean that the syntax/language works - like you said, of course it does. I meant the general spirit and integrity of the phrase and speech aren't changed in the least when swapping union for empire, in a way that swapping in "democracy" or "monarchy" or other similar-but-different noun would not. When Lincoln said "union", he meant "empire" - and again, good on him, I think, the world is a much better place because he kept the American... union... intact.
I agree with your outlook on what Lincoln did.
However the implied "logic" in this sentence I disagree with. Of course it still works if you substitute one noun for another! That's how parts of speech work! This is especially true if you use a substitute noun which has semantics close to the original. (Empire and Union both indicate a national/supra-national polity.) In other words, this isn't any more significant than the observation that you could take many texts containing "Terrier" and substitute the word with "Pekinese."