Socrates is not good for the future of Athens! He fills your children with the idea of a utopian society that he admits is unrealistic! He is against Athenian tradition. He undermines democracy. His idea of government is to be ruled by philosopher kings, which is just another form of oligarchy! He wants to educate only those who posses “necessary attributes” which translates to only people that will conform to his ways. No matter how educated a ruler, he does not know what is best for everyone. He is not loyal to the gods and his impiety may be the reason for his current situation. Socrates instills these ridiculous beliefs and ways into the minds of our children because they can be molded easily. His intentions are not in favor of all of Athens. He is corrupting the future youth of Athens so that the power of government will be in his hands.
Although Socrates has already corrupted the minds of many, I am limited to speak of only certain instances due to the constraints of the Reconciliation Agreement. Alcibiades, as many of you know, was educated by Socrates and had close relations to him on a personal level as well. After being educated by Socrates, Alcibiades was charged for the destruction of Hermes and called to trial. Coincidently his impieties seem to be very similar to his mentor’s views. Alcibiades escaped from the officers that were to bring him to Athens for the trial and fled to our worst enemy, Sparta! There Alicibiades betrayed us by becoming allies with our opponent. He directed the Spartans with invaluable knowledge to help Sicily defeat our upcoming expedition. Even worse he advised them to invade Attica and promised them your hard worked land after they captured it or we surrendered! No true Athenian would ever turn his back on his city without being brain washed by a man like Socrates! Alcibiades cannot be blamed fully for he was a victim of Socrates’ corruption. Alcibiades learned to undermine Athenian democracy and tradition to the point he gave away his own homeland.
The Socratics want to take your children away from you and educate them in special schools if they posses this special attribute that only the Socratics can judge. The farmers cannot afford to have their children taken away at a young age to be educated in a ridiculous manner; they need their children to help them farm the land. Other workers such as the fishmonger and carpenter don’t have children to be sent off and taught other people’s beliefs; they have children to help them and to carry on a legacy of Athenian tradition! Socrates believes that a shoemaker has one job and that is to make shoes. He believes that a physician should perfect tending to the ill. Socrates wants every person to excel in one job so that there are minimal flaws. In this manner he believes that rulers, such as philosopher kings, should be trained to make political decisions. He wants to get rid of our current form of government and put the power in the hands of the educated. Although the idea of educating certain people to govern may sound like a good idea, I assure you it is not. In the past (450 to be exact) the Spartans have seen our democracy as a threat to their oligarchy. They saw the possibility that the helots would revolt which could lead to slave rebellion as a result. In Socrates’ words random selection would have the shoemaker caring for the ill; however jobs are much different than laws and cannot be defined on black and white terms. No matter how educated the government is, it will not know what is best for the shoemaker. One cannot be educated of other people’s hardships and then go ahead and make decisions that do not concern him. Athenagoras puts it very well in saying “the best guardians of property are the rich, and the best counselors the wise, none can hear and decide so well as the many; and that all these talents, severally and collectively, have their just place in a democracy”. Socrates is corrupting our youth by teaching them about his form of government and interesting them in his schools. We must keep our children in the Young People’s Assemblies and stay weary of Socrates and his ridiculous form of government that he is trying to instill in our children.
The play “Clouds”, Euripides takes Socrates and his views to create a comedy. Although it is fiction, Euripides outlines the possibility of the future. Strepsiades decides to send his son, Pheidippides, to Socrates’ school so that he will learn to trick creditors from paying debts. By the end of the play Pheidippides is educated in Socratic manner and justifies beating his own father and mother. The father admits that he was wrong to send his son to that school. The play ends with Strepsiades burning down the school. Obviously this may be an extreme example but it proves that even your own son could be convinced into anything with the right education. Pheidippides learned it was alright to beat his father just as Alcibiades justifed his betrayal to Athens. We must prevent events such as these from occuring. One taught in this manner is not fit to rule. Although the Socratics assure us that their system will not fail and those educated to be rulers will be just and never think of themselves; we can all see that that is impossible because we are all human.
Socrates is on trial for corrupting our youth with his impious beliefs and ideas of undermining our democracy, culture, traditions and each Athenian citizen. This is a very serious charge that affects you if you are an Athenian citizen, no matter your faction. He is a threat to the future of Athens and must be silenced before it is too late. If we let him continue corrupting our youth then Athens will be an oligarchy lead by Socrates which will limit you to your rights and take away your voice in the assembly.