Plato, Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau each had widely differing ideals relating to the government, its necessity and the responsibility of citizens towards this government. These views were all closely related to each philosopher's personal ideals regarding how best to live their lives with the greatest of integrity. This also applies to life and politics today. Each individual is free to decide whether to take civil action against their government or not. As Martin Luther King asserts, it is a matter of conscience. Each philosophy mentioned above will then be examined for its applicability to the issue of the war in Iraq and the responsibility of citizens to take action.
Plato's work focuses on the philosopher Socrates, who has been condemned to death for "corrupting the youth" of Athens. Crito attempts to encourage his escape, but Aristotle refuses, on the grounds of his own personal set of ethics. For Socrates, ethics and values are closely related to one's reverence for the government. This stems from a specific paradigm of the time, that citizens are not on equal terms with the government. The government knows best and should not be questioned. Socrates uses the parent-child analogy to explain this view. The government is a parent body to the citizens of Athens. The only protest that can acceptably be made is leaving Athens.
Socrates could perhaps be admired for his strong adherence to his individual focus on his own set of ethics. He does not look beyond the philosophies that he has preached throughout his life. The shame of publicly denouncing his ethics and beliefs is for Socrates worse than death. Thus, even though he is in personal danger at the hands of a government that might be wrong in its decisions, Socrates does not find that he is in a position to protest. The fundamental reason for this is the inferiority paradigm of citizens in terms of the government. The focus here is on an individual's sense of ethics and truths, rather than on the government and its effect on the public. Socrates believes without question that the government as superior force knows what it is doing and that its decisions should be accepted without question. Individually he cannot handle the shame of forsaking this belief. His focus is also on his followers, to whom he has preached a certain set of values. These values are seen as unchanging and inflexible, as are the rules of government.
While it is admirable that Socrates held to his individual values in order to set a good example for his followers, I do not believe that this individualistic point-of-view is applicable to politics today. Today's politics focus on equality and the fact that the government, like other human beings, makes mistakes. The law is no longer seen as unchangeable. Instead, there is a democracy that ensures all citizens of a voice and a vote. Socrates takes a passive point-of-view. Today's focus is on active protest whenever it is felt that the government is in error. Furthermore, the philosopher focuses on his own individual sense of justice and honor. Today's political views focus rather on the well-being of the nation as a whole. Thus, when any kind of oppression takes place, many citizens feel that it is their responsibility to protest.
This is the situation with the war in Iraq. Many citizens feel that this war is instigated with a hidden agenda behind the "war against terrorism" ideal. There have therefore been many protests against this war and against the government and its actions. This protest stems from a concern for the well-being of innocent citizens perishing at the hands of politicians and their army. Many cannot in good conscience allow this to continue without protesting against it.
In terms of Socrates, his conscience inspired him to non-action. Today's citizens are inspired to action by their conscience. This is also true of Martin Luther King, whose view of the government focuses on the suffering he has witnessed at their hands. He has inspired many towards protest, but in a non-violent manner. In contrast to Socrates, King believes that the government does not know best, and that the laws of the country are not always in the best interest of her citizens. Socrates' point regarding this is that there are other options open to the citizens of Athens -- if they do not agree with the laws of Athens, they were free to move to a city with better laws. This option is not open to the African-Americans of King's time. They are the offspring of African abductees and thus do not have the means of escape. The only other option open to them is protest.
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