Blog #20: “Machiavellian Advisor to the New President of the United States of America”

With the recent election, there has been much talk about change. With Barack Obama as our new president, many things are going to be changed, hopefully for the better. After reading Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, if I were to imagine myself as an advisor to President Obama about the concepts and tactics entailed in the book, I would choose three teachings that I felt he should either employ or continue to use for the betterment of the United States of America and all of its citizens.

The first lesson is from Chapter VI (6) and deals with how princes form new princedoms. The United States has been around for well over 200 years, so I don’t think we have to worry about being seized by another “prince,” however, I believe this can apply in our efforts to end our recession and bounce back into prosperity. The specific part was that princes should follow in the footsteps of others, especially great leaders, in order to be successful on their own part. I see this happening already, in the fact the President Obama has researched President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs, and implemented a few of his own, with more sure to come. The two newest, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER), show that using FDR’s type of programs have worked in the past, and will continue to work today. I chose this lesson because I feel it is important to be successful, and especially in these hard times, to be successful in the smallest amount of time to avoid other complications. By using something that worked in the past, will eliminate much time that would otherwise be spent developing some type of program to meet this need.

The second lesson is from Chapter VII (7) and addresses those princes who use their power and money to buy their way into positions of power. Princes of merit are far better leaders, and in the end, ultimately achieve a better overall satisfaction rating from the people. This is important when selecting cabinet members and appointing other public officials, because if they are selected because of their wealth, nothing good can come of it. Corruption is something that haunts American politics, and is something that needs to stop. By eliminating this form of leaders, eliminates a major source of the problem. I selected this lesson because I feel that the leaders we elect should serve the American people, not themselves. They are in a public office, and as a result, must act accordingly.

The final lesson is from Chapter X (10) and deals with when princedoms are attacked and/or seized. It goes on to say that if a princedom is attacked, it is best if the prince is prepared ahead of time to react to the attack. I believe that in our world today, war is inevitable, and we must ensure that we have the ability to protect ourselves and our allies. Currently the military of the United States is the largest in the world, by a wide margin. I believe this needs to continue, and I would urge the President to ensure that this happens. It is unnerving to think like this, but one must expect the worst, and in today’s world, that is pretty bad. Our military needs to ensure that no harm comes to the American people and our allies around the world.

While Machiavelli’s teachings and lessons are certainly controversial in democracies around the world, there are certain aspects that take hold in our form of government. The three lessons above reflect, in my opinion, those that we need to be concerned about most in today’s world.

Blog #13: "N-Word Book - Chapter One"

After reading chapter one of the N-Word book, I found the perspectives that Mr. Randall Kennedy offered to be of the same nature of my own for the most part. One in particular that I especially agreed with is found on page 41, and directly deals with this quote from Ice-Cube. “When we call each other [the N-Word] it means no harm. But if a white person uses it, it’s something different, it’s a racist word.” Kennedy then proceeds to question why it is that African-Americans are okay when they use the N-Word with each other, but not when a white person uses it. My question is if the African-American people who use the N-Word towards one another are offended when white people use it, why don’t they stop using it within themselves? All that accomplishes is spreading the wild fire that eventually reaches the whites, and says “we are okay if you use it, because we use it.” This gives whites who don’t have a lot of interaction the wrong message, that the N-Word is acceptable is society, when in reality, it is the complete opposite. I absolutely agree with Kennedy’s thinking on this argument. The whole “Be the change you want to see in the world” quote could take hold here. If the African-American population (the ones who use the N-Word with each other in a warm, comfort-type way) were to stop using the word in that way, then soon the white population would as well. It’s just that the whites are getting reinforcement for their actions from the African-Americans who use the N-Word towards one another.

Part of the confusion or chaos of the word, comes from the fact that because two different ethnic groups are using it for two different uses, it takes on two different meanings. The N-Word has been put into a variety of situations and can mean a variety of definitions. Some African-Americans use it as a comfort word, to reassure others, yet some white use it as a demeaning, ugly, evil word that it ultimately is. To eliminate it would solve all the problems associated with it, yet a practical solution cannot contain this step. Perhaps America will find a way to deal with this, but for now, it remains a certainly touchy subject.