The Lessons of Niccolo Machiavelli
By Engineer of Knowledge
This article is another installment as part of my mission to keep informing the new young voters, educating them with the truth, exposing stupid arguments and countering the blatant lies that the extreme conservative political right wing put out on a daily bases. Please pass this article to the young voters who have come of age.
Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, who was born and lived in 15th century Florence Italy, has been given credit as the father of modern political theory. Machiavelli’s most famous quote that is stated most often is, “Absolute power will corrupt absolutely.”
Although Machiavelli had written many books in his lifetime, it is noted that his book, “The Prince” which has the warning within the main theme that, “All means may be resorted to for the establishment and preservation of authority; the end justifies the means, and that the worst and most treacherous acts of the ruler are justified by the wickedness and treachery of the governed.”
For too long Americans have been willing to excuse and embrace ignorance, paranoia, poor performance or anti-social behavior in the name of political conservatism.
By using Machiavelli’s own words I will give the current examples of what he was referring to.
1. “All Means May Be Resorted To For The Establishment And Preservation Of Authority” when properly registered voters were purged from the Florida’s rolls in 2000 to reduce those who would not vote as you desired. This fact was even praised and accolades were presented to the person responsible of accomplishing this. Let’s address the examples of inaccurate voting machines that would change a person’s vote right before their eyes and yet these machines recorded vote numbers casted were accepted as being accurate in 2004. There were examples of candidates voting for themselves but noted that their vote was registered as being cast for their opponent. Yet those who rose up to protest this fraud and were quickly labeled as trouble makers by those who viewed themselves as being righteous and pious because it continued their status quo of corruption in the name of Conservative Religious Values. The hypocrisy of the act of preaching a certain belief of religious truth and way of life, but in fact not holding these same virtues for oneself was so blatant.
2. “The End Justifies The Means” aspect with regards to the religious context, it became OK to lie or commit crimes so long as it furthered their agenda. Truth be damned.
3. The Worst And Most Treacherous Acts Of The Ruler Are Justified By The Wickedness And Treachery Of The Governed” where the example that too many in this country could not concern themselves or chose to ignore the abuses, accept the lies and the crimes committed over the eight years of this outgoing administration. Those that had misdirected reasoning’s of their ignorance and apathy because of it being wrapped up in “Conservative Religious Values.”
Now in conclusion the good news in all of this is that power that is obtained by these means has no longevity. The population masses will finally recognize the corruption, abuses, and lies. This is when the majority will rise up to throw off the shackles of this oppression. To the benefit of those who had mislead and lied to obtain rule by this means for the last 14 years since 1994, this latest timely overthrow by those of clear minds was by our democratic means instead of a violent overthrow.
