Machiavelli's Hand
Good fences, of course, make good neighbors, but there is some contention over what makes a good fence-builder. There is the measure of the fence itself, but more often we measure the success of the hand that built the fence. And so often, as our good friend Machiavelli points out, that hand can distract our attention from the fence completely. Or, if it isn't doing card tricks and waving at paid cheering audiences to an applause track, it is certainly being very choosy about what part of the fence it decides to "mend." Every employee in the public relations department of MENTRA read The Prince. It was part of the basic training.