Why I'm No Longer Feeling The Bern
(For the humor challenged, the following is meant as pure snark, so please don't get your knickers in a twist.)
In The Prince, widely considered the most important and influential book on political theory ever written, Nicollo Machiavelli states:
A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary... to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.
In thinking about this, it occurred to me that Bernie Sanders is exactly the kind of compulsive and habitual do-gooder type that NM was referring to. And while this may be an admirable quality in a pastor or a rabbi, I have sadly come to the conclusion that in the world we live in today, it would be an epic disaster in a political leader.
Can you imagine someone with Bernie Sanders elevated and refined sense of morality trying to deal with the depraved, dishonest and cutthroat despots who rule such countries as Syria, Russia, North Korea and China? Why, it would literally be like a gentle lamb trying to single-handedly take on a pack of ravenously hungry wolves. You truly would want to avert your eyes, it would be so horrible.
Fortunately, we Democrats have been presented with a much better option, if only we have the good sense and intelligence to embrace it. Hillary Clinton, while certainly innately good (at least in an abstract sense) is also someone who possesses the street smarts and inherent toughness to go toe to toe with the most evil, corrupt and duplicitous dictator imaginable, and not yield so much as a hundredth of a millimeter in her capacity for being not good, as the particular case may demand.
While the pathetically inept Jimmy Carter may have pledged (untruthfully) that he would never lie to the American people, the sad fact is that such is the stuff of Bernie-esque fantasies about an impossibly virtuous world. In reality, in the treacherous, dangerous and highly volatile world we live in today, we need a leader who - when the situation requires it - has no compunction whatever about looking the American public in the eye and telling the most egregious and bald-faced lies without the slightest hint of self-consciousness or embarrassment.
Additionally, we need a leader who, given an overwhelming practical imperative, can make secret deals with people in positions of power which - in the short and even perhaps medium term - may help the privileged few and harm the many, in order to build alliances that will give that leader the critical support base that will allow him or her to eventually reverse those harmful policies.
We need a leader who is not embarrassed or ashamed to enrich themselves from public service, as so doing will surely endear them to the movers and shakers whose good will and support is absolutely crucial for anyone seriously aspiring to do Good for society.
And of course we need a leader who can change and adjust positions on a dime, based on the public passions of the moment, in order to build the base of public support that any leader needs in order to overcome the many obstacles always confronting those who aspire to make a positive difference in the world.
In short, we need Hillary Clinton, whose character so closely mirrors the "enlightened ammorality" promoted by Machiavelli that, were he writing his opus in contemporary times, I truly believe he would call it The Princess. Today, in 2016, we Americans have the rare opportunity to select a leader who has fully embraced the realpolitik philosophy of Machiavelli and taken it to (and perhaps even a little bit beyond) its logical conclusion. It hardly seems necessary to point out that collectively, we would be the worst kind of short-sighted fool not to eagerly grab such a unique opportunity with both hands and run with it.
#IveFinallySeenTheLightAndNowImWithHer
Comments
There are some who believe that 'The Prince"
was a satire. Essentially it was kissing up to what the Italian City-State nobility were doing SO MUCH, it should have been freaking obvious it was a parody.
These were people who commissioned a painting of a tomb that they had promised to somebody who fought for them, and said "Eh, good enough"
Only downside is that Clinton does NOT sponsor artists with her ill gotten wealth. (That I could at least respect in a self-centered artist sort of way) Instead she spends her ill gotten wealth to ship guns to cause chaos around the world. She doesn't higher artists, because if she did, the fawning praise of her would be far more skillful and less obvious.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Damn straight on that last line
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
This sounds like a job for Magritte!
Ceci ne pas une tombe!
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Nixon’s “madman” strategy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory
Looking forward to the return of professional "tasters"
at those State Dinners!
Position will entail a minimum of training, but have a regular turnover..
You're kidding about tasters, but Clinton
is sufficiently paranoid that she really may be terrified of poison in her creme brulee... especially now that the vast rightwing conspiracy of her younger nightmares has been expanded into an even more vast conspiracy of all humans.
Hillary Clinton 2016: I'm a proud progmoderate!
Why I'm no longer feeling the burn
Doctor gave me this great ointment! Works wonders, no more burning when I...
Wait...you all were talking about something else...
Hilarious!
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
It's really not satire and you wrote it well.
It's the common wisdom of the last half of the last millennium. Due to the patronage of the oligarchs in every country of the world, there emerged museums and art movements, fabulous public arts and architecture, classical music and dance, landscaping and city planning, and several centuries of unimaginable achievements at a pace never before seen in the world. Trade and transportation spread wonders and discoveries among all people.
These were the empires and monarchies, hence The Prince, and the idea took hold that only the oligarchs knew how to spend money in order to foster the arts and sciences with taste and distinction, and thus enlighten the people into a higher form of civilization.
Only recently were the monarchies replaced by the "people's" governments — after several world wars. But the concept of superior guidance by the privileged and worldly grips the world still. Thus, oligarchs are allowed to emerge by all governments, by virtue of "special arrangements" of privatization of public resources.
The people, as well, fully support this construct. When choosing leaders, they always select the most sociopathic, the one who must make the terrible decisions that will carry their civilizations into the future. Their leaders must not hesitate to inflict murder and mayhem upon others, and even their own people, when it is strategically necessary in the long view of creating a stronger, better civilization built on sacrifice today.
The Prince would feel right at home in the 21st century. Potemkin democracies, like that of the United States, work just as well as monarchies. This defines the blanket of desperation thrown over the 2016 election. The Prince would certainly vote for Hillary (not that this outcome is ever left up to chance).
The first Democratic Socialist, Jesus Christ, has always demonstrated the key fate of a political activist who gained power and influence from the doctrine of leaving the world better than he found it. That never changes.
Sadly, he was mischaracterized as a religious nut, and people learned nothing about the ways of the world.
Thanks for the kind words
And you make great point. There is a huge disconnect between the morality that so many profess to - and oftentimes actually adhere to - in their personal lives, versus what they not only condone but enthusiastically approve of in their political leaders. Politicians like McGovern, Carter and Sanders who make ethics and morality a centerpiece of their approach to governance are derided as weak, gullible and naive, whereas those who engage in all manner of criminality, and who are seemingly without conscience, are celebrated as hard-headed realists and effective leaders.
To my mind, Gandhi had the best response to Machiavelli's "end justifies the means" argument when he said: "Violence breeds violence... Pure goals can never justify impure or violent action... They say the means are after all just means. I would say means are after all everything. As the means, so the end."
Given the clusterfuck situation in which the world now finds itself, perhaps Sanders success in promoting a world view based on fairness, compassion and generosity means that a critical mass of citizens has concluded that 21st century politics could use a bit more in the way of Gandhi, and a bit less in the way of Machiavelli. Or at least one can hope.
inactive account
It would seem so.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Just as Orwell's 1984 was
Just as Orwell's 1984 was taken by the Oligarchs as a primer, not a cautionary tale.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
That occurred to me when I read about the Hillary/Huma collusion
was so tight Bill couldn't even get a phone call through. Those girls must have plenty to say about their respective spouses behind those locked doors.
Nice work and thanks for the humor
I really like the phrase "knickers in a twist". Nice points, and using humor to emphasis the issues with Hillary was wonderful done. Bravo.
I really like the phrase "knickers in a twist".
Beware of using such humor over on TOP. I got hydrated to death (and called a sexist jerk) for using the phrase "panties in a wad".
Cat, it's nice to be someplace where my footfalls aren't on nitroglycerin-filled pre-cracked eggshells!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Col Kurtz
“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"
Oh my god. pfi, I don't know what to say.
I busted out crying when I read "pile of little arms". I can only see the horror. I cannot see the courage here --- it is war and ignorance I see --- pure horror --- it does not take strength to chop off a child's arm --- I don't know what it is --- God, I only know it's wrong --- so, I'm judging --- I don't give a fuck!
Apocalypse Now is excruciating to watch.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
UR, i think it is one of the best movies ever made
because it hit every note, for me. acting. story. location. directing. the camera work. and the editing... was the key. Coppola and his editors were absolutely brilliant. oh, and the music.
incredible. and to think, that year i believe Kramer v Kramer won best picture.
“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"
i found it almost liberating
because it helped me to understand our hearts of darkness. it's late where i am and maybe we'll have to meet up in an open thread to discuss it. there's so much to it. but there is also light in it because it made you cry, to stand for something, to feel something. and that is at the heart of it.
“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"
TYPO CORRECTION...
5th paragraph from the bottom... 7th paragraph from the top:
I know. I know. What makes me so compelled to respond with such an inane typo correction suggestion.... well, because your piece was such brilliant satire that, as Pluto pointed out, it's sadly not even satire at all and is profoundly felt to be true by her loyal $HillBot fans at TOS, so I had to go to such lengths to add SOMETHING satirical in response.
BRILLIANT! SIMPLY BRILLIANT
“I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”
― Harry Truman