Socrates is the Hero We Need
Socrates, an ancient philosopher who was put to death for thinking outside the box and questioning what was accepted in Athens, is the hero we so desperately need today in 21st century America. Currently, across the United States we are seeing more violence in the year 2020 than we have in a couple of decades whether that is rioting, looting, or simply the media finally writing stories on murders that would have previously not received attention. Citizens of the United States are witnessing these events both in person and on the news and it does not help that we have a president who continuously does nothing to help end these horrific acts. Over and over again President Trump dismisses an epidemic as something that is not harmful and one that cannot reach average Americans, yet he himself along with countless aides of his, have caught the virus. President Trump shows no sympathy for victims of any of these atrocities, unless it could benefit him directly, as he did when Justice Ginsburg passed. The GOP was quick to act after that small press conference, as they shared the event all over social media, showing that the President is in fact caring of others and remorseful. It is deeply saddening that the President’s supporters have to expand on ONE instance where he acted as someone who has emotions, rather than him acting like this all the time.
So how does Socrates fit into all of this, this mess that we call the United States of America?
Socrates throughout his Apology and the story of Crito, we see how his view of justice has molded and shifted, becoming more moderate and acceptable. That justice is doing good to all, and that although you try not to, harm will come to those that are bad. Now if we take Socrates with this point of view, and place him into our society, and he began teaching this to the country many things would change. For example, maybe if people began to understand this form of justice, our government would not only have different outcomes, but those in government would potentially act differently towards others in political office and those who are not. Now that they realize doing justice to those who not only have the potentiality of being incarcerated, but doing justice to every human they interact with, our government, our country could become a better place. Justice as described by Socrates teaches us that harm will come to those who act unjustly and that it is unavoidable. So those in government who the country views as acting unjustly, such as the President, harm would come to him whether that is from government action or something else. And no one wants harm to come upon someone, but if it potentially does, then perhaps justice has been served…
Therefore, not only is Socrates’s theory of justice necessary in today’s society to assist governmental leaders in actually acting how their position should act, his theory of justice is one that fits perfectly in a lot of cases. This theory of justice explains that being a good person in all aspects is not only the right thing to do, but should be accepted by those of a higher power and everyone around us. And that while someone acts unjustly, not only should everyone around them and those of a higher power recognize this, harm will come to that individual. Because whether you like that person or not, everyone who acts unjustly morally, deserves to be punished in some form.