The Ancient Greeks conceived of man and his orientation to society very differently than we do today. Greek society, or what they called their polis, was the central animating focus of human life. The polis preceded and gave meaning to individual lives. Grecian democracy was infused with the perspective that a person’s individual life was inseparable from his participation in government and public affairs. Modern notions of personal freedom as well as our focus on individualism accompanied by less emphasis on civic duty would be very foreign and not welcome in Ancient Athens. Aristotle characterized man as a “political animal”, meaning that it was the polis that provided purpose and direction to human life and that one naturally participated in civic life in order to live the ” good life”.
I believe there is a good measure of truth in the Ancient view that human life lacks significant meaning if it does not involve engagement in public affairs either through active participation or by supporting the participation of others – or even just making yourself aware and knowledgeable about the society you live in and discussing it with others. I call this the “pull of the polis” and I believe that ignoring this natural tendency leads to a certain vacancy of spirit and emptiness that cannot be fulfilled by overwrought materialism or narcissistic selfishness.
While the Greeks may have over emphasized the role of society or the polis in defining human existence we Moderns may have gone equally overboard in our worship of personal freedom and the relentless pursuit of “self- interest”. Sartre quite well illuminated how nauseating narcissism can be when we are adrift in existential loneliness. No man or woman is an island.
The truth probably lies somewhere between the two opposing views. But if the Greeks had a measure of truth in their world view then we cannot avoid it no matter how hard we try. Being part of something larger than ourselves is an essential element in defining ourselves. At the least, a moderate and reasonably active role in society is essential to personal fulfillment, meaning and the good life – no matter how you define it.
Achieving a natural balance between our individual selves and the society around us is fundamentally a moral issue. And moral issues really cannot be avoided – no matter how hard we try through our endless array of modern trinkets and distractions. Moral issues involve doing the right thing and we cannot be happy or lead a good life without believing we are doing right. We are moral beings at least as much as we are political animals. We could not to live a moral life without civic engagement. And again, if morality is an inherent part of our nature then we cannot ignore moral questions. In the Inferno, Dante reserved the lowest and loneliest rung of existence for those who, in times of moral crisis, remain indifferent – in fact, after they die, these sad souls are not allowed into either Heaven or Hell… even Satan does not want them.
The Greeks considered the perfect size of a polis to be around 10,000 citizens. They believed that democracy works best when everyone knows or at least recognizes everyone else – and when common matters could be readily understood by all citizens.
Cohasset is approximately the ideal size of an Ancient Greek polis. While I do not think Cohasset should become a Greek polis I do think that a large part of what makes us special is that we are a relatively small New England town that is governed directly by the people through Town Meeting, which is the central organizing principal of our democracy. We have been practicing direct citizen controlled town meeting style of government for some 400 years. Our traditions of active citizen participation in all aspects of our political and civic life remain robust and active.
If you happen to hear that bell of civic duty or the ”pull of the polis “ it is not your imagination. In fact, I believe it is very real and important – maybe even morally imperative. Don’t be shy to jump into public or civic life and make a difference – it’s natural to do so. There are too many town committee, board, civic, charitable and recreational organizations active in Cohasset. We are truly blessed to have the rich civic life and opportunities to participate in something larger than our individual selves that we have in Cohasset. It’s a rare and special gift from the traditions of our past and we should protect, support and pass on our values of active civic engagement to those who follow us.
