Plato Week 3 Discussion Question

¶ … Plato

Week 3 Discussion Question

According to Plato's mythical figure of Glaucon who tells the tale "The Ring of Gyges," a man is only moral if he is certain he is being watched by a ruler, or simply by his fellow men and women. Even a good man will do evil if he knows he will not be culpable for his actions. Gyges wears a cloak of invisibility, created by his ring, which gives him power and makes him forego his ideals, the ideals he had as a simple commoner. But President Gerome Andrews now wears a cloak of invisibility, that of the invisibility of the truth as to his real nature. According to the moral of Glaucon's cautionary tale, President Andrews must be exposed, and made an example of to all potential wrongdoers who are guarding the public trust. Moreover, if the President's evil is not exposed, also according to the moral suggested by myth, Andrews will continue to feel as if he can act evilly without consequences, much as Gyges was evil only when he learned he could be invisible to the human eye.

President Andrews argues in a Machiavellian vein that the ends (the nation's state of peace, prosperity, and stability) justify the means (lies and deceit) he uses to achieve those ends. However, these means suggest that his motivation is self-aggrandizement, not helping others. He may preach Judeo-Christian values in his public rhetoric, according to the Gospel of St. Matthews, namely that the meek will inherit the earth. But Andrews' actions suggest that his real aim is to protect his political career on earth in the here and now with tangible rewards, not to honor the law or his supposed personal system of ethics, which he hypocritically claims in public lie along the lines of the Hebraic or the Christian tradition. As noted by Herbert Butterfield, the uniqueness of the Old Testament is its emphasis on the law, not on personal charisma of the leadership, and the law must transcend the influence of individual power. C.S. Lewis, a Christian scholar, has reinforced the notion that, contrary to utilitarian ideals of situational ethics, there must be some internal sense of universal morality and ethical governance, applicable to all situations -- merely because the country and Andrews has 'gotten away' with turning a blind eye to his actions at present does not mean that they will not have consequences later on. What will happen when the age of prosperity wanes -- who knows if the peace and prosperity is really caused by his administration? Then the nation will be left with nothing, no moral orientation to hold it together, and spiritual as well as financial bankruptcy.

Andrew's self-serving, naked utilitarian ethic flies in the face of the American secular political tradition, as well as the unique Hebrew and Christian spiritual traditions Andrews espouses in rhetoric, if not in deed. An American president is given a public trust. The President of the United States must strive to serve the public, not the ends alone, and Andrews, much like Machiavelli, has confused his own political survival with the survival of the state. John Winthrop, one of the founders of the first American settlements said as a founding principle of governance in his essay "A Model of Christian Charity:" "From hence it appears plainly that no man is made more honorable than another, or more wealthy, etc., out of any particular and singular respect to himself, but for the glory of his Creator and the common good of the creature, man."

In other words, all human beings, regardless of status, are equal, and a leader by virtue of his position is not 'more equal' than his fellow citizens, according to the principles of morality and the principles of democracy. What has made American leaders great is their sense of equality and fellowship with their fellow Americans, not their sense of exclusivity and superiority. Thomas Jefferson praised George Washington for refusing the offer to become America's first king. Washington instead became the first American president. Washington's integrity was pure and Washington's sense of justice was unwavering, and untainted by self-interest and bias: this was Jefferson's highest praise of our first president. Washington's integrity is so unique it even seems to contradict Glaucon's assertion in "The Ring of Gyges" that every man would be a dictator if he were given the chance. Washington rose above his baser instincts, and lived according to the principles of humility and obedience to the law and ethical system of values, not to his own impulses and desire for power. He served the public and thus served democracy. And he helped create a system of laws that was strong enough so that when individuals did fall prey to the temptations of Gyges held the office of the president, such as Richard Nixon, the system was strong enough to withstand such biases and personal abuses and ultimately overcame a would-be autocrat's will to universal power.

But it was only because watchdogs and whistleblowers pointed out such abuses that the system and the law was able to challenge men such as Nixon and prevent them from having their Machiavellian, Prince-like aims fully realized. Nixon justified his illegal actions of spying on his rival presidential candidate as necessary for national security, again conflating his own interests with the interests of the state. President Gerome Andrews is doing the same and must be exposed to the Justice Department.