Most of us remember that Ares was the Greek god of war. He was the angry, adrenaline-fueled Olympian who plunged headlong into the heat of battle, striking fear into his enemies. His fierce anger and intensity often won the day against insurmountable odds.

But the Greeks had a second god of war, Ares’ half-sister Athena. She was the strategist. Her cool-headed approach studied and understood the strengths and weaknesses of her enemies and developed a plan to turn those qualities to her advantage, which sometimes meant avoiding the conflict altogether. Ares may win a few battles, but it was Athena who won wars.

The ancient Greeks understood that anger could only take them so far. Mobs of people motivated by anger and fear against the status quo turned against the very institutions and structures that protected their safety, rights, and freedoms. Their anger might “win the day,” but it left them weakened and vulnerable to new enemies and new attacks.

That might explain why the Greeks have never named a city after Ares. Instead, they named their largest and most prosperous city after Athena and later declared it their capital. They planted olive trees, one of Athena’s symbols, in her honor. Olives soon became a favorite crop and a rich source of revenue for the Greeks. It should come as no surprise, then, that the olive branch symbolizes peace and prosperity.

The ancient Athenians also gave us the gift of democracy, a government system run by popular vote, where citizens have a say in how they are ruled. It was no coincidence that the city of Athena should also be the birthplace of democracy. Democracy needs cool heads and the ability to understand the viewpoints and philosophies of people with differing ideas to find solutions to problems and turn them to our advantage. That’s why olive branches are needed for democracies to be prosperous and successful.

In contrast, anger destroys democracies, it deals in absolutism as the only possible choice, without further consideration. Dictatorships are formed from anger and fear, where only one viewpoint matters.

Greece was once the most successful civilization of the ancient world, thanks to the philosophy of democratic governance symbolized by Athena. Their downfall came when they let their differences overcome their values. Instead of listening and understanding differing viewpoints, they fought amongst themselves, trading the cool-headed approach of democracy for the faster, angrier allure of a charismatic dictatorship.

Today, the United States is the world’s richest country and its oldest democracy. That’s not a coincidence. Just like the ancient Athenians, we became wealthy because we are a democracy. Our democracy is our greatness, our superpower, and our not-so-secret weapon.

But, like ancient Athens, we’ve become a nation deeply divided. We have charismatic politicians spouting hate and anger, telling us to be cynical of government and institutions in general, sowing distrust in the very structures we set up to secure our safety, a decent education, our ability to choose what is best for us as individuals, and our ability to vote meaningfully. Those same leaders refuse the olive branches of compromise and look to guns and other weapons to solve our problems instead. This is the path of dictatorship. Vengeance and retribution that may win a few battles but will leave us weakened and vulnerable in the end.

Our prosperity comes from everyday people with new ideas and old values, not charismatic politicians, and would-be dictators. We can solve the many problems we face in the world today if only we take the time to listen and understand each other. We need cool heads, understanding, and good strategies, not anger, accusations, and reactionary obstructionism.

We don’t have to agree with Americans who don’t share our ideology, religion, politics, sexual orientation, or lifestyle, but we do have to share our communities and our nation with them if we want to prosper. That was the hope and dream of our forebears when representatives from thirteen separate individual states met together and created the Constitution upon which our country, our representative democracy, and our laws are founded.

Our best chances and hopes lie within ourselves. But like the ancient Greeks, we must recognize and choose which philosophy we want to follow: the impetuous, vengeful approach symbolized by Ares or the sagacious, measured path of Athena.