In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato portrays a society that knows only a false reality because they have not experienced anything outside of the cave in which they are imprisoned. One captor escapes his chains to make his way out of the cave and enter the world outside where he becomes enlightened. Many modern Americans are still chained to the walls of the cave because they believe only what they have always known, and they cannot accept that they may be wrong or that there is more to know.
             Our parents are the source of most of what we know from childhood. Some people refuse to be open-minded about anything that is contrary to what their parents have taught them. Some may refuse to be exposed to the light outside their parents' cave. Others may see that light but refuse to accept it as truth. Plato asks, "If he is compelled look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away...?" Some people see the light and retreat back into their caves because they want to stay where they are comfortable.
             The media controls many ideas that people are exposed to. The images that Americans see on television are not always the truth or the whole truth. For example, the news may be censored by the government because they do not want the people to see something that sends a bad message. The media decides the information that we see, and may censor or misrepresent the facts in order to convey the message that satisfies their own political agenda. Plato describes the images on the wall, "like the screen which marionette players have in front of them." We too are stuck in our recliners watching that screen; the only difference is that ours has a cable attached.
             The government is the final thing that has citizens chained to the wall. Governments tell our citizens only what they want us to know. Other information is classified. The politicians that lea
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