Ever since Donald Trump was re-elected, I've been haunted by a passage from Machiavelli's The Prince.
“He who becomes master of a city accustomed to freedom, and does not destroy it, may expect himself to be destroyed. It justifies itself by crying out the name of freedom and its ancient institutions, which will never be forgotten despite the benefits received from them.
Trump understands this intuitively. Now “master of a city accustomed to freedom,” he is determined to destroy freedom before it destroys him.
This is clear from the next president's Cabinet nominations. They include individuals such as: Cornering immigrants for the purpose of deportation (millions of people) who do politicize the military and compromise US intelligence agenciesand even others do Water down the Department of Justice and weaponize it.,and The title is anti-vaxxer It would undermine many of the institutions that protect our health. Moreover, his energy policy worsen rather than alleviate Damage from climate change.
Finally, President Trump created a new department: the Department of Government Efficiency. Two Billionaires Untethered — would shatter numerous programs on which Americans depend.
In short, we are witnessing an assault on American democracy. Our republic is being eroded before our eyes. And we were accomplices.
The Senate could have convicted President Trump for his efforts. Overturning the will of the people in the 2020 election but refused to do so. Ministry of Justice We could have acted sooner to hold him accountable. both for this crime and for him. Deleting confidential documents He was ousted from the White House when he retreated to Mar-a-Lago in 2021. Democratic Party We could have held a real primary. The goal is to choose a strong candidate to challenge Trump in this year's election.
Time and time again, we stumbled. And now it is unclear whether Trump's relentless attacks on our republic, attacks that are taking place in broad daylight, will ever come to an end.
However, Machiavelli's writings offer a glimmer of hope. After all, Machiavelli lived at a similar turning point in history. Florence was one of the great republics of the Renaissance. turned into a monarchy Even in the moment he is writing. However, Machiavelli was not writing a handbook for monarchs, as many believe. On the contrary, throughout the text he makes it clear that he believes that people can fight to protect their freedom.
The important point in this regard is the second half of the above sentence. Machiavelli urged the Florentines to remember their freedom. But some 500 years later, we too are a people “accustomed to freedom.” And in order to preserve freedom, we have the power to “call forth freedom and its nature.” [our] ancient institution. ”
easy to recognize the freedoms we are losing And if Trump gets his way, and is not subject to relentless Congressional checks, as he probably is, he will continue to lose. There is an urgent need to tap into our own memories of what America was, despite all its flaws.
We must remember that in our country, prior to Trump 2.0, the U.S. Senate exercised the right of “advice and consent” regarding presidential appointments. Even before that, presidents did not enjoy blanket immunity. The office of attorney general was independent of the president's whims. Women had the right to control their bodies. Immigrants could not be deported without a hearing. Public health policy was determined by science. The right to vote was protected. And there has been some progress (though not enough) in the transition to renewable energy.
President Trump knows we have these memories. That's why, in his own paranoia, he seeks to destroy our freedoms. He knows that the very institutions he is currently attacking (the Justice Department, the Pentagon, the Senate) could restrain him. we must fight back.
“Prince” This is a very timely read. But Machiavelli understood that just reading books was not enough. Machiavelli was looking for people with the knowledge to fight for freedom. More than two centuries later, at the dawn of the era of democratic revolution, Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau understood this. In The Social Contract, he says that Machiavelli “under the pretext of instructing kings…taught important lessons to the people.” Machiavelli's The Prince is a republican's handbook. ”
At the heart of this handbook is the concept of freedom. There is good reason to fear that President Trump will do everything in his power to preserve the institutions that protect our freedoms, an idea that Americans not only remember but cherish.
In fact, both those who support him and those who oppose him are likely to unite in this fight, since his plan involves stripping nearly all Americans of their freedoms.
John Jeffries Martin, a history professor at Duke University, recently said,A Beautiful Ending: Apocalyptic Imagination and the Making of the Modern World” (Yale University, 2022).
