PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

December 3, 2023

RHETORIC

“Gives to men freedom in their own person, and to individuals the power of ruling over others in their several states (Gorgias, Great Books, Volume #7, p. 255).”  This phrase would seem to be, especially at the national level, a good description of politics as it is practiced in our country today.  In fact, they are attributed to Gorgias (483-376 BCE) in Plato’s dialogue Gorgias.  This work of Plato deals with the three great rhetoricians of his day: Gorgias, Polus, and Callicles.  The above quote is Georgias’ definition of the persuasive art of rhetoric.

Many people think that politicians are only concerned with their own self-interests and the interests of the donor class.  They are not concerned with what is right and true but only power.  Later in Gorgias Socrates says, “The rhetorician need not know the truth about things; he has only to discover some way of persuading the ignorant that he has more knowledge than those who know (Gorgias, p. 258)?”  The context for this remark is a physician and a rhetorician running for the office of surgeon general.  The rhetorician will always win, not because of his knowledge of the subject, but because of his rhetoric.

For the sake of argument let us assume that the goals and aspirations of a politician are noble, good, and true.  The goal of his rhetoric is the common good.  Take the example of traffic laws.  Both the politician and the general population would like to be able to freely travel by car.  Both would be served by having traffic laws that allowed for an orderly flow of traffic.  Such laws would be for both the benefit of the politician and the citizens.

Unfortunately, those in positions of power do not always act for the greater good.  Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).”   I John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Our American form of government takes seriously this tendency to sinfully misuse political power by embedding in the U.S. Constitution a series of checks and balances.  No one is to be unconditionally trusted. While not stated explicitly, our nation’s founders well understood the maxim by Lord Acton that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In Ecclesiastes we read, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been, in the ages before us (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).”  Recently, the truth of Ecclesiastes’ observation came to mind as I worked my way through Professor Robert C. Bartlett’s course on “The Masters of Greek Thought: Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle (The Great Courses, 2008).  Bartlett’s discussion of political life in ancient Athens could also well-serve as a discourse on the current state of affairs in this country.

The above quote from Ecclesiastes continues, “The people of long ago are not remembered, nor   will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who come after them (Ecclesiastes 1:11).”  Many years ago, George Santayana pointed out the danger of this tendency.  “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  It would do all of us well to take time to remember the masters of Greek thought as well as our Judeo/Christian heritage so that we might learn from what they have to teach us.

(Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)