Post 15: The Role of the President - Socrates and Confucius

The role that the President of the United States performs can be very stressful, and contains many aspects. The main, and most important functions that the president performs include:

• Chief of state - acts as the symbolic leader of the country (probably one of the most vital) 
• Chief - executes the laws, appoints key federal officials, grants
• Executive - pardons and reprieves
• Commander in Chief - runs the armed forces (declares when we go to war; another important job)
• Chief Diplomat - negotiates with other countries 
• Chief Legislator - signs/vetoes legislation, introduces legislation, works with Congress on the budget
• Super politician - helps his/her party raise money and elect candidates

These roles are important when running a country, so it is crucial that the president accepts the responsibility of these and the actions that come along with them. It's safe to say that our president has to be a person we, as citizens of the US, can count on to fill the shoes and perform these actions to the best of his/her ability. 

When it comes to the role of the president in terms of Socrates and Confucius, a president should be very comfortable with the idea of social and political life and virtue, since both Socrates and Confucius are remembered by these aspects. They both based their beliefs on knowledge and emphasized the importance of rigid social and political order. Basically, they were familiar with people and how to treat them, and most importantly how to establish a society in a political form. Both Socrates and Confucius were wise, indeed smart, and could operate any government if given one. In my opinion, I think our president should be much like Socrates and Confucius, because it is imperative that our president be a good person with awesome social skills, know how and what they're doing when it comes to running a country, and of course he/she needs to be educated and wise. Although Socrates and Confucius were not presidents, they were still very important and well-respected leaders of their time period, and are good role models for our presidents and even any other leaders in our world today. Lastly, yes, the roles of the president are much different the roles that Socrates and Confucius had, however, when it comes to the basic skills that our president needs, he/she could easily look at the roles and changes that Socrates and Confucius took on and made, and learn many valuable lessons that could help their time in presidency.