5 2024 אוגוסט 138 אדריכלות ישראלית | | | demosthenes and the frogs editorial Considered to be the spectacular orator of Athens, Demosthenes began his way as a stuttering boy, with Tourette syndrome that caused him involuntary body tics. Friends from his class tell us that in order to get rid of the stuttering he trained for hours in front of the sea to lower his screaming voice until he achieved a deep and authoritative tone, and to avoid the involuntary movements, he hung a sharp sword on his shoulder that wounded it every time he twitched. Since the architecture major at Athens University had not yet been accredited by the Council for Higher Education, Demo registered for Law and History, making his living from writing speeches and representing the Hoi Polloi against the City of Athens, which gave him confidence to experiment as a politician. His first experience in this area was to represent Polycrates, who initiated a peace treaty with the Macedonians, who already ruled half the world. However, like any survival-seeking politician, Demo changed his outlook according to circumstances, and went against "leftist" Polycarates, calling for war against the Macedonians. Unfortunately, they were easily defeated, and Demo was expelled from Athens for life. Nevertheless, he did not give up, and after taking part in a failed rebellion against them, the court issued a death judgment against him. Unable to escape, he preferred to commit suicide by swallowing poison. And it is interesting to note that this reminded my grandmother of the story about the frogs who were traveling in the woods, when suddenly two of them fell into a deep pit. All the rest of the frogs immediately stood around the pit, and when they saw how deep it was they shouted to their friends at the bottom while waving their hands desperately, "You have no chance of getting out... Give up and rest in peace." But the two frogs had no intention of giving up their lives so easily, and despite all the shouting and their friends' hand waving, they tried with all their power to jump out, until one of them died at the bottom of the pit. The second one, that was as determined as Demo, did not give up, continuing to try to escape, until he finally managed to jump out of the pit. His fellow frogs, who were extremely shocked asked - "How did you do it?... the pit was so deep and we didn't stop shouting and waving our hands... The frog looked at them in wonder and explained in sign-language that since he is deaf he was sure their hand waving was meant to encourage him not to give up, and he kept trying... From those two true stories, one can infer two important conclusions: one, that in order to be a real leader, a deep voice alone is not enough, and the other, that sometimes unintelligible cackling and hand waving of the majority in the Knesset do not necessarily ensure an appropriate answer to the minority. However, my grandmother has long been irrelevant, and since I am a sworn optimist, much like the surviving frog, I believe that one day it will happen (as Rita wrote… almost), something will change, and everything will calm down, He will go and there will be nothing to fear. And this day will come, like a curved line on the palm of a hand, as if it was always there waiting for it to happen... Architect Dr. Ami Ran Demosthenes Declaiming by the Seashore, Delacroix 1859
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