I Like the Way He Thinks
(A discussion on the political views Frederick Douglass agrees with)
The world is filled with people, around 7 billion to be more precise, and all those people make up 196 countries. So the question of how to govern all these people is one with a valid point. There are numerous different types of governments all around the world. Some countries have leaders with complete and total power while others put laws in place that make it so there will always be a balance of power. It’s difficult to tell which type of government is the best, as some are better suited for certain countries. Lao-Tzu was a philosopher and poet of ancient China. His name was commonly translated to “Old Man” and is known as the father of …show more content…
Machiavelli and Lao-tzu are on totally different ends of the spectrum when it comes to political ideas. Lao-tzu is in full support of living how you want to and not competing for power, Machiavelli is he headed in the opposite direction. He discusses in his work how to be an effective leader. One of the main points he makes is that it is better to be feared as a leader rather than loved. People may love a leader, but when it comes time to support a decision they are making with controversial ideas, many will turn and run the other way. Having the subjects of a country fear the leader ensures that they will always be loyal to them. Machiavelli also continues by saying that to be an effective political leader, you will need to be able to lie, and to lie well. Just from these two ideals that Machiavelli has implemented, it is easy to see that his was of governing the people is much more harsh compared to that of other …show more content…
When writing the Declaration of Independence, equality was one of the first and main points that Jefferson addressed. The statement, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” shows what our founding fathers were aiming for when they were establishing the country. Equality is a huge theme that is seen throughout the Declaration of Independence. Roderick T. Long converses in his article about the equality that men deserve, “All men are equal in authority…Jefferson should find it natural to maintain that human equality is the foundation of our rights,” (Long). It is understood that equality is one of the main building blocks that America what it is today, and from the quote, we can conclude that this is what Jefferson was aiming for. Douglass was looking for this, he wanted to be treated like an equal. Steven B. Smith, in his article, deliberates on equality, “Liberty and equality are not parts of a zero-sum game, but two mutually supportive aspects of a common democratic culture… The core of this idea is equal access to the levers of political power.” This quote shows how there is a balance, like with all things, between equality and liberty as well as demonstrating that equality also leads the way to equal opportunity for anyone to gain political power. Both Smith and Long show examples of what Jefferson was aiming for when he
(A discussion on the political views Frederick Douglass agrees with)
The world is filled with people, around 7 billion to be more precise, and all those people make up 196 countries. So the question of how to govern all these people is one with a valid point. There are numerous different types of governments all around the world. Some countries have leaders with complete and total power while others put laws in place that make it so there will always be a balance of power. It’s difficult to tell which type of government is the best, as some are better suited for certain countries. Lao-Tzu was a philosopher and poet of ancient China. His name was commonly translated to “Old Man” and is known as the father of …show more content…
Machiavelli and Lao-tzu are on totally different ends of the spectrum when it comes to political ideas. Lao-tzu is in full support of living how you want to and not competing for power, Machiavelli is he headed in the opposite direction. He discusses in his work how to be an effective leader. One of the main points he makes is that it is better to be feared as a leader rather than loved. People may love a leader, but when it comes time to support a decision they are making with controversial ideas, many will turn and run the other way. Having the subjects of a country fear the leader ensures that they will always be loyal to them. Machiavelli also continues by saying that to be an effective political leader, you will need to be able to lie, and to lie well. Just from these two ideals that Machiavelli has implemented, it is easy to see that his was of governing the people is much more harsh compared to that of other …show more content…
When writing the Declaration of Independence, equality was one of the first and main points that Jefferson addressed. The statement, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” shows what our founding fathers were aiming for when they were establishing the country. Equality is a huge theme that is seen throughout the Declaration of Independence. Roderick T. Long converses in his article about the equality that men deserve, “All men are equal in authority…Jefferson should find it natural to maintain that human equality is the foundation of our rights,” (Long). It is understood that equality is one of the main building blocks that America what it is today, and from the quote, we can conclude that this is what Jefferson was aiming for. Douglass was looking for this, he wanted to be treated like an equal. Steven B. Smith, in his article, deliberates on equality, “Liberty and equality are not parts of a zero-sum game, but two mutually supportive aspects of a common democratic culture… The core of this idea is equal access to the levers of political power.” This quote shows how there is a balance, like with all things, between equality and liberty as well as demonstrating that equality also leads the way to equal opportunity for anyone to gain political power. Both Smith and Long show examples of what Jefferson was aiming for when he