John Nelson
Moderate Democrat
1/31/07
Fellow Athenians, the issue of property ownership as a requisite for voting has come to our collective attention. Before we can deliberate on this matter, please listen to me so as to appease both me and, more importantly, the gods. My wish is for none of you to feign ignorance on this matter, but instead have a complete understanding, which is hopefully the end result of this humble presentation.
What is land? What is this Earth on which we tread? Is it not the very soil that belongs to Gaea, the Earth goddess who bore the Titans? Has this always been our land? In the grand scheme of time, our ancestors have only inhabited this land a short period of time. So, in essence does the land really belong to us mortal men? Is the land where my house, stables, and vineyards lay truly mine? Rather it is merely the land the gods have allowed me to live on, ever so briefly, before I journey to Elysium. Not any one of us can truly say that this land belongs to us.
Next, a question which I beg you to consider: What is the true value of this land? By the word value I do not mean an amount of drachma. How much is the land of value? In times of distress, famine, drought, and invasions from enemy hordes, would not each and every one of us abandon “our” land and seek comfort elsewhere? Of course we would. Countless numbers of Athenians fled their property and drew comfort from our once great wall when the Spartans invaded. So then land is not invaluable to us. We value our lives and the lives of our family much more than this land. When we prepare to battle, do we solicit the service of the earth, trees, and rocks to take up arms? Of course we do not. We ask our men to fight for us. So which is more important to us then, land or the men that inhabit that land? Men should always have precedence over the land.
So now we have come to two very important realizations, especially as it pertains to the current topic of our discussion: 1.) The land we live on is not ours but is rather of the gods’ dominion 2.) The land on which we live is not as valuable as the men that inhabit it. So who are we to require land ownership to vote? To take the second realization further, we value the thoughts, needs, and cares of every son of Athens. Every son of Athens makes up the body of the Assembly. Would a natural body make a decision about the direction of its movement without first consulting the feet, checking to see if they are ready and willing to comply? Of course it would not. The feet would inform the body that they are too tired to walk the entire length of the long walls to Piraeus, if that was the ignorant consensus. In the same way, we need every son of Athens’s voice in order to make the best decision. I am reminded of what Athenagoras, the great leader of our people once said: “None can hear and decide as well as the many.” It would now be ignorant of us for a man of Athen’s citizenship to be required to own land in order to help with our decision making.
When the great ships of Sparta clashed with our triremes, many sons of Athens fought valiantly and died bravely. Good men, sons of Athens, were killed for the sake of our fair city. Criticism and disgrace will befall us now if we err by requiring property for enfranchisement. Please let us not be judged wrongly by the gods for our decision today. Let us instead give every son of Athens a say in out great Assembly!
Moderate Democrat
1/31/07
Fellow Athenians, the issue of property ownership as a requisite for voting has come to our collective attention. Before we can deliberate on this matter, please listen to me so as to appease both me and, more importantly, the gods. My wish is for none of you to feign ignorance on this matter, but instead have a complete understanding, which is hopefully the end result of this humble presentation.
What is land? What is this Earth on which we tread? Is it not the very soil that belongs to Gaea, the Earth goddess who bore the Titans? Has this always been our land? In the grand scheme of time, our ancestors have only inhabited this land a short period of time. So, in essence does the land really belong to us mortal men? Is the land where my house, stables, and vineyards lay truly mine? Rather it is merely the land the gods have allowed me to live on, ever so briefly, before I journey to Elysium. Not any one of us can truly say that this land belongs to us.
Next, a question which I beg you to consider: What is the true value of this land? By the word value I do not mean an amount of drachma. How much is the land of value? In times of distress, famine, drought, and invasions from enemy hordes, would not each and every one of us abandon “our” land and seek comfort elsewhere? Of course we would. Countless numbers of Athenians fled their property and drew comfort from our once great wall when the Spartans invaded. So then land is not invaluable to us. We value our lives and the lives of our family much more than this land. When we prepare to battle, do we solicit the service of the earth, trees, and rocks to take up arms? Of course we do not. We ask our men to fight for us. So which is more important to us then, land or the men that inhabit that land? Men should always have precedence over the land.
So now we have come to two very important realizations, especially as it pertains to the current topic of our discussion: 1.) The land we live on is not ours but is rather of the gods’ dominion 2.) The land on which we live is not as valuable as the men that inhabit it. So who are we to require land ownership to vote? To take the second realization further, we value the thoughts, needs, and cares of every son of Athens. Every son of Athens makes up the body of the Assembly. Would a natural body make a decision about the direction of its movement without first consulting the feet, checking to see if they are ready and willing to comply? Of course it would not. The feet would inform the body that they are too tired to walk the entire length of the long walls to Piraeus, if that was the ignorant consensus. In the same way, we need every son of Athens’s voice in order to make the best decision. I am reminded of what Athenagoras, the great leader of our people once said: “None can hear and decide as well as the many.” It would now be ignorant of us for a man of Athen’s citizenship to be required to own land in order to help with our decision making.
When the great ships of Sparta clashed with our triremes, many sons of Athens fought valiantly and died bravely. Good men, sons of Athens, were killed for the sake of our fair city. Criticism and disgrace will befall us now if we err by requiring property for enfranchisement. Please let us not be judged wrongly by the gods for our decision today. Let us instead give every son of Athens a say in out great Assembly!
posted by John Nelson | 3:14 PM
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