Tim Ajmani
The Corsair
The famous philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli once discussed a concept whether it is better to be feared than loved regarding a leader in power. Machiavelli’s ideas mostly come up when discussing political polices like dictatorship, or when something is accomplished through whatever means are deemed necessary. It is interesting, however, when the argument of fear versus love is examined in terms of our nation’s presidency. Machiavelli said that although the ideal would be for a leader to have both qualities, it is far safer to be feared rather than loved.
I am willing to bet that if most Americans were asked if they would prefer the quality of fear or love in their president, I’m sure they would choose the latter. But are they two different elements really? When Obama became president in 2008, the country (well the majority of the country) was joyful that we finally had a president of a different color. In 2011, however, many Americans hate Obama and some of his policies/decisions that he has made during his tenure. In general, a president of our nation is not supposed to make decisions that please people; he is supposed to make decisions that are best for the country.
Obama, for example, was generally loved when he began his tenure; now, he is hated by many. The quality of love in this instance turned into hatred and fear. Many fear that he will be reelected as president for a second term. So is love and fear basically the same thing in terms of a president? Of course; in our society, our president has to be feared to be loved, and vice versa. But a good president will probably be one of them and not both. Society believes that a president will be both, and that’s our flaw.
I think that a president in today’s world should be more feared than loved because of the level of problems in our nation. If one preferred to be loved over feared, it is very likely that they would be easily influenced by people working with them. A president that is feared, however, would probably be more assertive in his judgment and actions. The tricky part is whether the American people will realize this. For example, if everyone in the world lived like Americans, we would need approximately four-and-a-half planet Earths to support that lifestyle. Americans can’t keep living like we are forever.
That’s just one of the big problems that will be coming up in the near future. We will likely need a president who wants to be feared over loved, one that will make the tough decision rather than the easy one, one that will not care if he is ticking people off, one that will ensure the nation’s good and prosperity. A feared president will not be highly popular, but he will be someone that is straight about doing things the right way.