Modern Machiavelli

For today’s posting I’m going to deviate from the topic of war for just a bit to talk about the political power in America. All across the world there are different governments with different philosophies. Some are based heavily around religion, some around communism, and some around democracy. Though it may sound quite strange, the current government of the United States employs many Machiavellian techniques on governance. Throughout today’s post I will be talk about some specific examples of how specific Machiavellian factors have created deep inter governmental struggle.

 

biography.com

Even though Niccolo Machiavelli died nearly 500 years ago, his book The Prince is widely regarded to be one of the most important and influential works of western literature ever (oedb.org). The book places a strong emphasis on the need for The Prince (or the governing body) to abandon principles and act ruthlessly and immorally, on occasion, to achieve a particular objective, or to maintain and expand power.

thecoloradoobserver.com

I am putting my personal political affiliation aside, as I will be talking about how the two main political parties (republicans and democrats) are acting upon these Machiavellian principles. Both parties have an agenda of various social and political policies that they would like to put into practice. Both parties have a set of values that they would like to instill, but only one candidate from one party can hold the position of Commander-in-Chief of the United States, and thus a conflict of maintaining power.

Throughout the course of American history, and particularly in modern-day partisan politics, we both innocent people as well those in power being attacked (in all sense of the word) in order for a group’s political gain. Whether it be the Red Scare of the 1950s or the controversy over Obama’s birth certificate of 2011.  These types of deceitful and baseless attacks are encouraged by Machiavelli in The Prince, which prompts the famous quotation from chapter 17.

 “…a debate arises with her is better to be loved than feared or the contrary. The answer is that one would want to be both the one and the other, but because it is difficult to join them together, it is much safer to be feared than love, if one has to do with that one of the two ” (Machiavelli 91).  

 

politico.com

This perpetuation of fear is exactly what is happening in American politics today - Democrats fear the legislation proposed by Republicans and vice versa. This creates immediate conflict between the two groups when discussing any issues, no matter how trivial. This behavior escalates as a more extreme legislation is presented to appeal to the extreme views that result from the feud. 

             
             All of this internal conflict would be fine if there was one objective voice of reason, and in the Machiavellian model, that is the prince; we do not have a prince. We have a government that has fallen into the hands of designed conflict with no one to make proper decisions in the best interest of the people

Works Cited

Machiavelli, Niccolò, and William J. Connell. The Prince: With Related Documents.

Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005. Print.

Scott, John T., and Robert Zaretsky. "Why Machiavelli Still Matters." The New York

Times. The New York Times, 09 Dec. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.

Staff Writers. "50 Books That Changed The World." Oedb.org. Online Education

Database, 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.

 

Control at a Cost

New York Mag

           Throughout our discussion of war, from ancient epics to modern examples, I will look closer into the Theater of War that was touched on in the last posting. Thought there are no online arrangements to steam this film, I strongly suggest that you watch it before or after reading this post. Throughout this posting I would like to analyze the extent of the individuals, both in the play and in the creation of the performance, ability to delegate and receive authority. In addition I will observe the casting choices and artistic decisions made in the making of the play.

            When looking at the characters practices of authority it is important to note to ask with authority and who is acted upon. Over various parts of the documentary we see how the formation of Mother Courage is both influenced by Meryl Streep in the director John Walter. Streep notes how Mother Courage places monetary gain over the well being of her family and others.  In one particular scene, which really sticks out to me, Mother Courage is asked in a panic to provide cloth and bandage up someone that is been severely injured and is bleeding out. When a man asks Mother Courage for any cloth that she has, she says that she does not want to give any to him because they will get soaked with blood and become unsellable. This is a prime example of how Mother Courage exerts control through her restriction of material while displaying her flawed values, placing peoples lives behind making a quick buck.

Art Scene In Whales

             It is hard not to have an artistic appreciation for the play, especially after having researched the author and seen the movie. Though I do find the vast majority of the choices, made for the performance, to be quite good, I must agree with the “The Courage of Their Convictions” from New York Magazine stating that Meryl Streep as Mother Courage is clearly a miscasting. The whole point for Brechtian theater is that it is didactic while minimizing the interaction and any connection made to the audience by the actors. Given Meryl Streep’s extensive resume, I believe that she brought too much attention to the play. Though I do admit that an increase in the public’s exposure to Brecht is good, I do not believe that he would like publicity for his plays to be brought about in such a manor. 





 

Works Cited

Demack, Ian. "Why Machiavelli Matters." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Sept. 2008.

Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

McCarter, Jeremy. "The Courage of Their Convictions." NYMag.com. New York

Magazine, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015..

 

What is War Worth?

Though my last two postings have been about modern coverage of war, this posting will focus on how the 30 years war is seen in various works and interpretations over time. The two examples that I will be focusing on are Bertolo Brecht’s Mother Courage and Hans JakobChristoffel von Grimmelshausen’s Simplicius Simplicissimus. Over the course of this posting I will observe similarities and differences of genre and storytelling.

            First, let us take a look at Bertol Brecht’s Mother Courage. The first thing to consider, especially when looking at any work by Brecht, is the underlying mission of his play as well his past experiences that have shaped the playwrights vision. In Theater of War, Director John Walter takes us into the mind of Bertol Brecht, and what led him to create one of the greatest plays about war, specifically in the epic genre. The documentary itself does a fantastic job of combining the history of Bertol Brecht’s life with the deliberate and artful decisions made by the plays translator Tony Kushner (who is a playwright himself). Meryl Streep plays the strong, steadfast, yet money driven Mother Courage. We see her character develop from the initial table readings to the final product. If you watch the documentary (which I highly recommend you do), Brecht’s philosophy of the audience is evident – he does not want an emotional audience, as he wants to teach people through his plays. When people would express emotional responses at his plays, Brecht was known to get extremely frustrated with both the audience and himself, thinking that he had not done his job to separate the didactic nature of his plays from the characters that he had created.

pierre-marteau.com

            Standing in stark contrast to the dynamic and impactful performance of Brecht’s Mother Courage, is Grimmelshausen’s Simplicius Simplicissimus. The story follows a homeless hermit, who is unbelievably naïve, as he goes through the motions of the 30 years war. In fact, Simplicius’s is called Simplicius because he is so simple that he does not even know his own name. This picaresque novel pokes fun at the dimwitted nature of Simplicius, as he is constantly taken advantage on and thrown in awkward situations that he has absolutely no idea how to deal with. This genuine naiveté is shown as Simplicius is tasked with watching sheep on his family’s farm where he was told to watch out for wolves that may attack his sheep; simple right? Well, the only thing that he knows about wolves is that they have 4 legs, like the majority of land mammals. When he sees horsemen come onto the field, where his sheep are, initially thinks they are wolves (since they have 4 legs), but when the horsemen take Simplicius away, he assumes that they are looking after his sheep. In reality, the horsemen came to pillage the land and the farmhouse. It is with a series of such woeful, yet humorous events that this novel shows the more simple impacts of war. 

http://www.history.com/topics/thirty-years-war

            When comparing these two texts, there is a great deal of underling similarity between two characters that appear to be worlds apart. While Mother Courage is far more independent that Simplicius, both of their lives are directly affected by the war that is going on around them. Mother Courage’s livelihood is based upon there being a war, so she can sell her goods, while Simplicius becomes more than just another hermit because the war has placed him in such odd situations. The Thirty Years war, setting of Mother Courage and Simpliccius Simplicissimus, was “… a pointless, grotesquely protracted, gruesome catastrophe for everyone except the handful of victors among the European aristocracy who profited from it,” detailing how, in some extreme cases, life is dependent on war (Kushner).

Works Cited

Brecht, Bertolt, Tony Kushner, and Charlotte Ryland. Mother Courage and Her Children = Mutter

Courage Und Ihre Kinder. London: Methuen Drama, 2009. Print.

Grimmelshausen, Hans Jakob Christoph Von, and George Schulz-Behrend. Simplicius Simplicissimus.

Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965. Print.

Kushner, Tony. "Tony Kushner: Mother Courage Is Not Just an Anti-war Play." The Guardian, 8 Sept.

2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Theater of War. Dir. John Walter. Perf. Cast of Mother Courage. Publics Theater, 2006. Play.

Reporting for Ratings

            

           Working off of the last post, I have decided to compare news coverage of current events surrounding conflict. I will be looking at news media sources that have a variety of the perceived agendas and will review how those agendas vary on the coverage of the story at hand. The three particular news agencies’ I’ll be looking at are BBC World, PBS News, and FOX News. Along with my summaries of the reporting styles I’ll include a video segments released by the news agencies with the story of the attack at the Israeli bus station. 

            Before addressing the particular conflict at hand I would like to talk about a few guidelines of my analysis on the different styles of reporting how to bring the issues to light. News media appeals to different types of thought processes through 3 main methods: ethos (credibility/authenticity/reliability), logos (central argument, structure of argument), and pathos (appeal to emotions).

bbc.com/world

            The topic that I’ll be covering this posting is the attack on an Israeli bus station that occurred on October 18^th, 2015. The conflict itself is based on a long-standing issue between Israel and Palestine is small militant groups from each nation carry out a series of small attacks. The conflict between the two groups has gone on for decades, the causes of the initial conflict simply will not be discussed in this blog posting as it is too politically and historically charged. In the previous posting, I discussed how agency plays a large role the decisions that each group makes. Since there is a great deal of historical significance within this conflict few decisions are truly based upon agency as it is often a never-ending cycle of retaliation attack. When looking at the different reporting styles on the topic the three different news agencies very their approaches to eat those logos and pathos. Despite how objective the news source may seem all them have their own agenda and it is our responsibility to find out exactly how that relates to the issues being presented. 

bbc.com/world

            First let’s take a look at BBC World’sreporting on the issue. Notably, BBC did not release a video clip about the conflict.  When looking at BBC’s article on the attack, the format really appeals to the logos of the issue. The way that the BBC page is formatted adds to a central argument and structure, which is characteristic good of logos. The article first goes over abbreviated facts that paint a picture for the reader, before they begin reading about the incident. While this is quite convenient for the reader, it also allows them to push their own personal agenda as they provide the initial source information on conflict. 

Next, let’s take a look at PBS’sWorld news section to look at the reports on the attack.  

pbs.org

As opposed to the traditional style of reporting, with long background on the history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, PBS’s approach is more direct. This appeals to the ethos of the story, creating well-rounded and reliable report. Ethos style reporting is authentic and credible in nature, and PBS has a little opinionated reporting on the conflict. PBS has journalists in Israel, reporting on the issue, giving it a much more objective feel. By doing this, they add as much factual information as possible to try to eliminate any overt bias.  Though the majority of news stations tend to exhibit a political stance, PBS does a good job of remaining neutral. 

                   When talking about FOX News, there is an immediate conservative bias that is associated with their reporting. FOX News appeals to the pathos of the viewer and reader as they employ an in-person style of writing when doing their journalism. In their piece, they use first hand accounts of the incident citing policemen, civilians, and the first responders to the scene. Despite their general bias’s, the reporting in this article was largely objective. Though the written piece was largely objective, the interview conducted on air (see video) paints a very different picture, as the news anchor and the reporter talk in very anti Palestinian language.

bbc.com/world

            All in all, the events that happen in Israel were tragic but it speaks to the larger conflict between Palestine and Israel.  The main point of this whole analysis was to look at the different reporting styles of various media outlets and see how each one uses logos and pathos impacted the reporting. When looking at the effectiveness of all these reporting strategies they clearly all have their own base that turn to them for their news.  Though we cannot make a general statement, connecting people to news networks, it is clear that the values of ethos, logos, and pathos lead people to different sources for their information.

Works Cited

"Israel-Palestinian Violence: Israeli Killed in Beersheva Bus Station Attack - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.

"One Dead, Several Hurt after Shooting, Knife Attack on Israeli Bus Station." Fox News. FOX News Network, 18 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.

Srinivasan, Hari. "Israel Responds to Deadly Wave of Knife Attacks with New Police Powers." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.

A High Stakes Shift

Headlines about the refugee crisis in the Middle East seem to be covering news media across the globe, and understandably so. The struggles that the affected individuals, particularly from areas of Iraq and Syria, face are immense. The increasingly powerful and extremely radical Islamic State leaves the people within the affected regions with few options.

ibt.com

            Before going any further, I would like to make clear that the basis on which the Islamic State stands is “…the most medieval interpretations of Sharia ” (Winter). The actions and behaviors of the Islamic State are not typical for those who practice Islam, plain and simple. The Islamic State is a caliphate meaning “… a state governed in accordance with Islamic law, or Sharia, by God's deputy on Earth, or caliph” (What is the “Islamic State”). Their rampant looting, kidnapping, and prostitution of women are not beliefs that are supported by Islam. 

bbc.com

            When looking at those affected by conflict in the Iraq and Syria reigon  (shown in photo), there are 4 prominent groups: those fleeing the invaded areas, those who are forced to join the Islamic State, those fighting the invasion, and those choose to join. Though people are often forced into one of these groups, there are varying presences of agency that exist within each one. Agency, in terms of philosophy and the humanities, is the ability for someone to act as an individual. In addition, agency is known to be a rational decision that is based purely on reason. 

            As over 3.3 million leave Iraq and Syria, due to the Islamic State invasion, those who flee are not able to exhibit proper agency. Their decision to leave is rational, as they do not want to face the invading Islamic State, but the invasion prevents them from making an autonomous decision. Thus, impulse and emotion take over and impedes the ability to express agency. The stakes of their choice are high as they risk loosing everything, including their life, if they do not flee. 

bbc.com

            Famously known for “ultraviolence,” the Islamic State capture or kill those that oppose them - especially when invading a new area. It is this aspect of invasion that creates a lack of agency for the victims, when they are selected by Islamic State members and forced to join. The lack of agency is apparent as they are trained to fight for the Islamic State, and have to be brainwashed to justify their actions. The stakes are high for those forced to join, as any misstep could lead to death (Winter). 

             

            The role of agency starts to shift, when looking at those who decide to fight the Islamic State. Those who stay and fight exhibit agency by choosing to oppose. Though they are pressured to take action by intruding forces, they make the deliberative decision to stay and fight. This decision is make knowing the commitment and risks involved. The stakes are clearly high, for this particular group, but their ability to act demonstrates the use of agency. 

bbc.com

            Various recruitment tactics have caused an influx of civilians to join the Islamic State. The Islamic State puts out various forms of propaganda to entice men and women of all ages to join the Islamic state. Pictures and articles of scenery, charity, and everyday life are juxtaposed by acts of violence. This pattern is in their media campaign. It is through this recruitment that the Islamic State gains the majority of their members. Since there is no external pressure to join the caliphate unwilling, for this particular group, agency is the primary means of their decision. The stakes are low for those who opt into the caliphate, and their decision is based on their beliefs going before hand.

        When looking at the situation as a whole, the ability for the affected people to exhibit agency varies greatly depending on how each group was affected by the Islamic State’s presence. Putting judgment aside, it is important to look at the humanistic perspective on the issue of agency. Though the situation in Iraq and Syria is unfortunate, it is a very high profile example of how people are able or unable to express themselves through choice.  

Works Cited

 Crowcoft, Orlando. "Isis: Worst Refugee Crisis in a Generation as Millions Flee Islamic State in Iraq and Syria." International Business Times RSS. IBT, 17 June 2015. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.

"Free Online Dictionary." Agency (philosophy). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.

"What Is 'Islamic State'? - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., 29 June 2015. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.
 
Winter, Charlie. "Fishing and Ultraviolence." BBC News. BBC, 6 Oct. 2015. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.