The Idiots of Democracy

By Brian T. Lynch, MSW

So much of what we call Western Civilization had its origin in Ancient Greece. On a recent trip to Athens, my wife and I stood on the steps leading up to the great temple at the Acropolis. It was on these very steps that democracy was first practiced in the ancient world.

 When important decisions of governance had to be made, all the men of the city (sorry ladies) were summoned. They came and stood on these steps where they freely and openly debated all sides of the issues before them. They then called for a vote, and by a show of hands decided the issues in question. It was for all of them a liberating and empowering experience unlike anything citizens ever experienced before.

But even so, there were always some men who choose not to participate, men who stayed away. The Greeks had a word for such men. In English the word they called them means “individual” but not in a positive sense. It was more in the sense of a person who holds themself apart from others, who doesn’t pull their weight or work for the welfare of the community in which they live.

The Greek word for this was “IDEOS” from which we get the word idiot. 

That’s right, people who didn’t vote or participate in democracy were called idiots back then, and they are still idiots today.