Month of New Subjects - Day 7

So when we last left off, I was going to sit down with Machiavelli and "The Art of War," from The Prince. Published in 1521, Machiavelli has come to be synonymous with ruthlessness and getting your way no matter who you have to trample. I don't think he's an author one could approach with eagerness or an open heart, and I found him most disturbing. Not because of his ideas exactly, but because of how much he might understand human nature. For example:

...men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.

How long has the Nigerian money scam (providing them your bank account so a deposed prince/ruler/whomever can transfer large sums of money into it--splitting it with you of course) been going on, and yet there are still people dumb enough to fall for it. Did you ever stop to think that the reason you get so much stupid spam & junk email is that there are obviously people who fall for these scams.

The other part that I thought was especially astute:

For this reason a prince ought to take care that he never lets anything slip from his lips that is not replete with [fidelity, friendship, humanity, and religion], that he may appear to him who sees and hers him altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. There is nothing more necessary to appear to have than this last quality.....

Have you ever noticed how sanctimoniously religious America gets every 4 years during the presidential election? According to all the polls and sound-bytes, this is usually the number one issue whether it's cloaked as "family values" or the flag-waving "one nation under God"-ists who take their lead from the McCarthy era challenging anyone who objects to "under God" as "unAmerican," (ignoring that the whole "one nation under God" thing was only added to our currency during in the McCarthy era for that EXACT reason). ALL our candidates become regular church-goers--even if they need a map to find the church. And we never question any of it.

Next up: selections from Two Treatises on Civil Government by John Locke and selections from Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan. Why did no one warn me that my subject was going to be this depressing?????