{"id":449,"date":"2012-10-05T00:01:49","date_gmt":"2012-10-05T04:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/?p=449"},"modified":"2014-12-02T15:03:21","modified_gmt":"2014-12-02T20:03:21","slug":"two-old-friends-are-reacquainted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/2012\/10\/05\/two-old-friends-are-reacquainted\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Old Friends Are Reacquainted"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thomas More and Plato, two old friends, run into one another at a Starbucks one day.<\/em><\/p>\n

Plato: Is that\u2014It can\u2019t be\u2026 Thomas More?! Long time no see! How long has it been? Five years?<\/p>\n

More: Plato! Wow good so see you, how have you been?<\/p>\n

P: Not so good actually.\u00a0 My teacher, Socrates was unjustly executed for his teachings, or as they put it \u201ccorrupting of young minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

M: Yeah man I heard about that. I\u2019m so sorry. Why don\u2019t you sit down? I\u2019d love to catch up.<\/p>\n

P: Sure, I\u2019d love to! So, what are your views on democracy?<\/p>\n

M: Very good question. I was just thinking about democracy. I, for one, think a representative democracy, with elected public officials is the way to go. \u00a0I believe that whenever an issue arises, the elected official should consult with his electors on how to proceed.<\/p>\n

P: Hahahah oh Thomas, you always were so na\u00efve. Haven\u2019t you considered the implications of democracy?<\/p>\n

M: Such as?<\/p>\n

P: For one, with democracy comes corrupt, wealthy politicians who can practically buy their way into office.\u00a0 A perfect society would function best with leaders who are educated from birth and know what is best for their country. The idea that all men are created equal is absurd. Some men are smarter and more apt than others, and clearly those should be the ones with authority.<\/p>\n

M: But what about the majority of society and what they think? The people are the only ones who can determine who is apt to rule them, because they are the ones being ruled.\u00a0 Also, how can you be so sure that everyone will be willing to fulfill their duties and contribute to society when they are not given proper representation?<\/p>\n

P: Because everyone will work in the role best suited for him.\u00a0 There is no reason to be unhappy when everyone contributes to and therefore, lives in a just and equal society.\u00a0 Besides, with a democracy there is a huge imbalanced gap between the rich and the poor.\u00a0 The rich people will rule and will want private property.\u00a0 In democracies, people only value individual liberties and honor.\u00a0 Everyone will be greedy!\u00a0 There is absolutely nothing good about democracy ever.<\/p>\n

M: Listen, I know your friend Socrates was executed and all, but get over it. There are positives to democracy that you\u2019re completely overlooking.<\/p>\n

(Short pause where Plato is taken aback by More\u2019s inconsiderate and hurtful comment)<\/em><\/p>\n

M: I\u2019m sorry. That was uncalled for.\u00a0 I was just trying to say that I don\u2019t think you should let one event cloud your opinion. My point is, rulers who are elected by the people are bound to do what is right for the people. Not to mention, a man of the people is likely to better understand the people.<\/p>\n

P: Hm, I guess we will never agree on this matter, best just to let it go, enjoy our coffee, and perhaps discuss less litigious subjects.<\/p>\n

M: Yes I suppose you\u2019re right. So, tell me, what are your views on education?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thomas More and Plato, two old friends, run into one another at a Starbucks one day. Plato: Is that\u2014It can\u2019t be\u2026 Thomas More?! Long time no see! How long has it been? Five years? More: Plato! Wow good so see … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1368,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[114,37387],"tags":[1626,71005,67920,67921],"class_list":["post-449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive","category-fys","tag-democracy","tag-dialogue","tag-more","tag-plato"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/quallsk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}