Reconciliation?

Below you will find written arguments forwarded by representatives of the Socratic faction, the Radical Democrats, and the Oligarchs. Shortly before sundown on the eve of our Assembly, no arguments have been received from the Moderate Democrats, but we have been told that a courier will deliver them soon.

A Member of the Socratic Faction (Kyla) writes in favor of a Reconciliation Agreement:

The Reconciliation Agreement would  pardon those who may have assisted the Thirty Tyrants. This Agreement would also forbid Athenians from filing lawsuits or even bringing up the “past wrongs” of the ones who supported the Thirty Tyrants or encouraged their cause.

Let us be wise and realize it is not right to act out of anger.
“To allow an angry mob to attempt to intervene in the wake of the many months of bloody civil war is foolish and dangerous.” (source not cited)

I am aware that all of us have grieved and suffered from the reign of the Thirty Tyrants. They have killed our families and made us panic at the thought of making it through the night. The Tyrants have made us run in fright and have left us an enormous debt. I say this with deep heart and fixed and steady determination. To leave our past behind us, we must stop revisiting it and move forward to create a better society for our children and their children after.

We put aside many things in our society, so we should do the same with the Thirty Tyrants. Like a new born child with a disability or defect, our rage against the Tyrants must be put aside in a pot on a hill and  forgotten. The mother, of course, is broken but realizes she must return to the needs of her living children. So let us abandon the painful memory and set it aside to starve and die. We are the mother of Athens and we need to return to what we have and build it up to be the finest.

I think we can all agree that our objectives here today are the same. We want to see Athens restored and built back up. In order for us to have a brighter future we need to remain loyal and just. Two wrongs do not make a right, so let us forget those who trespassed against us and rise up to be the greatest country. We have learned from our mistakes, so let us not make them again. Athens is a strong country, and she will always be no matter what comes against us.

Leader of the Radical Democrats, Thrasybulus (AKA Tyler) writes:

Fellow Athenians,when we lost our fleet in the Hellespont and our city was plunged into the disasters of that time, who of our older men does not know that the “people's party,” as they were called, were ready to go to any length of hardship to avoid doing what the enemy commanded, deeming it monstrous that anyone should see the city which had ruled over the Hellenes in subjection to another state, whereas the partisans of oligarchy were ready both to tear down the walls and to submit to slavery?  Many of them had been exiled by the Thirty Tyrants or had fled for their lives. Although I, Thrasybulus, placed myself at their head, along with many of you by my side.”(Isocrates) We defeated the Thirty Tyrants in battle, and restored the democracy. We radical democrats are tired of cowards who run when conflict arrives and are afraid to stand for what we all love: a “True Democracy.’’

In order for us to bring Athens back to restoration we must kill the leaders of the Thirty Tyrants who were for tearing us apart from the inside out. And as for the supporters of the Thirty Tyrants, many will say it will be to long of a process to punish all of those that were involved with the Thirty , they will say let bygones be bygones. I will say to that statement that you would rather allow those traders, killers of democracy to stay among us with going unpunished? By doing so we are leaving room for them to turn their back on us in the future. They must all be punished. I propose to kill the leaders and enslave those who were involved, until they have been to trial. We are in ruins right now. Our city could use the forced labor to rebuild our great city. I will ask you not to have a sympathetic view on those who had not thought of you in their decisions to join theThirty Tyrants. It is time for us to think of ourselves. If I were to pity those whom I have fought in battle, I would not be standing before you today. They would have killed me and would not have thought twice about it. Its time to stand for our democracy, for I will stand when all is against me; I will stand for Athens. They must be punished, with a punish that scars them to remind them of the scars that they gave us athenians.

Works Cited
 "Isocrates, Areopagiticus, Section 64." Perseus Digital Library. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0144:speech=7:section=64>.

James W., of the Oligarchs, writes:

Friends and fellow Athenians, it makes my heart glad to see so many of us here! Here at the Pynx where our forefathers gathered to direct the ship of Athens on to its greatest glories and where we now stand, having once again thrown off the cruel reign of tyranny in the form of the foolish Critias and his minions. On behalf of myself and those I represent I want to offer formal thanks to General Thrasybulus and his men for returning Athens to her rightful rulers, surely Athena herself smiles on him. Truly the “Time of Troubles,” as some are now calling it, was a horrific and unsettling time for us all. So many here have lost homes, businesses and family to the butchery of the thirty. I myself have experienced this loss. That period in our history is one that will always be a painful one for all Athenians.

But that period is over. The Thirty have fled and the idiot Critias is wandering in Hades. We have won! I come before you today to propose that, like the Olympian who has won his event, we put that struggle behind us and forgive those whom we have beaten and move on to the even greater glories that lay ahead. My friends it brings no glory to Athens nor to our goddess to dwell on the past and, as I shall presently explain, it could actually do us harm. 

Recall the stories we have been told of Themistocles and the days and months leading up to the Persian invasion. Then as now Athens has many enemies, enemies that would seek to take advantage of any and all perceived weakness. Do not be surprised that I speak of Athens as weak for so we would be if we allow ourselves to become bogged down by the past, to become involved with the reckless and bitter pursuit of pointless vengeance while our defenses lie in ruins. Athenians better use of our time and resources would be to rebuild the long walls that once defended our homes! I see many sailors in the assembly today. The triremes that were once the source of our power are gone and you men are out of work! Men of Athens! Would not a better use of our time be to rebuild these ships and give these your fellow countrymen back their livelihood and defend our shores at the same time? Consider Themistocles, I say, for as he often said the Persians will come again. Even if they do not Athens has other enemies. Will any Athenian ever forget the day the Spartans ringed this very assembly and forced us to accept Critias as ruler? I am certain that I will not! All these evils can be prevented by a united and fortified Athens!

My opponents will say that we who claim the title of oligarch wish to promote this measure and thus escape the just wrath of the people. My friends nothing could be further from the truth. We negotiated with the Spartan Commander for the freedom of Athens and helped to rid Athens of spartan rule! Surely these are not the actions of a supporter of the Thirty. I spoke earlier of my personal loss under the tyrants reign, and I can assure you as a fellow surviver of that dreadful time that none of us supported the atrocities committed by the Thirty and so any reprisals could not be aimed at me or my fellow landowners. We simply see no purpose in continuing to rip the scab off the wounds caused by those atrocities. Let us move on with Athens's future.

Fellow Athenians, fellow survivors: I do not come before you today asking that you forget your lost loved ones for I know we never shall. I simply ask, for the honor, defense, and future of Athens that you put aside your vengeance, set the past behind you, and join me in looking to the future. A future not defined by the mistakes of the past, but by the hope of a new and glorious future.