Machiavelli

I have been reading The Prince and learning about it in class for the past six weeks. Machiavelli was a very interesting guy. He was so intense. To him, the only true religion is power, and the two greatest mistakes you can make as a leader are to avoid war or to hesitate to break your word. He sees it as weakness to not do so because the people you are helping will never help you in return. Why should you do anything for them? The ability to do the utmost you can to control your circumstances is real freedom. So basically: don't trust anyone, don't get close enough to anyone to have them do anything to you, and do everything bad to them first so you will move ahead. Then you will feel complete.

In my opinion, his kingdom will ultimately implode of its own incoherence because cooperation and collaboration can be just as real as conflict. But I like him. He is original. And I can see where he is coming from, but I want to trust people more then that.

I guess that makes me a sucker. I'm ok with that.

gandhi

"First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then you win."

-Gandhi

fumes

I was listening this week to a guy talking about a city. It was a has-been city from ancient times, and the by the time the story took place, it wasn't that great of a place to be anymore. It wasn't the indestructible fortress of power it had once been, and it was kind of wasting away from the inside out. What the guy said who was telling the story was that this city was living of the fumes of its glory from the past.

Interesting.

I think we do that. People of faith do that. I do that. We have a crazy time of growth, then we sit back and think that we logged enough energy and learning to last for a while. Most of me thinks that is fine, I earned a break after lots of hard work right? Yea, maybe, but this other part of me wonders what would happen if I stopped being lazy, and actually asked to see if there was more? More to learn? More to see and do and experience and cry and laugh over? What if there was? I will get there eventually, but right now I am too busy living in the fumes of my past glory to notice.

That would be sad.