Twitter and the Modern Alcibiades: Donald Trump
Since the politics of ancient Greece, Democracy has allowed the common people to have a voice in how they felt they should be govern. However, despite it being what has helped in bringing justice and fairness to humanity, it has been susceptible to the influence of what it gave humanity, someone’s voice. As we look to the past, one that is unfortunately not distant enough, we can see how the manipulating words of a man with a social media account was able to take advantage of the confusions and vulnerabilities of an incognizant group of people that strayed them further away from awareness and understanding and fed into their fears.
The use of social media by current United States President Donald Trump has not only been a method that has allowed him to seek worldwide attention but also a tool to tell an unaware populous what they wanted to hear and feed their insecurities, rather than tell them what they should hear. Examples include telling people who oppose past President Barack Obama that he his wire tapping Trump’s residence. Another word to describe this is Demagoguery, a leader who follows the people instead of leading them (Study.com, 2018).
To use an example by Socrates, imagine a town election between a doctor and a candy salesman. The candy salesman will tell the people that he can provide them with sweets and the doctor does nothing but tell them what they cannot eat and inflicts pain upon them, while the doctor tells the crowd he only does these things to help you (The School of Life, 2016). The crowd can give in to their desires and weaknesses and vote for the candy salesman rather than what is good for them because the candy salesman has followed what they wanted to hear, not what they need. And it is no different when Donald Trump tells people who oppose immigration over Twitter that he plans on building a wall that will prevent immigrants from entering their country. And if it isn’t over Twitter but over another media such as a televised interview, Trump’s supporters will still spread the message over social media, because to them this is a voice that plays into their fears and what they desire to hear. It is a message amplified through social media.
Unfortunately, it is not the first time demagoguery has worked its way into power and influence. Whether it be the fascism spread across Germany from Adolf Hitler or the “Red Scare” propagated by Joseph McCarthy, demagoguery has found itself in human history many times, including the politics of ancient Greece. Specifically, a demagogue that comes to mind when reflecting upon Donald Trump is Alcibiades.
During the Peloponnesian War, the great city of Athens found itself in opposition with Sparta and defended itself from enemies by surrounding itself by a large wall where no one could enter (sound familiar?). Of Course, as years went on Athens faced a great deal of issues, its lead commander Pericles perished from illness, the city was plagued with disease, and food became scarce for civilians (Study.com, 2018). In times of great distress, the people looked for answers from leaders, unfortunately for them it was not leaders that would lead them to reason but oblivion. Much like how Donald Trump used Twitter to exploit the fears and insecurities of America, Athenian statesman Alcibiades used his voice over the people to feed into their insecurities and secure his power over them.
Alcibiades was a wealthy and influential celebrity amongst Athens during the Peloponnesian war. To Athens he was clever with wit and rich in pocket, which they felt were desirable characteristics in a leader (Study.com, 2018). He was able to win over people’s affections through his personality and celebrity which helped him defeat his political rivals who were more experienced and spoke with reason (Burns, 2017). Policies that were avoided by previous politicians were brought up by Alcibiades because it won over there affection, such as taking military action over rival city-states which upset the political status quo but won over the attention of Athenians (Burns, 2017). Despite what Athens saw in Alcibiades, his personal life of indulgences led his life into ruin and his constant changing of sides by abandoning his people to affiliate with Persia and Sparta led his city into ruin (Burns, 2017). Much like Donald Trump, Alcibiades used his celebrity to gain influence, where his voice would easily spread across a city because it was a voice that was favoured in a time of distress. However Alcibiades’ lack of political experience and his path to ruin provided no solutions for the problem that Athen’s faced.
It is clear that America has been Donald Trump’s Athen in distress as he manipulates a distressed republic through social media that spreads easily via way of people’s fears, much like the people of Athen’s.
However, it is not simply the propaganda of a demagogue figure that spreads through the use of social media, but also the voices of reason and logic that oppose it too. Whether it be a simple tweet that ridicules the politics of the Trump administration or a long discussion brought over Facebook, there are still messages that can be spread over social media that tries to impose justice rather than fear. Much like Alcibiades use of celebrity for power, one may use their celebrity to promote social justice, such as Katy Perry using her influence and popularity to spread a message of social justice opposing Donald Trump over Twitter. Or author Stephen King doing the same to criticize the demagoguery of Donald Trump. Despite social media being a weapon for demagoguery, and can also be a method that opposes it.
Social media has been a tool that has enabled Donald Trump to manipulate the insecurities of others all the way to the United States Presidency. However, it is social media that has allowed us to listen to the voices of others which have opposed the politics of Trump and have provided reason and awareness to the populace. Donald Trump is not our first demagogue and most probably will not be our last, but it is on us to ask questions about what we are told and to strive for awareness as well as maintain an open ear towards the voices of reason and understanding that will determine whether or not these demagogues find power and influence. Whether it be a candy salesman or a politician, we must be the ones to ask ourselves if this is what we want to hear, or need to hear.
References:
Burns, A. (2017, April 7). Trump as Alcibiades: Lessons in Demagoguery from Greek History. Retrieved January 31, 2018, from https://activisthistory.com/2017/04/07/trump-as-alcibiades-lessons-in-demagoguery-from-greek-history/
Study.com. (2018). Peloponnesian War and Thucydides. Retrieved January 31, 2018, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war-and-the-fall-of-athens.html
The School of Life. (2016, Nov 28). Why Socrates Hated Democracy. Retrieved January 31, 2028, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLJBzhcSWTk
Image Sources:
http://www.bitsofnews.com/images/graphics/alcibiades_large.jpeg
https://www.independent.ie/incoming/article36540945.ece/BINARY/first%20003.jpg
https://i.redd.it/rhgz901l3yc01.png
https://www.alternet.org/files/screen_shot_2016-05-10_at_11.28.27_am.png
https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/05/08023842/katy-perry-tweet-donald-trump.jpg
