In “Apology: Socrates' Defense,” Socrates talks about his unique way of helping society and why others seem to do it wrong. He says he is not the kind of man who could become a politician because if he gave up his integrity and became a politician he would not help anyone. Instead he says it's like a horsefly around a horse, where the horse is the company. The horsefly will annoy the horse and arouse him; in the case of society, Socrates provokes them into action or thought by using constructive criticism or questioning people. He is the gadfly and is not considered a good person because he is a nuisance to the general public. A politician would not dare to be a gadfly but would only abide by social norms. SocratesHere you see very clearly that things have not changed even 2000 years later. In politics you can't truly be yourself otherwise you'll never get into office. We have these lying, useless people, who Socrates said would never be, in politics because they are the only ones who can make it. Socrates is right when he says “rather, anyone who truly fights for what is right, if he survives even for a short time, will have to act in a private rather than a public capacity. (Plato 31) They also have to hide when they are trying to be progressive and pass off good things so that they don't get torn to pieces by the media or aren't seen as good by the general public for their stance on something. There are many examples of politicians' careers being affected or interrupted because of a point of view they share or try to paste into our world. If they were to speak too openly about topics such as abortion or gay rights, they would find themselves in the place of their opponents and would never get to the place they occupy. You see this on the platforms of many recent presidents where they either don't acknowledge the topic at all or use cryptic statements to hide their true feelings about it. Specifically on gay rights, Obama said during his 2012 run that he would not stop Congress if it passed marriage laws for gay people. Like many politicians, he took a weak stand on an issue to avoid public backlash. He must act privately and talk directly to other politicians to get something done without ever declaring his intentions to the media or the public. All politicians must act this way; they should never declare their intentions or position on a controversial topic for fear that this could lead to strong negative reactions. Acting in a private capacity is essential because in many cases politicians actually want to pass certain laws or see changes in what they consider to be wrong, but they simply don't want hatred or an end to their careers for something they consider necessary for a future. part