Feb 14 Daily

                Socrates was one of the greatest philosophers of all time.  He introduced the idea of questioning the world around you to better it for all people.  If there was a problem or an issue that you thought stood out, he thought you should approach it, question society, and solve it.  Socrates did exactly this while living in ancient Athens; however, his fellow Athenian citizens did not necessarily agree with his thinking.  The Athenian government “did their thing” and did not need someone criticizing and questioning them.  This did not stop Socrates.  He always did what he thought was right, even if other Athenians, including the government, disagreed with him.  Socrates was a person who did not care about looks and beauty.  He thought they were useless.  It was what was on the inside that really counted.  Socrates believed that living in a world that is not constantly questioned and reviewed is not worth living in at all.  Socrates did not deserve the punishment he received because he was just speaking his mind.  In our nation, citizens have the constitutional right to protest and disagree with others, including the government.  Because the United States government is by the people and for the people, we definitely have the right to speak out.  Living in this kind of a nation makes it hard for us to believe that people were punished for speaking out like Socrates did.  Additionally, Socrates was sentenced to death only because Athens needed a scapegoat for their fall.  They chose Socrates because he was always one to speak out against the Athenian government and society if he felt something was wrong.  That just wasn’t fair.