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Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian who died 1527 at the age of 58. He was a famous political theorist who advocated the principle of realpolitic – politics in its real sense, and how a ruler should rule a country.
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Realpolitic might be described as the dirty side of politics. Machiavelli believed that human beings are by nature more likely to do evil things than good. Human beings are ungrateful, selfish, violent, and anti-social and have an instinct of wickedness that is always dominant in their behaviour.
I was re-reading some portions of The Prince by Machiavelli, which I like to do from time to time, and came across this passage that really sums up our present situation. By not taking care of the Islamic problem when it manifested itself in the 1979 hostage crisis, we instead find ourselves in a much worse situation today, with Iran on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons. Discussing the relationship between Rome, Greece, and the surrounding territories, Machiavelli writes:
[T]he Romans did what all wise rulers must: cope not only with present troubles but also with ones likely to rise in future, and assiduously forestall them. When trouble is sensed well in advance it can easily be remedied; if you wait for it to show itself any medicine will be too late because the disease will have become incurable.
Keep in mind that at the time, Rome was the dominating power throughout the civilized world, much as, whether we want to admit it or not, America is today. If you believe that this is OK because ours is the best civilization, as I do, then you know that the same maxims of self defense apply to us as they did to the Romans and should be employed. In a world of would-be destroyers, sometimes action is necessary. Machiavelli continues:
As the doctors say of a wasting disease, to start with it is easy to cure but difficult to diagnose; after a time, unless it has been diagnosed and treated at the outset, it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to cure. So it is in politics. Political disorders can be quickly healed if they are seen well in advance (and only a prudent ruler has such foresight); when, for lack of a diagnosis, they are allowed to grow in such a way that everyone can recognize them, remedies are too late.
The question we face is whether at present, we are treating the "disease" that is Islamicism at the outset, or near the end. Should we have stamped out the problem in 1979? With over a billion Muslims and growing, all susceptible to the radicalized strain of the Islamo-fascists, are we too late? Maybe not. Again, from The Prince:
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