Blog 6: How would an Athenian of the 5th Century BCE criticize our present-day representative democracy? (or.... how would they approve of it?)

An Athenian from the classical Greek era would see many faults within our Representative democracy, however he would see advantages as well. he would not tat not every one's opinion is expressed by the Representative, if there was a 51-49 majority the all but half would be thrown out the window and their opinions would not count. In the Athenian Democracy everyone that cared, and was eligible could go and have their opinion expressed by a colored pebblle. Still the Representative method has the advantage of allowing a much more vast opinion to be heard, through one or two people that each count as all the people they rep. The Representatives are a variable that can be good or bad, they can fair and just, and represent the full 100% of their people, instead of just the majority's at their best face, and their worst is where they dis-regard the people and go after a more personal agenda, and still only their voice will be heard. the Athenian democracy is a much more direct method, useful with a small group of people. the modern democracy, in theory, should be better no matter what since we see theirs and yet we prefer our method of representation. both methods work, each better in their respective playing Field.

How do we see Mayan values exemplified in modern society?

We see the Mayans values in something we unwittingly use every single day of our lives. Our calendar is based on 365 days on the year. The Maya actually pioneered this idea based on thier highly accurate solar calendar. Another thing we see the Maya in is our basic school math. Way back in pre-Maya time no one had ever heard of "zero" the number before we begin counting, today in schools zero is the first thing we learn, and it is all thanks to the pioneering minds of the Maya.