In the wake of their staggering victory at Marathon in 490 B.C. (the Athenians traded roughly 200 lives for Persian casualties somewhere in the vicinity of 6500) the Greek world was afforded a rare reprieve from war, and for a decade they had the opportunity to prepare themselves for the might of the Persian hammer that they knew was coming.
During this time of relative peace, Athens also discovered a rich vein of silver, and had to decide how to use the wealth. Since the fortune was discovered by the city, and since the city was ruled by Democracy, the money belonged to the people. Of course, there were many who wanted the profits of the find to be distributed amongst the people; after all, who wouldn't want more money in their pockets?
However, the new leader of the democratic party of Athens, Themistocles, suggested something very different. He insisted that the money be used to fund the building of triremes, ships of war, keeping in mind the reality that the Persians would return, and with a far larger army this time than they had brought to Marathon.
In order to see his plan implimented in the absolute democracy of Athens, Themistocles had to convince the majority of the populace that it was better the deny themselves wealth, to work for the future while sacrificing today. His success, apart from the positive results on the behalf of the Greeks in 480 B.C. at Salamis, is also a testament to the importance of a leader with vision.
President Obama has amazing potential. I disagree with much of his social agenda...or at least, what I fear his social agenda will turn out to be. But the reality is, he has a unique opportunity. He could be one of the greats of all time. Never is the potential for greatness so real as in times of trial and challenge. We are experiencing difficult times...not the least of which in the area of our economy. Most of us don't even really know what we want to see happen to solve this problem...we just know something MUST happen. Should we have a bail-out? Should we give the money to the people, the banks, to corporations? How do we avoid deepening the crisis? How do we pull ourselves out of the mire? How do we get back on top?
President Obama must lead. He must give us a vision that will provide for more than merely tomorrow, but that will ensure our success (or at least the best chance for it) in the net decade, and the decades after that.
Themistocles was right. His arguments contributed to Greek victory over Persia, which allowed for the Golden Age of Greece...which produced some of the greatest art, philosophy, drama, and culture ever. Invest in what will preserve our future rather than what will keep us in comfort today.
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2 comments:
Really nice analogy. It hasn't been lost on me, either. :) Though, I don't know that we have a reprieve - hard to compare the Persian Wars to today's global instability. Still, I like the image of Obama as Themistocles - and so far, he's playing the part with his call to action and patriotism. :)
CNN mentioned this, and I am partial of course as an Airman, but if more F-22s are made (we have about 190 out of I believe the requested 250 for air dominance for the next few decades) then simultaneously jobs in that plane-making industry will be created and maintained. Not to mention naval technology is important as well. We have been in the position of wielding a big stick for good due to our presence abroad.
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