The anniversary of....

Next week is the anniversary of the day that I made my big decision. I have never taken it this serious before and so I was very anxious for it. I remember that I read all of my papers. I spent hours Googling (is that a verb) the topic. I wanted to make sure that I had all the facts and that I had done enough preparation for my decision. It was going to be a monumental occasion for me. Not only because it was my first time taking it serious, but also because it was a first time with a woman too.

If you are a bit confused with what I'm talking about, I am remembering the first time I took voting seriously. I have been able to vote for a long time, but I was always following the majority. The majority being family members. If they voted republican, so did I. If they liked a certain candidate I always gravitated towards that GUY too. I emphasize guy here because up until now there have only been guys. I was not thinking for myself.

In my research, I was reminded of the great philosopher Plato. Plato argued that literacy was a myth and that there was no true literacy, only speech. For when one spoke, if what they said was challenged, the speaker could defend themselves. When something is written down, the text cannot and has no ability to defend itself. The text cannot answer the question, “what do you mean?” It is void of answers since it was written down and not spoken. 

I researched more and found that he definitely had a solution to his literacy problem. "…he believed that his writings should by and large be restricted to his own inner circle of students and followers.” Being well versed in language, Plato knew that having only his inner circle read his writing, they could question him about it and he, as the author of the text, would then be able to defend it. I found that literacy has changed over time and being able to defend one’s text doesn’t require an inner circle to defend it. 

I began to wonder about my political choice and if putting it out there on a social media platform would help or hinder my decision. Would I have an inner circle (friends, followers, etc.) criticize my written words on social media and then would I have to do as Plato and defend them?