Toni Rae Bergman, age 12, of Costa Mesa, California, for her question:

How did right and left originate as political terms?

The right wing is a term for people with conservative political opinions. They tend to favor the old ways of doing things and oppose changes of almost any sort. The left wing includes radical or liberal political thinkers who enjoy the challenge of progress and tend to favor changes of all kinds. These political expressions are said to have originated in the French National Assembly almost 200 years ago. The center of the assembly was occupied by his Majesty the King. The seats on his right were occupied by his noblemen and favorite citizens. These right siders naturally tended to favor conservative political plans and tried to preserve what they had by opposing changes.

The assembly members who sat on the left side of His Majesty included political thinkers who were less set in their ways. Some of them were less satisfied with things as they were and took a more liberal attitude toward changes. In many parliaments, the conservatives and liberals síùtill sit on the right and left sides of the speaker who directs proper parliamentary procedure. As a rule, the right wing includes a percentage of diehard reactionaries and the left wing includes a percentage of fiery, dare devil radicals.