Persuasive Speech: Reconcile And Progress

Reconcile and Progress: Miltiades- Kaidy Li
All Athenians shall forgive the past wrongs of those who aided the Thirty and will file no lawsuits against them. My fellow Athenians, dwelling too much on the past will surely hinder Athens in the future. If we focus on every trifling act committed, we will forget the real danger looming ahead of us- division. Nothing more would please Sparta and our enemies than to see Athens weak, suffering, and in turmoil. Considering all the land, young men, and possessions that we Athenians have already lost, can we afford to be bickering amongst ourselves over past actions which cannot be undone? We must forgive our brothers, forget their lapse of judgement in aiding the Thirty Tyrants, and move on to
restore Athens to the powerful state it once was, lest our enemies chop us down before we can even get back up. For the sake of Athens’ independence, we need to strengthen our bonds and unify all Athenians despite past disagreements. Given the position Athens is in right now, we are hanging on to our desecrated polis by just a thread, groveling at the feet of our enemies for mercy. Sparta asserted their dominance and humiliated us in the Peloponnesian War by mutilating our fields, killing our people, and taking twenty thousand of our slaves (Carnes, Norman, & Ober, p.52). Athens would have either died of starvation and disease or would have fallen to a bloody massacre if we did not take the right actions (Carnes et al., p. 43). However, Athens remains because we were wise enough to swallow our pride and accept the peace conditions devised. And yet we know the situation could have been worse! Our enemies, Corinth and Thebes, had the audacity to suggest destroying all of Athens, killing our men, and enslaving our women and children (Carnes et al., p. 43). We had to sacrifice our Long Walls and all but twelve ships of our championed navy, but Athens is still alive (Osborne, p.41). We are merely a ghost of the once great Athens from centuries ago, but there is still hope for Athens to rise again and stand firmly against the enemies who wish to crush our polis and our spirit. There are still many, young, capable Athenian men we may call upon to help our city-state survive and prosper. Nearly three thousand Athenians can currently be found in the town of Eleusis (Role Sheet, p.2). Although they may have been supporters of the Thirty Tyrants, three thousand may soon be the difference between life and death for the polis of Athens. I call upon you, my fellow Athenians, to be wise and act rationally for the sake of Athens’ future. We would not be able to survive another attack upon Athens without all hands on deck. We must forgive our Athenian brothers who held different opinions if we want Athens to be more than just a ghost of the past. Furthermore, Athens has been relying on the manpower of non-Athenians for far too long. Since 412, we have had no other choice than to start appointing slaves rather than free citizens to the honorable position of rower in our triremes (Carnes et al.,p.41). To prop up our navy in 406, we were reduced to bribing our slaves with freedom (Carnes et al., p.42). May the Gods forbid we someday stoop so low for someone to dare suggest we defend our city-state with women and children! We must wean ourselves off of slave power and return to strengthening our hoplites and navy with Athenian citizens that genuinely care about defending our polis. Take notice of the failures of our enemy, Sparta, and take care to not make the same mistakes. Sparta’s love of slave power has left their citizens outnumbered six to one, leaving them vulnerable and constantly fearful of a helot uprising (Osborne, p. 356). If we continue down this path of relying on non-Athenians to support our endeavors in battle, we will find ourselves facing the same troubles which Sparta struggles with. Truly, the only way to return Athens to the glorious state it once was is to reinstate true Athenians as the dominant force in our polis. We must reconcile with our Athenian brothers taking refuge in Eleusis and invite them back home in order to make Athens strong again. In addition to the act of forgiving, we must also stop wasting Athens’ time by bringing up the past in trifling lawsuits against one another.
Those of you have had to deal with frivolous lawsuits from slaves surely know how much time being in court takes up. If we expend all of our energy by being bitter towards our fellow Athenians, we will detract from the numerous, urgent matters at hand. Remember when Athens nearly starved to death just a few years ago while cowering from Sparta’s blood thirsty army (Carnes et al., p.43)? We have stepped away from the verge of starvation, but we still suffer from a tremendous food insecurity today. For decades, we made ends meet by maintaining a stronghold over the Black Sea with our navy, extracting grains to feed our people (Carnes et al., p.35). However, you can barely even call our twelve measly triremes a fleet, much less a navy. It would do us well to take the time to ensure that Athens re-establishes a reliable source of grains so that our people aren’t walking the Agora with lifeless eyes and emaciated faces. Or we could take the time to rebuild our most valuable defender of the city- the Long Walls. If Sparta attacked us again, we would not be able to cling to life by hiding behind our reliable city walls like we did for the last war (Carnes et al., p.52). We must ensure that the our city-state’s defenses are in place and secure in the event that Corinth or Thebes try to make good on their word and come raze Athens to the ground. Perhaps we could even consider spending our time by reconstructing Athens’ democracy to ensure that we never foolishly walk into such a fatal war ever again. Regardless of how we spend Athens’ precious time, I propose that we not waste our time filing trifling lawsuits against those who aided the Thirty Tyrants. Furthermore, now is the perfect time to quietly pick our polis back up and return it to the venerable position it once held without worry of interruption. Luckily for us, Sparta is
far too busy trying to pull itself out of the grave they have dug themselves to take any notice of Athens growing in strength and power. In addition, reconciling with the three thousand Athenians in Eleusis could possibly add fuel to Sparta’s turmoil by undermining their dear King Pausanias’ rule (Role Sheet, p.2). While Sparta wastes its time by quarreling and cowering from their slaves, Athens must spend its time wisely. If we recall the three thousand Athenians in Eleusis just to waste the Assembly’s time on petty lawsuits, we will be no better than Sparta. We must reconcile if we want Athens to progress. By spending the Assembly’s time on wiser actions than lawsuits, we can properly rebuild Athens and eventually command enough respect to gain allies and restore Athens as the dominant power of Greece. However, the first step to rebuilding Athens lies in the reconciliation and unification of all Athenian citizens, regardless of what occurred during the dark rule of the Thirty Tyrants. Reflecting upon all that Athens has suffered in the short span of a few years, allowing Athens to become divided will surely lead to the complete collapse of our independent democracy. Although we may feel strongly against what actions the supporters of the Thirty Tyrants may have taken, we absolutely cannot afford to exile three thousand, able-bodied, young Athenian men. Nor can we waste all of our time seething against one another over actions which can be forgiven and forgotten. We Athenians must act wisely and rationally if we truly value the survival of Athens and the power of our polis, and vote to forgive the past wrongs of supporters of the Thirty.