Reflection

I decided not to respond to this weeks blog because I hadn't made up my mind yet whether security should be the leader's first priority of their country. After talking about The Prince in class and listening to everyone's views I think that while it's important, the people you are protecting are equally important. I thought the most interesting part of the discussion friday was the debate of whether you need security first, or a group of loyal citizens before you have a new nation. After listening to everyone speak on this issue I think they are equally important to each other and the success of that nation. We talked about Iraq and the violence that continues to occur there, which discourages investers from building up the Iraq economy. But just as Iraq needs to be stabalized, it also needs a national identity to fight for in the first place. A leader needs to protect their state's border's from invasion and that should be a top priority of any leader. However, a leader should also make it their priority to do the will of the people who elected them.

A leader does not need to be loved or always liked, but they do need to be respected to be relevent. The biggest thing I think I learned this week is that there is not always one answer to a problem, instead, sometimes there are many different solutions that are all important. Machavelli's points are still relevant because we are dealing with some of the same situations as before. Realism still exists and continues to influence public policy decisions today.