Why Carry Owls To Athens Anyway?
You probably have heard that expression: Carrying owls to Athens. An expression that describes a pointless venture. But why is that?
See, the owl was the symbol of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Athens was her city, and the center of knowledge and philosophy of the ancient world. Why would anyone try to carry something there that is already in abundance?
Why indeed. Look around. Do you feel like we still live in a world of common sense?
I don’t.
In fact, I feel like common sense has become utterly rare these days. And it does not sit right with me.
But one question kept nagging me. Should I say something? Should I participate in public discourse?
I should note that the quote above is a rather loose translation. This one is closer to the original:
“He who refuses to rule is liable to be ruled by one who is worse than himself.”
Either way, the Greek philosopher Plato demonstrates a profound problem. Sure, I could just say that I don’t care about politics. And so do many of you.
However, the problem isn’t that you’re not interested in politics; the problem is that politics is very much interested in you.
And so I sit here, just a few weeks after the attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump, a few weeks after this abomination they called the Olympic games, and it got me thinking.
“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”
Says Jordan Peterson. Furthermore, he says
“If you don't say what you think then you kill your unborn self.”
and there is truth in that.
The motto of the Greek War of Independence (which would later become the official motto of the Hellenic Republic) is elefthería í thánatos, “freedom or death”.
And indeed, if you do not speak up, if you do not participate in politics, you will be ruled by inferiors. And they most likely do not have the best for you in mind. You might as well pronounce yourself dead then.
I refuse to down without a fight. And so I am willing to go on a seemingly pointless venture: To carry owls to Athens and restore common sense.
Will I always be right?
No.
But ultimately, all roads lead to Athens, even if you have to take a detour into the opposite direction for a short while. “I know that I don’t know”, as Socrates has put it.
Therefore, channeling my inner honey badger, as Gad Saad likes to say, I am willing to be a fool until common sense is restored. After all, the fool is at the beginning of the journey. Do you know what the ancient Greeks called someone who did not participate in politics? An idiot.
I may have to play the devil’s advocate at times. Other times, I will have to look at things from an angle no one else has. But it must be done.
Come with me.
Help me carry owls to Athens to restore common sense. Knowledge. Wisdom.
If we don’t, we will be crushed to death by the ever authoritarian boot of our inferiors.
Come with me if you want to live.
Elefthería í thánatos.