Thoughts on Civic Activism....

*****TRANSFORMING CLIENTS INTO CITIZENS******

Dear Reader: I recently had a discussion with a friend about the sometimes frustrating loneliness of civic activisim as well as the exhileration felt when the lethargy of government and bureacracy is overcome and movement in the right direction takes place. It reminded me of my philosophical grounding and the underlying motivation that prompts people in free societies to challenge the status quo.

As you probably know by now dear reader, I believe that individually none of us is large enough to take on the establishment by ourselves. Nonetheless, acting individually as citizens I know we can have an impact by pushing, prodding and at times annoying the establishement into do the right thing.... and motivating others to join us.  

Our efforts can result in changes ... as support grows for the obvious solutions needed - however long and labourious the journey might be, if we all act .....

That starting point is at the heart of this tiny blog..... I draw for this reasoning from my reading of history and philosophy ... and the development of modern thought respecting organized society.

Plato's account of the famous Greek philosopher Socrates' trial is the first and most famous  illustration of this essential concept behind the working of democratic societies and the key role of citizens and an unfettered  press in a free society.

SOCRATES

One of the most famous trials in history ocurred in 399 BC. Socrates was tried and convicted by the courts of democratic Athens on a charge of corrupting the youth and disbelieving in the ancestral gods (challenging conventional wisdom). Reading the history of the day it is clear that Socrates was seen as one who challenged the political establishment throughout his life.

Plato, his erstwhile follower describes how Socrates at trial defended himself as a small irritating, persistent gnat determined to move a large lazy horse. During his defense when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato's writings, pointed out that dissent, like the tiny (relative to the size of a horse) gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high. "If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me," because he claimed his self-proclaimed role was that of a gadfly, "to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth."

"Gadfly" is a term used to describe people (our social consience) who upset the status quo by posing irritating, upsetting or novel questions.  In modern and local politics, gadfly is a term used to describe individuals who persistently challenge people in positions of power, the status quo or a popular position. The word today is sometimes used in a pejorative sense, but the historical use over the centuries by people like Benjamin Franklin was as a descriptor of honourable work or performance of civic duty.

Today, as local politicians are jockeying to re-define (or not) the development agencies in our region, it is time for all of us to become gadflies, pushing, prodding and directing politicians and civil servants to do the right thing.... nipping at their heals and rumps so to speak!

My two cents....