Category Archives: Uncategorized

Baldesar Castiglione writes “The Book of the Courtier” in 1506. “The Book of the Courtier” is a guide to what type of person would be an ideal courtier. A courtier is a follower, who assists leaders in making decision. According to Castiglione, a Courtier should be well educated, be skillful in many activities, never appear to be using effort, make good judgments, capable of using charm to influence others and their motives should be hidden. In order for a courtier to be skillful in many activities, he has to learn different skills very early in their life, possibly after being born.

A New York Times article titled “For the Goal-oriented Parent, A Jump-start in Toddler sport” discusses a company called Gymtrix, who offers exercise programs designed for children as early as 6 months old and extends to around 2 years old. According to this article, “There are millions of American parents worried to death that their children might fall behind somebody else’s kid.” (NYT) This idea pushes parents to try to give their children an advantage against other children by starting fitness early. Castiglione said “…he must begin early and learn the principles from the best of teachers.” (C ,242) these programs for infant are the modern “best of teachers” since they are specially designed for infants. By starting early, Parents hope to give their children traits of a Courtier, one who is skillful in sports as well as able to influence others through socializing. These infants may even by like a Courtier in the program if they appear to be the most skilled and admired by others.

The article, “In Kazakhstan, Clinton Defends Openness, but Condemns Diplomatic Cable Leaks” can be very closely related to the concept of statesmanship in, The Prince by Machiavelli.

Machiavelli places a great deal of emphasis on military in The Prince, and how important it is to have a sound military in order to run a country.  However he also discusses how to maintain relations with neighboring cities.  Diplomacy and international relations are very important as a leader because it is what gives you power over another country.  For example in the NY Times article, Hilary Clinton went to Kazakhstan to speak about openness and the spread of democracy.  She also mentioned the wiki leaks that came out and addressed them with confidence.  One of the parliament members stated, “It’s a confirmation of American leadership in global political issues.”  It is one thing to be a ruler it is another thing to be a leader.  Because of the U.S.’s ability to conduct diplomacy and maintain there relations with other countries, it makes them feared and makes it seem like they have leadership qualities they may not necessarily have. According to Machiavelli, having leadership qualities is not nearly as important as appearing to have leadership qualities. “it is not necessary, then for a prince to have of the qualities mentioned above, but it is certainly necessary that he appear to have them.” (C, 237)  In the eyes of Machiavelli, maintaining a desirable public image is extremely important for leaders and this is exactly what Hilary Clinton does when she goes to Kazakhstan and speaks to the people there.  Because the majority of the world recognizes political leaders through what the media tells them, maintaining a desirable public image is more important now than ever before.

The Prince is basically Niccolo Machiavelli’s guide to what he believes makes a successful leader. Machiavelli clearly believes that honesty is not the best policy. The Prince states, “And so, a wise ruler cannot, nor should he, keep his word when doing so would be to his disadvantage and when the reasons that led him to make promises no longer exist (C, 236). Machiavelli writes that the most prestige rulers are not always loyal to their people, and that the trick is to be good at deceiving. The Prince also says, “And men, in general, judge more according to their eyes than their hands; since everyone is in a position to observe, just a few to touch” (C, 237). This statement is saying that it is important to appear to have certain characteristics because the majority of people will judge you on how you look to be and only few will have the ability to figure out who you really are.
 An article titled A Nazi Is Exposed, but Did He Have Anything to Hide? was published in the New York Times on December 7th. This article is about a man, Mark Gould, finding out about a former Nazi, Bernhard Frank. The article describes how Gould became fascinated with the Holocaust and decided to do research on the event in Germany. Though his findings he accused Frank as being a Nazi who aided to a very powerful man during the Holocaust. Gould believes that Frank should be penalized for what he was a part of years ago, however Frank denied ever playing a part in the tragic event years ago. Although Frank has written a book on his experiences and there are taped interviews of him talking of his experience, he still denied being involved. The article states, “In a telephone interview from his home in Frankfurt, Mr. Frank said he knew nothing about the Holocaust, a statement that seems doubtful given his administrative role in Himmler’s office. ‘I’ve never done statements concerning the Holocaust, because I just don’t exactly know much about it,‘ Mr. Frank said. ‘You have to be careful with statements. Do you understand?’” This article compares to The Prince because Bernhard Frank acted exactly the way the book says he should have. Frank denied all of the accusations against him and attempted to deceive everyone about his role as a Nazi. Although it is certain Frank played a major role in the Holocaust he still would not admit to it because he knew of the consequences. Machiavelli says that when telling the truth would come as a disadvantage to yourself that is when it is acceptable to be dishonest.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/world/europe/08nazi.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=world  December 7, 2010

Baldassare Castiglione suggests that to be a great courtier “he must begin early and learn the principles from the best teachers (C242). He gives examples of certain people who have succeeded from the teachings of great masters. Alexander the son of King Philip of Macedon learned “the first elements of letters” (C242) from a knowledgeable philosopher named Aristotle. Also Galeazzo Sanseverino, Grand Equerry of France is able to perform “bodily exercises” is because “he has taken the greatest care to study with good masters” (C242). According to Castiglione once courtier have accomplish to “do things well, and [makes] every effort to resemble and if that is possible, to transform himself into his master” (C242). Then a courtier will be able to successful do his tasks.

Similarly to Castiglione suggestions the New York Times reports that parents are sending their kids to sports academies “before they can walk” (NY times). The idea behind is to develop an advantage in their kids ability to perform the principles of any kind of sports. Parents are also involved in their infants’ activities. For example they “do a lot of jumping, kicking and, in one exercise, something that looks like baseball batting practice” (NY Times).  Parents are hoping that by starting their kids early in sports training they will become a future all-star.  Both the NY Times article and the Book of Courtier emphasizes that in order to excel in any kind of situation one must start early and learn the rules and principles from the best available source.

NY Times:

Blog “The Prince”

The article relates to the recent leaks of the information from the wikileaks website. It had information about all the government activities, its foreign relations with other countries. After the incident, U.S. has been trying hard not to let any of the other countries find that information that was out in the Internet. U.S. always maintained power over other countries in any kind of relations. One of the examples is the invasion of Iraq by the Bush Administration. Even though there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq, the U.S. still seems to have power over their government and the country. And now since the secret government information is out in public, U.S. is still trying to maintain the power. U.S. has put into lot of efforts into stopping Syria, Iran and North Korea to stop selling arms and weapons. They even insisted other countries not letting any airlines pass through their territory so that no arms and weapons could be transported.
“It is the arms transactions involving Syria and Hezbollah, however, that appear to be among the Obama administration’s gravest concerns. President Obama came into office pledging to engage with Syria, arguing that the Bush administration’s efforts to isolate Syria had done nothing to wean it from Iran or encourage Middle East peace efforts.”
The article is very much the example of Machiavellian principles. U.S. maintains power over the other countries regardless of the fact that their secret information about its relations has been leaked out. The information might have contained U.S. selling weapons and arms to other countries but they still put pressure on other countries. This takes U.S. out of the picture because they deceived other countries into not producing any weapons and arms and selling them.

In Afghanistan women are not left with many choices. Live a life of cruelty and oppression or attempt suicide in the hopes of never having to live a life of helplessness again. Unfortunately many Afghan women resort to the second of those choices and set themselves on fire as a way to both embody their inner-suffering and set themselves free from their undesired lives. These women are often living with untreated mental illnesses due to their extremely cruel treatment. A woman Farzana said, “I felt so sad and such pain in my heart and I felt very angry at my husband and my father- and mother-in-law, and then I took the matches and lit myself.” These women have nowhere and no one to turn to. They have no outlets of expression and therefore are forced to do the unthinkable and set themselves on fire.

The Pillowbook written by Sei Shonagon displays a similar situation. Women did not have the power to express their thoughts during this time period. They faced oppressions much like what the women of Afghanistan face in the present. Sei Shonagon had a diary which was kept hidden from the public because a woman doing such a thing was frowned upon. It was Shonagon’s unique way of expressing her inner emotions in her oppressive society. “Whatever people may think of my book, I still regret that it ever came to light.” (A, 258) She never wanted her diary writing to become publicized. She wrote these notes in her diary when she, “…though no one would notice what [she] was doing.” (A, 258)

In both examples women are facing oppression. However they ways in which they overcome such cruelty differ a great deal. Although the Afghan women’s choice may seem more dramatic the point is that these women saw no other choice but to act in the ways that they did.

Works Cited:

In The Prince, Machiavelli states that “…those princes who have accomplished great things are the ones who…knew how to manipulate the minds of men with shrewdness…” (C, 236) Princes are able to achieve the most success if they are cunning and very crafty. According to Machiavelli there are certain qualities such as compassion, faithfulness, integrity, and kindness that a prince must appear to possess. “It is not necessary “…for a prince to have all the qualities mentioned above, but it is certainly necessary that he appear to have them.” (A, 237) The image projected of a prince enormously affects his or her popularity with the public. Machiavelli emphasizes that appearing to have the desired image wanted by the public is the key.

On December 1^st the NY Times featured an article entitled, “The Governor of New Jersey Becomes a Star on YouTube”, which dealt with Governor Chris Christie’s unique use of videos and manipulation to gain the support of voters. According to Machiavelli these videos and the efforts being made by Governor Christie would be a great example of projecting a virtuous image. Although Christie is being made famous for his talking tough in the videos, he possesses the quality of being able to “…use scolding and ridicule strategically.”  Most politicians don’t use YouTube in the way that Christie does. His over 163 videos have allowed to him to prevail as a republican leader in a predominantly democratic state. Christie has obtained a “myriad” amount of fans and the numbers continue to grow. This is a great example of a modern day prince, or political figure, using and applying Machiavelli’s observations and words to its fullest.

Works Cited:

On November 16^th the NY Times published an article entitled, “Diana’s Ring Seals Prince William’s Marriage Plans”. In the article we learn of Prince William’s future wife Kate Middleton. She is a highly educated college graduate of the prestigious University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where the two first met. “Miss Middleton is a different sort of royal bride from Diana…” One of the major differences pointed out were their differing education levels. Middleton, if made queen one day would be the first in British history to actually have obtained a college degree. This alone says a lot about her “…tough and savvy…” personality, she is much stronger than Princess Diana in many aspects. Middleton’s future marriage to Prince William definitely creates an aura of eeriness due to the history of where her ring originates from. Princess Diana, was killed tragically and without any knowledge that it was to happen.

There are many comparisons that can be made between Kate Middleton in this NY Times article and the character of Shahrazad in “The Thousand and One Nights”.  Shahrazad “…had studied historical reports, and was acquainted with the sayings of men and the maxims of sages and kings.” (B, 414)  She was a very educated woman who along with Middleton has a tough edge. Shahrazad is putting herself in situation which is very questionable in wanting to marry the king. The king has women put to death the morning following their marriage and Shahrazad wants to marry him? She wants to marry the king to try to save more women from being killed, but in doing so she is putting herself at risk of a possibly tragic outcome.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/world/europe/17royal.html?scp=2&sq=diana&st=cse

            Niccolo Machiavelli’s letter from his book The Prince resembles a New York Times article about Republican stance on making the economy better. Both the book and the article stress the importance of appearance. In Niccolo Machiavelli’s book The Prince, Niccolo presents his perspective on how to gain and/or maintain power. In his perspective, Niccolo stresses the importance of maintaining a good public appearance. Niccolo mentions how maintaining a good public appearance does not require a person to have any substance in his quote “it is not necessary, then for a prince to have of the qualities mentioned above, but it is certainly necessary that he appear to have them.” (C, 237)

(double indent function) everyone sees what you appear to be, few touch what you are; and those few do not dare oppose the opinions of the many who have the majesty of the state defending them; and with regard to the actions of all men, and especially with princes where there is no court of appeal, we must look at the final result (C, 237)

In this quote by Machiavelli, he explains how important appearance is because majority of the people only see and judge solely on appearance. As a result, this majority will make the minority who actually knows whether or not a person has substance seem unnoticeable.

            The New York Times article relates to Machiavelli because Republicans have successfully created an image of being more capable of dealing with the economy. However, the main idea of the article is that Republicans have currently done little to fix economy. The article states how a policy document provided by the House Republicans called “Pledge to America” was criticized for providing little direction on how to deal with the economy due to its vagueness. In a statement by Phillip L. Swagel, an assistant Treasury secretary policy during President Bush’s presidency, he says “even if the next two years do not result in legislative compromises on taxes or entitlement reform or other issues, we will see a vigorous and open debate in Congress about economic policy – a huge change from the Obama administration’s closed-minded and self-righteous approach” (B3) shows strong relation to Machiavelli because Phillip L. Swagel clearly states it only matters that Republicans appear to be doing something rather than actually accomplishing a task. On the other hand, The Prince and the article are different because Machiavelli explains the importance of creating a good appearance for an individual or group, but the quote by Phillip L. Swagel in the article goes further by showing how damaging the appearance of the opposition can also be important.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/business/economy/01economists.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Economic%20Policy&st=cse

The workings of governments, like people, ought not to be transparent. Governments should not share certain things because once they are out there you cannot take it back, same goes for people.

In The Prince, Machiavelli makes a point of never leaving oneself without options of getting out of an agreement or promise. “It is necessary, therefore, to be a fox in order to know the traps, and a lion to frighten the wolves. … And so, a wise ruler cannot, nor should he, keep his word when doing so would be to his advantage and when the reasons that led him to make promises no longer exist.” (C, 236)

In the New York times article, it cites that certain things should be kept out the purview of others. “[Tunku Vardarajan, an conservative commentator said] ‘Diplomacy, to work at all effectively, must draw a line between the ‘consultative process’ and the ‘work product.’ This is but part of the human condition: Human beings need to consult, speculate, brainstorm, argue with each other — yes, even to gossip and say dopey things — in order to find their way through the difficult task of coming to an official, or publicly stated position which would then be open (legitimately) to criticism.’” (NY Times Article)

“[Zadie Smith] fears that by sharing so much — and having so much shared about themselves — these young people have lost any hope for an inner life. [She wrote] ‘I am dreaming of a Web that caters to a kind of person who no longer exists …  A private person, a person who is a mystery, to the world and — which is more important — to [their self]’’ (NY Times Article)

Some things whether it deals with an individual or governments should not be put out there; For once it is out there it “cannot go back in the bag”.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/business/media/06link.html?_r=1&hp