Allegory of the Cave

Plato the philosopher once told a story of a man who was chained facing a wall in a cave, unable to turn his body or head in any direction. Behind him the cave sloped upwards toward the sun, but along the way were figures which would dance and move in the sunlight, casting shadows on the wall in front of the chained prisoner.

Now this prisoner had been chained to the wall since birth, never knowing anything but these shadows. The prisoner’s reality was in fact only what he knew from these shadows, until one day he was able to free himself. Emerging into the world, he began to realize that those shadows were not reality, but that it was the sun which had created all these images and the freed prisoner was overwhelmed. Racing back to the cave, the prisoner felt compelled to tell the other prisoners of the sun and the world and all of the great wonders he had experienced.

However, the shadows are all that have been known to these prisoners. The stories of the outside world sound less of reality than the idea that no life exists beyond the shadows on the wall. Would the prisoners not then fight the man who tried to free them, fearing that they might go mad as well? A life of misery is the only life these men have ever known; a life they have no desire to trade.

The misery that envelopes the world is discouraging. Look at Africa, a continent gripped by poverty and disease. Look at Darfur, Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these people fight for the only things they have ever known. Democracy, like the sun, has only given them false impressions. They look at America and the West as if they are dancing shadows upon a wall, a reality that exists but only as an oddity and merely a fact of life. We are watched by amused prisoners of countries who, when given the chance at a better life, fight for the cause of hatred and power.

Sometimes those prisoners are unfairly bound by dictators who have chained their countries face-forward to a wall. These countries are the ones that can break free and experience the world and life as they have never known. They see the effects of the sun; it has been there all along. Why then, can they not get away? It is fear of the unknown and deviation from their own reality. Should these prisoners even be tampered with? If America were never to get involved, of course the misery would continue, but who would notice? The world is compelled to help, but the efforts are sometimes unwanted or unappreciated.

The question then becomes: Are we as Americans responsible for breaking those chains?

I suppose I should make it more clear than I do not intend to interpret or explain the allegory but rather use it as an analogy.

I'm not a scholar on the subject, but I do care about American foreign policy. Direct your comments toward the question I pose, not your expert knowledge on dead philosophers.

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