How does a citizen respond when a democracy that prides itself on being exceptional betrays its highest principles? Plato despaired, but he also pointed the way to renewal.
A democratic society with an exceptionalist heritage may prove unprepared to respond wisely when arrogance takes over.
Socrates’s message could not be more timely. The mantle of glorified greatness belongs to no society by right or by might, or by revered tradition, he taught. It belongs to no individual who, ignoring the claims of justice, strives to make a name that might outlast him. Exceptionalism has to be earned again and again, generation after generation, by citizens committed, together, to the endlessly hard work of sustaining a polity that strives to serve the good of all.
Source: Making Athens Great Again – The Atlantic
Audio: Making Athens Great Again – The Atlantic on SoundCloud