I graduated from a small college in the Midwest that is associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, Iowa. My school is grounded in the liberal arts and is committed to academic excellence, social justice and public service. As an undergraduate, I took the philosophy courses Logic, or Introduction to Critical Thinking, and Ethics which is intended to develop a deeper understanding of morality.
In my Ethics class, we discussed Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and the true meaning of the phrase “The end doesn’t justify the means” which implies that there is no justification for unethical behavior (water boarding; enhanced interrogation) even if the goal itself might be for the common good. A Machiavellian Moment occurs when public necessity requires actions that might be condemned as unjust and immoral, so any means are justified. The pejorative term Machiavellian is a misnomer that is used to describe a person who is cunning, scheming, unscrupulous (especially in politics) in advancing one’s career, two-faced and dishonest to name a few of the uncomplimentary adjectives attributed to the poor humanist Niccolo.
We may have gotten Machiavelli all wrong but many of the descriptions associated with this name play well in the political world today, especially when defining our current national leader in the White House, Cadet Bone Spurs. Characterizations of The Donald include serial philanderer, deceitful manipulator for personal gain, power-hungry demagogue and immoral autocrat.
This brings me back to the term Machiavellian and “the end not justifying the means” which seems to be ignored by many supporters of Cadet Spurs. Their defense is that even though he may be a bit crass, unfiltered and rough around the edges, he still gets the job done and is looking out for mainstream Americans. The Trump camp believes their Endgame Strategic Plan justifies any means they care to employ.
To me, that’s like saying Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy had a few imperfections (peccadilloes?) but both were good team players and efficient in getting a job finished. I hope the Republicans who have tethered their wagon to the Trump Train think about that when they run for public office this November. They may find out that the electorate has voters who possess true moral compasses that will assist them in doing the right thing.
Jim Hamilton
Florence