A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.
Epicurus was an intelligent man. He wasn’t (I fondly believe) consumed with ideological narrow-mindedness and did not constantly hearken back to the written-in-stone teachings of outdated gurus and prophets. He was, in a word, educated and could think for himself. Alive today, he might still not want to get personally involved in the political process, but would still urge everyone to take an intelligent interest and think "What is best for the country as a whole, as opposed to a set of narrow interest-groups".
This is because the modern situation has changed. The technology and opportunity for the mass media to influence (taint?) the public debate, and for really huge money to skew government policy has never been greater. An intelligent person rolls with the punches. Epicurus would have emerged from his Garden to observe that, if he did not speak he wouldn’t for long have a Garden.
We are currently faced, left and right, with a unique opportunity to sideline and render old-fashioned and irrelevant, malign forces that have skewed democracy for their own ends and have caused bloodshed and misery elsewhere. It is our duty as citizens, whether we want only to lower taxes or whether we want to see medical insurance for the poor, to seize back our democracy for ordinary people. Have a rational debate, by all means, on the allocation of resources, abortion, whatever, but take back the country and talk rationally
The Philosopher himself would have been charmed by the observation:
“Epicurus would have emerged from his Garden to observe that, if he did not speak he wouldn’t for long have a Garden.”
You gotta be joking! Dream on! The rich and the corporations run the country, and they should. They do the work and they should get the rewards. What would you do without Exxon and Crate & Barrel? All you people do is sit at your computers and talk.
I guess you are not on the Board of Exxon yourself. Am I right?
Just in case you are, have a word with the big honcho, will you? Tell him that his know-nothing obstruction of global warming will brand him the most selfish and shortsighted individual in a selfish and short-sighted generation. Tell him he should be ashamed of himself, and when he fires you come back here and make some thoughtful comments.