How+Ch.+18-19+apply+to+our+nation's+history+&+modern+society


 * Chapter 18: CONCERNING THE WAY IN WHICH PRINCES SHOULD KEEP FAITH**

//What is faith?// - //Faith// has multiple meanings such as: confidence or trust in a person or thing, belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc., and loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance; however, in this case //faith// refers to the belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of //religion//.

//What is religion? - Religion// is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

//Importance of religion in presidential candidacy/presidential elections in the United States//

- In the chapter, religion has a great importance, eventhough Machiavelli doesn't emphasize on it much, in being a prince. I want to expand on this topic because, today, it is thought of that religion plays a crucial role for presidential candidates in the U.S. and Machiavelli had a great point by saying "That the show of religion was helpful to the politician, but the reality of it hurtful and pernicious." Eventhough many do agree that religion plays a big role in the U.S. presidential elections, I have to say that I do not agree.This is beacuse of my respect towards Mitt Romney and his speech, "Faith in America". In his speech, Mitt Romney, a republic and candidate for president of the U.S., talks about how religion shouldn't matter when voting for or electing a president, yet all religions should be respected, because once president, your job is to keep your people and country satisfied and contented. "A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith...A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States." However, Romney does mention that when you have problems and difficulties in life, it is okay to consider and use your religion in order to undergo such hardships. He also mentions that freedom and religion are inseparable because one opens the door for the other; they work as a whole just like the two ways of striving for mastery, which Machiavelli states in chapter 18 of //The Prince//. "There are some who may feel that religion is not a matter to be seriously considered in the context of the weighty threats that face us. If so, they are at odds with the nation's founders, for they when our nation faced its greatest perils, sought the blessings of the Creator. And further, they discovered the essential connection between the survival of a free ;and and the protection of religious freedom...Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone. We are ignorant, and most of the time we don't realize our defects. In this case, our ignorance takes over us because some don't realize that religion shouldn't play a crucial role in the U.S. presidential elections; instead of worrying about the candidate's religion we should care about how they're going to make a difference in our nation. "They [Americans] would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion, say that it is more a tradition than my personal conviction, or disavow one or another of its percepts. That I will not do. I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers - I will be true to them and to my beliefs." [|Mitt Romney's speech "Faith in America"]

//Two ways of contesting//

Machiavelli states that there are two ways of becoming a prince: one is proper, the other is evil. He also mentions that we need to understand and know to use both methods, because can't function without the other, in order to become a great prince. Two great examples for this would be our president, George W. Bush, and once dictator of the Dominican Republic, Trujillo. Bush demonstrates what Machiavelli calls one of the methods of becoming a prince, the proper. Most Americans today aren't happy with Bush's job so far, however that doesn't mean that we are being mistreated in our country. If anything, eventhough we are in a time of war, we should be delighted with our country because of our freedom and our rights. Here, in America, we have opportunities, freedom and rights; that's set for us and we shouldn't ask for more, that's about as good as it gets. Yes, we may not be content in the situation Bush has put us, but if we think about it it really doesn't affect us, unless we have a family member currently in the U.S. military. On the other hand, we have Trujillo, who demonstrates the evil method in becoming a prince. "The Dominican Republic suffered under the brutal dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo for thirty one years." [|Dictatorship of Trujillo] During thit time of his dictatorship in Dominican Republic, Trujillo and his government treated their people like animals. Dominicans were forced to have a photograph of Trujillo in there household because this demonstrated respect and love towards Trujillo from his people. If anyone dared to go against and overthrow him from his power, they were mostlikely hunted down and killed. The Dominican people at that time, would've been more than happy if they had what we have today in our country; sometimes we need to take the time to appreciate our beautiful country for giving us freedom, rights, and opportunities to succeed in life. By Machiavelli stating that both methods of becoming a prince work as as a whole and one is unable to function without the other, we can see that if we take Bush's and Trujillo's qualities and unite them, we have created the "perfect" prince according to Machiavelli.


 * Chapter 19: THAT ONE SHOULD AVOID BEING DESPISED AND HATED

//The love and respect from the people//

In this chapter, Machiavelli states that the most important objective and necessity of a prince to accomplish is to make sure that his people are satisfied and contented. In doing so, the prince will gain the love, trust, and respect from his people. If a prince is unable to do so, Machiavelli states that the greatest fear of a prince, in this case, would be the people themselves, because once they go against you they will create difficulties not only in your job as a prince, but in your life as well. Machiavelli also mentions that "...princes cannot help being hated by someone, they ought, in the first place, to avoid being hated by every one..." A prince should not only gain the trust and respect of his country, but of foriegn countries as well; which leads to that a prince should "...avoid the hatred of the most powerful." A great example of this is what occured back in March of 2006 between our president, Bush, and Pakistan's, Musharraf. Both, along with Bush's wife, conversed during a massive dinner in Pakistan. During this dinner, Musharraf spoke well about Americans and thanked them for their solidarity and support when Pakistan was in need. Musharraf also mentioned that when looking back, history demonstrated that both countries benefitted by working together. Overall, Musharraf went all out, and throughout the whole dinner, he spoke in a friendly and respectful manner towards/about Bush and his American people. [|President Bush and his wife attend state dinner in Pakistan]

//Why we should gain the love, trust and respect from foreign countries//

On Friday, January 20, 1961 the thirty-fifth President of the United States, John F. Kennedy gave an inaugural address (speech), which expands on not only gaining the love and respect from your people, but with foreign countries as well. In this speech Kennedy gives us answers of why we should work together with other countries to make a difference in this world. He mentions that together, countries can accomplish anything such as: destroying powerful nations who may be taking control of the world, which is not good because then there's a nation who's the most powerful and surpasses all, and aquiring freedom for all. Kennedy says, "Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms—and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah—to "undo the heavy burdens ... and to let the oppressed go free."" [|Kennedy's inaugural address]