Loyalty to self, by most accounts, supersedes one’s duty to the state. The exception to this is perhaps when the community’s interest is more ethical or noble than that of the individual. Of course some form of law and order is needed to avoid outright anarchy. But, according to Plato, cities will not be free of evil until political power and philosophy go hand in hand (Plato 263). Such a democracy has scarcely existed, and as Plato saw it, a single tyrant makes for a better ruler than a democracy of ignoramuses. Unfortunately, America is a nation ruled by sophistry. People think they know better than an old sage like Socrates and do away with tyrants any chance they get. When Americans decide to draw themselves away from the dregs of illiteracy, they might discover Sophocles, the great tragedian playwright who reminds us of lessons learned long ago. Antigone, the famous heroine of the play by the same name buries her brother in defiance of the King. When her uncle Creon sentences her to death for her wrongdoing, she sacrifices herself in opposition, a valiant attempt to preserve justice for herself and her family. In contrast, Ismene, Antigone’s sister, who ends up with not a family member to speak of, refuses to break municipal orders. Since both sisters make decisions based on an adherence to a particular law or truth, Sophocles begs the question, is breaking the law justified in certain cases? Given the need to maintain a balance of power, it follows that one’s moral obligation, and one’s duty to family, necessarily supplant allegiance to the state. Forward-thinking Americans will consider this sort of action when they face the dour struggle ahead to redefine a flawed way of life, and a wretched foreign policy. Without a solid push to create a worthy future for a nation that betrayed them long ago, Americans can only begin to imagine how difficult and dismal their lives will become when terrorism reigns supreme.
William Blake felt that contraries were necessary to human existence. He was one of those contrarians who, in going against the prevailing ideologies of any given time, change the course of history and become heroes for generations of men. Jesus of Nazareth was one such figure, crucified for rabble-rousing under the orders of Pontius Pilate. Mohammed, a hero to some one billion people today, was also harshly persecuted until he immigrated to Medina where he became an arbiter of peace among the warring tribes of Yathrib. Martin Luther was yet another great contester of corruption without whom the church might still be selling indulgences. Deprived of the sorts of figures who oppose or reject dubious, and often widely sanctioned opinions, where might humankind be today? Perhaps still under the Ptolemaic view of the universe, or in a world that had never known Pythagoras. One can only imagine the sort of America Abraham Lincoln would have left behind had John Wilkes Booth not been incensed by his speech promoting suffrage for blacks.
Of course citizens of any civilization should challenge the values to which they pledge allegiance. But in such a diverse world, with so many disparate conventions, where should the ultimate ruling lie? A radical idea most famously espoused by Socrates has unwritten rights existing since the beginning of time, in which one’s duty to serve primordial dictates must come before duty to any other laws. For Antigone, fighting for the right to bury her brother became a moral imperative. The same sort of righteousness likely compelled Dr. King and Gandhi. Antigone’s bravery was particularly noteworthy because she was not blinded by erroneous cultural values, and because she was a woman. A man’s subordinate, perhaps not in natural law, but certainly in mankind’s unwritten codes. Though she may have been driven to extremes by her pride, Antigone was ahead of her time in her rebellion against the sort of patriarchal culture that breeds violence and oppression. Only in conclusion, when Creon had been convinced of his poor judgment, by her honorable example, did he agree to reverse his policy. But, by then it was too late, and Antigone’s message was drawn in blood. Conceivably, there is a lesson to be learned from Creon’s mistakes, but will today’s leaders take heed?
Sadly, the hope of a bright American future sparked by the student protests of the 1960s did little to end the war in Vietnam and even less to expand the minds of the very generation responsible for the mess the United States finds itself in now. Perhaps history would look more favorably upon mankind if patriotism were effective, and if government officials actually followed the laws of state, or the commandments they duplicitously espouse when it suits their needs. Most politicians would probably sympathize with Ismene, taking the view that order is paramount, and that in the face of civil war, anything including despotism is an alternative worthy of consideration. The Scottish historian, Thomas Carlyle, in writing on the French Revolution, opined that the revolution was a war against both aristocracy and anarchy, from which one could only hope for an ordered society to counter the emptiness and ignorance of nihilism (Carlyle). He was on the side of heroes of course, but like any parent raising a child in a war ravaged country, he might have agreed that civil obedience must come before one even begins to weigh in on personal obligations. Kennedy encouraged Americans in his inaugural address to “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” He made this statement in 1961, when Americans fell right back into the self-centered trap America has been burdened with since the Dutch swindled New York from the Indians. In his appeal to Americans to become active citizens, Kennedy highlighted the fact that what is good for all is not always good for the individual, but that as patriots we must act with our neighbors in mind rather than ourselves. Unfortunately, he was also a warmonger, and his words fell on deaf ears. The inherent paradoxes that have always baffled mankind were only exacerbated in the succeeding decades. Naturally, politicians are justified in promoting ideologies that benefit the greatest number of people. Ideally, governments are in place to enable this process. Random acts of lawlessness and brutality cannot be tolerated. Law enforcement serves to protect the safety of law-abiding citizens. Criminals and thieves who turn temporal riches into poverty-stricken ghettos and public domain into the Wild West need to be rehabilitated. Encouraging anyone to defy laws that are in place for good reason is a dangerous and immoral proposition that leads to murder and mayhem, instead of enlightenment and evolution.
However, an individual who is unable to exist freely, in a so-called free and just society, must dig deep into the wellspring of knowledge. Citizens are the ones responsible for realigning the power base. Citizens are responsible for reminding the community that pirates have usurped the highest office of the land. The infringement upon privacy and civil liberties that the USA Patriot Act will surely permit once the war on terrorism is over is a dangerous and unjustified result of our failed foreign policies. Returning this country to McCarthyism in a technologically advanced future is the stuff of fiction, where it should remain. Regrettably, a world in which Big Brother is watching encourages people to behave surreptitiously rather than nobly. Sophisticated spin-doctors, and ambulance-chasing journalists choose to see what they want instead of the truth. They are responsible for the 9/11 hype that forced ignorant bureaucrats into a war that requires passing un-Constitutional laws. Somehow America has turned a supposedly serious governing body into a reality-show gag. But politics are not a joke, and morality and community service are consequential responsibilities that not many Americans seem to take seriously. Philosopher kings who are relegated to obscurity by greed, ignorance and despair will move out of hiding when people demand change. The song says the time is going to come. But when will it come? Certainly not before people have their heads examined; not before they turn off the lights and get on the bus by gracefully declining a $45 tank of gas. The time will not come before hordes of people learn to forgive one another and listen to the complaints of their elders. The time will not come before Americans spend their tax dollars on schools, teachers and books instead of jails, guns and ammunition. The time will not come if men continue to fight fire with fire, and until countries start working like mad to make peace with themselves and their neighbors.
Only then will man’s duty to eschew immorality be an obvious one. Many societies have foolishly believed there is such a thing as a just war in the process of identifying right from wrong. The hypocrisy is monstrous. Punishing murderers and rapists with the death penalty when attempting to cultivate a virtuous and ordered society makes no sense. Of course a wide variety of clichés have supported Plato’s ancient aphorism that people do not knowingly do wrong. But, it is hard to believe that in 2008, considering all the pious rhetoric that has passed about since 400 BC that such egregiousness has yet to be eradicated. The plight of suicide bombers and the message of the September 11th attacks only serve to support the need for change. If Americans were as wise and fearless as Antigone, and as God-fearing as they purport to be, perhaps America would not be chasing dictators in unwinnable wars, and what stands for peace would be seen as freedom from totalitarian rule and nihilism. During tyrannous times resistance is imperative. With no alternate means to eradicate violence and intolerance, Americans should follow their right to revolution as outlined by the preamble of the constitution. Attempting to overthrow a horrific government, and a corrupt world order, is a righteous choice. It is also a necessary one if we are to be saved from eternal ridicule, damnation, and the most flagrant disregard for a sacred and divine world that will go up in smoke one day all on its own.
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The Usual Suspects