“If we are to have
another contest in the near future of our national existence, I
predict that the dividing line will not be the Mason and Dixon's, but
between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and
superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other.” (1)
----Ulysses S.
Grant
Grant wrote these words in the aftermath of the Civil
War at a time when the forces of hatred and ignorance were organize
themselves into the nascent Ku Klux Klan; forces that were soon to
dominate the then Democratic Party and usher in Jim Crow.
Though the arc of history may lean, as Martin Luther
King proclaimed, in direction of justice, the forces of civilization
are, more often than we are willing to admit, besieged by ignorance,
superstition and blind ambition. The barbarians are constantly
beating at the gates.
In this context, Anonymous ominously gives us a civic
lesson: the history of Ancient Greece, specifically Athens at a
turning point. Keep in mind that the Parthenon, that great edifice
of Democracy's glory was finished in 432 BCE. Here is what happened
in the immediate aftermath. Athens marshaled its forces and, at the
head of the Delian League (2) declared war on Sparta. Here is the
story as told by Anonymous:
“When
constructing the American Republic, the history of Ancient Greece
weighed heavily on the minds of the Founding Fathers and is relevant
for understanding the implications of the Trump presidency. You see,
Athens was a cautionary tale of how self-government could go wrong.
It was an example of 'direct democracy,' a society where the majority
ruled and where citizens participated personally in the assembly,
voting on issues of the day by raising their hands. At first this
was revolutionary, but in time, a herd-like mentality overcame the
system. In the heat of the moment, the passions of the people could
turn them into an angry mob, leading the majority into destructive
decisions that proved their undoing.
“The
Greek experiment with democracy reached a memorable turning point in
427 BC. [Remember the Parthenon had just been completed 5 years
earlier]. Athens was at war and tensions were high. The decisions
the Athenian people faced were not mundane matters of bureaucracy,
but life and death. Debates in the assembly were contentious, and
powerful orators stirred up public anxiety. That year one of their
long-standing allies—a city-state called Mytilene—defected and
joined Athen's enemy Sparta. The Athenians squashed the revolt, but
they feared that if they didn't punish th Mytilenians, other allies
might abandon them, too. So the Athenian Assembly voted to kill all
the city's men and enslave its women and children to prove a point.
The next day, citizens got cold feet and called for another meeting
to reconsider the hasty decision.
One
of the most vocal speakers in the debate was Cleon. He will sound
familiar to readers. A prominent Athenian, Cleon inherited money from
his father and leveraged it to launch a career in politics.
Historians have characterized him as a populist, on the the era's
'new politicians.' Cleon was a crass and blunt public speaker, an
immoral man who frequently sued his opponents, an armchair critic of
those in power, and an orator who preyed upon the emotions of the
people to whip up public support for his opinions. Although some
accounts characterize him as charming, his speaking style was said to
be angry and repugnant. Aristotle later described Cleon as: '[T]he
man, who, with his attacks, corrupted the Athenians more than anyone
else. Although other speakers behaved decently, Cleon was the first
to shout during a speech in the Assembly, [and] use abusive language
while addressing the people.'
“Cleon
argued for slaughtering the Mytilenian rebels. He disparaged the
'foolish' public intellectuals opposed to the decision and urged
Athenians to ignore them. The educated politicians couldn't be
trusted; he suggested they might have been bribed to mislead the
public. Government was best left to plain-speaking 'ordinary men,'
like himself. Cleon argued that no one had ever hurt their empire as
much as the Mytilenians, whose defection was an 'attempt to ruin us.'
He warned that if they didn't make an example of the rebels, Athens
would waste more money in more foreign wars, fighting people who
defied them. Cleon closed by telling the assembly not to be
'traitors to yourselves,' to show no 'mercy' or 'pity,' to listen to
their original gut instincts, and to 'punish them as they deserve.'
“A
man named Diodotus responded. He argued that ill-tempered decisions
were reckless. Deliberation was necessary before taking action.
Anyone who argued otherwise was either 'senseless' or was trying to
scare the people with false statements, such as Cleon's insinuation
that the other side in the debate had been bribed. 'The good citizen
ought to triumph not by frightening his opponents but by beating them
fairly in argument,' Diodotus shot back. He said mass slaughter would
be contrary to Athen's long-term interests and that being lenient
would allow Athens to win over many Mytilenians whom they still
needed as supporters.
“The
assembly took it to a vote: kill and enslave the Mytilenians or show
mercy by holding only the rebel leaders accountable? There was no
consensus. With a show of hands, Athenians were almost evenly split.
According to historical accounts, when the counting was completed,
Diodotus secured just enough supporters to carry the day. With that,
a horrific atrocity was prevented.
“ The
story doesn't have a happy ending. The split vote demonstrated how
pervasive Cleon's rhetoric had been, flashing the dark underbelly of
majority rule. It was a preview of Athen's descent. Within a decade,
Athenians faced a similar decision. This time, they chose to throw
mercy to the wind and annihilated the island people of Melos. Within
three decades, a mob assembly voted to put to death Socrates, the
so-called 'wisest man' to have ever lived. The latter was the
exclamation point on the death of Athenian democracy, which never
recovered its former glory and eventually slipped into tyranny.”
(3)
The Founding Fathers were serious students of History.
They knew this stuff. Leaders of a revolution, they knew the
passions of men. John Adams had famously defended British soldiers
being tried for the Boston Massacre. They know division, they were
well armed with the tenets of Christianity—particularly protestant
christianity—that man is inherently evil. It was to control these
impulses that institutions were created—in the form of
organic law—the constitution—in order that the nation may “create
a more perfect union”; and it is against these very institutions
that our Caesar Disgustus wages constant war.
The Senate is now hearing the evidence and must now
decide the fate of our modern Cleon. Will he stay or will he go?
The republic hangs in the balance.
“you
make your choice at this time
the
brave old world
or
the slide
to
the depths of decline”
----The
Rolling Stones
“An
Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”
Convict and Imprison.
__________
- See: Anonymous A Warning. op.cit. Page 183. Once again I am indebted to Anonymous for a most prescient quotation.
- Op. Cit. Pages 184-186.
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