Today in school (well, a few days ago now), I learned of Aristides the Just. During Athenian radical democracy (c. 461-430 B.C.E.) there was an approved measure called Ostracism. Once a year, all voters could cast a ballot with the name of one man that they wanted thrown out of Athens for a period of 10 years. His family could stay, land and house were protected, but the 'winner' of the vote had to leave town.
On one such day of ostracism, an illiterate citizen handed Aristides a fragment of pottery (used to cast a vote) and asked Aristides to write a name on it for him:
"Certainly," said Aristides. "Which name shall I write?" "Aristides," replied the man. "All right," said Aristides as he inscribed his own name, "but why do you want to ostracize Aristides? What has he done to you?" "Oh, nothing. I don't even know him," sputtered the man. "I just can't stand hearing everybody refer to him as 'the Just.'"
I often comment on news stories, certainly much more than what is seen here on this blog. It constantly amazes me how much of a 'herd mentality' exists in the comment sections - when said comments actually reflect the content of the article. I compare this 'herd mentality' to the activity of Aristides on that day of ostracism. Greeks did not view citizens that did not participate in their own governance highly. Peer pressure, and values such as Honor, made it imperative that every citizen cast a vote, when called upon to do so. Here we see one such citizen, doing what he knows he has a responsibility to do, yet not having taken part in the society enough to know who, or why he should vote for one person over another.
Would I rather have the miserable voter turnout that we have currently, or a total voter turnout with a bunch of 'those citizens' voting. I like to make my ballot card say something, when you turn it sideways and look at it; it's harder than you think, writing words into the ballot punch holes while working sideways. Sometimes I even look to see who, or what, I voted for. I love to vote; I don't think I've missed an election. I'm a good citizen and fulfill my responsibilities.
We see folks in the headlines being ostracized for their actions without the benefit of due process. I think when public opinion overrides the facts and controls the outcome, a form of anarchy likely already exists.
We can't blame the government for it is 'of the people, by the people, for the people'.
We can't blame the media, as they merely reflect viewers desires for content delivery.
I wonder then, as I gaze into the mirror determining whether it is time to shave, who can I blame?
