The Republic

What purpose did the revolution serve? 

Was it merely to safeguard property rights? 

Is THAT the essence of true freedom? 

We hold these inherent truths to be self-evident: that all individuals are inherently equal…endowed by an almighty force with inalienable rights. Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness. Yet, it becomes clear that equality is not an innate quality bestowed upon all at birth. No, it is the striving, the relentless pursuit of life, The quest for liberty, The tireless pursuit of happiness, That defines the reality of our nation. What is the true nature of our existence, and what metamorphosis must occur to bring about such change? Can we envision such a state of being in a world tainted by pollution?

Could the state of nature envisioned all those years ago truly exist? We presume a paradise as the birthright of every individual. We may liken this paradise to the fabled garden of Eden, the epitome of a state of nature. However, our nation is far from a garden of Eden, and it has never been so. Playing the role of gods, the architects of this experiment alluded to a state that could only exist within the pure and perfect realm of the divine. What we have now, both in the past and in the present, is marred, contaminated, fallen, and declining. 

What the Founders established can be equated to the “noble lie” referenced by Socrates in the Republic. In political spheres, a noble lie is a falsehood or myth, often of a spiritual nature, deliberately propagated by an authoritative few to preserve societal equilibrium or further their own agenda. The concept of the noble lie originated with Plato, as elucidated in the Republic. So, does an individual possess the right to be as their divine nature intended? What state of being exists in the present reality? What we currently experience is a stratification. 

This is not the republic we envision. It is easy to discern what does not align with the principles of a republic when we witness the divisions that pervade our society. Why should one be born into poverty, another into wealth, yet another into illness, and others still into a cycle of destitution and sickness? Where have we arrived in our journey, if not at the returning of the guardian state? The state that veers towards excessive opulence. Well, it may not exude true opulence, but that is undeniably the focal point of our present reality. We exist in a perpetual gilded age, fixated on desires rather than necessities. 

As I peruse Plato’s Republic, following my reading of the Declaration of Independence…oh, the perilous times we find ourselves in. Confronted by tyranny, is there a hero to rescue us? Ah, the exquisite satire within the play on words. In facing tyranny, we place our trust in the concentration of power, naively believing it will deliver us. Unbeknownst to us, we become the very entities we feared and fought against. Is this attitude one of cynicism or enlightenment? Well, as the British exclaim, “God save the Queen.” When that anthem resounds, I shall take a knee. Or perhaps, I shall defiantly raise my middle finger.