Disruptive Civics

Hello friends,

Chattanooga’s got soul, but its governance? Kinda stuck in dial-up mode. Disruptive Civics is crashing the scene like a tech startup with a Platonic twist—think Socratic vibes meets “question deeply and reforge the system for today." We’re rallying all ages to shake up the system and rewire local democracy, one bold idea at a time; especially the 25 to 45 year olds... we need to own our future.

Join us at [Location Pending] for a meetup that’s part networking, part chat, and all save-the-world energy. Picture this: craft brews in hand, we’re tossing out big questions like Plato in a toga. Why’s city hall so meh? Can we hack better budgets? Let’s spitball like we’re debugging code—test, tweak, repeat.

This ain’t your grandpa’s town hall. It’s a brainstorm with bite. Show up to vibe with doers who get it. Show up to riff on fixing what’s broken. Or show up to spark a revolution that makes Chattanooga hum. No suits, no snooze—just real talk and big dreams.

Grab a pint. Let’s shape our future.

—Disruptive Civics Crew

Civics Definition: A social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens

Plato
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." This paraphrase is found in various sources, such as BrainyQuote - Plato Quotes and Oxford Reference - Plato, and is traced back to The Republic, Book 1, section 347c.

Plato, born around 427 B.C.E. in Athens, came from a family expected to participate in politics. However, he chose not to, influenced by the corruption he observed.
Philosophical Stance

• He believed true reform required philosophers to hold power or rulers to become philosophers, a condition he saw as unmet in his time.

Verification of the Quote
To verify, I consulted multiple sources. The Oxford Reference confirms the quote, attributing it to The Republic, bk. 1, 347c, with the exact wording: "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." This is a paraphrase, and to understand the original, I examined the Perseus Digital Library, which provides the Greek text and translations.
The passage at Perseus Digital Library - Plato, Republic, Book 1, 347c states:
"[347c] for they are not covetous of honor. So there must be imposed some compulsion and penalty to constrain them to rule if they are to consent to hold office. That is perhaps why to seek office oneself and not await compulsion is thought disgraceful. But the chief penalty is to be governed by someone worse if a man will not himself hold office and rule. It is from fear of this, as it appears to me, that the better sort hold office when they do, and then they go to it not in the expectation of enjoyment nor as to a good thing, but as to a necessary evil and because they are unable to turn it over to better men than themselves..."
This confirms that the paraphrase is accurate, capturing the essence that not participating in politics risks being governed by less capable individuals, which aligns with the user's query.
Source - Grok: https://grok.com/share/bGVnYWN5_82667f2d-aef6-4024-a972-df86d98be71c