Socrates was Right

 Socrates said "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.   

As an author, I take great pains in trying to choose the right words, not just in the since of grammar or finding words that are technically correct.  As author Ursula K. Le Guin described it, "A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it.  Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight."

This blog is not about an author's responsibility with words, however.  Rather, it is about the importance of the right of free speech and the abuse of that right.  On March 18, 2022, the New York Times published an editorial titled "America Has a Free Speech Problem."  The link to the full article can be found at the bottom of this blog.  The opening paragraph stated, "Americans are losing hold of a fundamental right as citizens of a free country:  the right to speak their minds and voice their opinions in public without fear of being shamed or shunned."  

I have blogged about this subject previously, but the editorial offers some important insight.  For example, "If people feel free to express their views in their communities, the democratic process can respond to and resolve competing ideas.  Ideas that go unchallenged by opposing views risk becoming weak and brittle rather than being strengthened by tough scrutiny.  When speech is stifled or when dissenters are shut out of public discourse, a society also loses its ability to resolve conflict..."  

Included in the editorial are results of a survey in which the Times joined with Siena College to gain data about, among other things, whether people feel less free to talk about politics than they had a decade ago.  Forty-six percent said they did.  It seemed that the old saying "Think before you speak" has become, "Speak at your peril."

The five freedoms that make the United States of America what has been called the freest people in the world are freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government.  Termination of those rights, whether by changes in laws or by individuals self-limiting their willingness to exercise those rights, diminishes our freedoms.

It has been said that those freedoms are the lifeblood of democracy, and the words of Benjamin Franklin validate the importance felt by the founding fathers at that time.  "In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call anything his own," and furthermore, "Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a Nation must begin by limiting the freedom of speech."

When it becomes difficult, or even dangerous, to speak with those having different opinions, we weaken the evolving wisdom of the nation.  The founding fathers knew the importance of sharing opinions as a way to keep up with our ever-changing world, both the exchange of ideas in communities and in state and national political chambers.  The warning of Socrates remains:  "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul."  

America has a Free Speach Problem. https://wwwnytimes.com/2022/03/18/opinion/cancel-culture-free-speach-poil.html  

The Timeless Storyteller

(c) Jerry Pinkney 

 Those of you who regularly follow my blog know that I love illustrated children's books, and this blog shares a story teller who has retained his popularity for centuries.  "Aesop the fable writer" was mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus, describing Aesop as a slave living in ancient Greece during the 5th century BC.  Plato wrote that Socrates knew the oral stories of Aesop and that during his time in prison, Socrates converted some of Aesop's fables to verse.

The tradition of using the ancient fables of Aesop as guides for ethical behavior continues even today, and just as Socrates did, modern writers use the themes of Aesop in their own versions of his stories.  The simple lessons are easy for children to grasp; yet, the lessons are equally true for adults.  In fact, the fables were originally told to adults as ethical guides.

Among the illustrated children's books in my collection I have several books of Aesop's fables, and two of my favorites are illustrated by Jerry Pinkney and John Rocco.  Pinkney has used the fables in several books, including one titled "Aesop's Fables" containing 61 of the stories, with many illustrations, including the one pictured in this blog.

(c) John Rocco, Wolf! Wolf!

One of my favorite fables is commonly titled "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," a simple story about a young man sent to watch the sheep and call out a warning if the wolf appeared, to alert the villagers to come drive the wolf away.  His simple responsibility bored him, and he sounded the warning falsely, just to break the monotony, not just once but a second time.  The villagers were disgusted by his false warnings, and when the wolf actually appeared and the boy cried "Wolf!" no one came.  The simple moral to the fable as stated in Pinkney's book:  "No one believes a liar."

John Rocco chose the same fable, but as creative people often do, he added his own twist.  The little boy in his version also falsely cried wolf and lost the trust of the villagers, but in Rocco's tale, the wolf is old and knows that he is not really able to chase down a goat, so he bargains with the boy.  He tells him to select one of the goats and take it to the wolf's garden on the other side of the mountain, and tie it to the fence post.  That way, the boy will regain credibility with the villagers since a goat will be missing, and the wolf will get a goat.  The boy agrees, and he does deliver the unlucky goat, but when the wolf goes out to the garden and sees the goat, he discovers that the goat has eaten all the weeds and the garden looks beautiful.  The goat apologizes, admitting that he is a picky eater and he prefers weeds to vegetables.  He begs the wolf not to eat him, and the Wolf agrees, concluding, "What's one breakfast compared to delicious vegetables for the rest of my days."

I love both books, and both themes are important.  No one should be a liar, but compromise can sometimes work to the advantage of both sides.  The lesson Aesop teaches is that a liar will be found out and disbelieved if he continues to lie, and the assumption is that once discovered, the liar will admit his obvious guilt and stop lying.  Aesop understood that lying is not  insignificant, and most wolfs are not vegetarians.  Much as I love John Rocco's positive outcome, Aesop's simple moral is the better lesson for us to learn.  Beware of a liar, for when you can no longer trust the truth of what the liar says, the result may be your own loss. 

I recommend both Jerry Pinkney's "Aesop's Fables," published 2000, and John Rocco's "Wolf! Wolf!," published 2007.  There are many collections of Aesop's Fables that are wonderful choices for children's libraries.