CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, September 10, 2018

Deep State prevention: Greeks had a word for it

Allegory. As every American school boy or girl should know, the citizens of the Greek city-state of Athens gave birth to a system of government called: Democracy. Greek citizens were allowed to vote (only citizens could vote, illegal aliens could not) for the leader of their choice. Plus, the ancient Greeks even had an effective method of preventing Deep State-style resistance movements:

Each male citizen (women did not vote) wrote the name of the candidate he did not like on an Ostrakon, a fragment of Greek pottery. Those against Candidate "A," threw their Ostrakon onto one pile of Ostraka. Those against candidate "B," threw their Ostrakon on a separate pile.

If Candidate "B" ended up with more Ostraka than Candidate "A," Candidate "B" was banished from Athens for ten years, effectively ending any lingering opposition to Candidate "A." This process was known as (wait for the drum roll) Ostracism!

Now, just imagine the Greek system of Ostracism being in effect during the American presidential election of 2016. Hillary Clinton and her Deep State followers would be banished for ten years. The winner would be left in peace to pursue the agenda favored by the voters.

But wait. If you can imagine Donald J. Trump in the role of Themistocles, who was elected the Archon or CEO of Athens in 493 B.C., even more parallels emerge. Themistocles campaigned under the theme: "Make Athens Great Again!"

But, you see, even though Themistocles’ father was wealthy, his mother came from poor circumstances. So, the aristocratic members of the Greek Establishment looked down on Themistocles as being rather crude.

Yet, under the Themistocles Administration, to the dismay of the Establishment, the Athenian economy boomed! You see, Themistocles deregulated silver mining, allowing Athens to grow rich. Because Themistocles figured the Greek infantry could not defeat the invading Persian (Iranian) infantry, Themistocles, like President Reagan many centuries later, insisted that the huge silver "dividend" be spent on a big navy.

Sure enough, the Greek infantry was defeated by the Persians at Thermopylae. But Themistocles understood the "art of the deal." He got the Spartans to add 150 ships to the 200 ships of the Athenian Navy. Then, Themistocles lured the Persian Navy into a narrow channel, defeating the Persian Navy at the Battle of Salamis (480 B.C.). Historians credit the Greek victory at Salamis with the salvation of Western Civilization and Democracy.

Ostracism, however, works both ways. Despite the booming economy and the saving of Western Civilization by Themistocles, Candidate "B" and her followers crossed back in through Athens’ wall-less borders, hammered out a bunch of phony Ostraka, and won the mid-term elections.

Consequently, Themistocles could no longer carry out his plan for making Athens even greater than before. Eventually, Candidate "B" was elected Archon of Athens. The aristocratic Establishment was overjoyed to be rid of the low-class Themistocles.

Ostracized from Athens, Themistocles spent the rest of his days managing gambling casinos in other lands and dreaming of inventing a game during which grown men and women would try to knock a round Ostrakon into a hole. Unfortunately, Themistocles died before he could reach Scotland where the people would have been eager to embrace his dream.

©2018. William Hamilton.

Nationally syndicated columnist, William Hamilton, is a laureate of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame, the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma University Army ROTC Wall of Fame. In 2015, he was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Nebraska. Dr. Hamilton is the author of The Wit and Wisdom of William Hamilton: the Sage of Sheepdog Hill, Pegasus Imprimis Press (2017). "Central View," can also be seen at: www.central-view.com.

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