On Thursday, a federal court in New York will consider whether President Trump has the right to block certain individuals from interacting with him The central institution of the first democracy was the Athenian assembly, where all important civic decisions were put to a vote. And the central tradition of the assembly was that every citizen could speak freely on all such matters. The ancient Greeks even had a word for one who did not participate – an “idiot” – the root of our modern insult. Modern America is only loosely based on Athenian democracy. We can no longer gather at short notice to vote on a hill in the middle of town. But a belief that every citizen should have an opportunity to speak and be heard remains at the heart of our political tradition. Continue reading...
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