Posted on 05/17/2009 1:15:50 PM PDT by radar101
You would be surprised to see how quickly the rest of the concubines wise up and start to follow orders once this is done.
“If the instructions are not clear, if the orders are not obeyed, it is the fault of the general. But if the instructions are clear and the soldiers still do not obey, it is the fault of their officers.” – Sun Tzu
Whether or not Sun Tzu was the greatest military mind of all time in and of himself is debatable. But he did do something very important. He took up all the lessons from those that came before him concerning how to win a war and brought them under one tent, codified them and followed them. To the casual observer and those more concerned with the feelings of their enemy or breaking a nail, Sun Tzu seems like a very cruel man. He killed a lot of people with the troops he commanded. To those that understand the deeper lessons of his work however, there is a great deal to be learned about how to reach any objective by studying what he taught.
One of the best, and I believe most fundamental, lessons of Sun Tzu is the story of the King's concubines.
King Ho-lú wanted a demonstration of Sun Tzu’s theories in action to see their effectiveness. So the King’s concubines, some 300 women, were summoned and divided into two companies. He placed one of the King’s two favorite concubines in charge of each and gave the women armor and weapons while explaining a set of drills he wished them to perform.
After he had shown them what he wished to be done he then ordered the King’s favorite concubines to lead their companies in performing the maneuvers. This almost predictably led to laughs from the concubines who did not believe him to be serious. They were, after all, not warriors. Sun Tzu then repeated his orders but again the concubines laughed and failed to heed.
This is when he uttered the quote at the beginning of this article, summoned the executioner and had the King’s favorite concubines beheaded. Perhaps Sun Tzu would have lost his own head as well due to an angry King Ho-lú except for the predictable result that ensued. Sun Tzu brought forth two more concubines, placed one in charge of each company and then he again ordered the drill completed. This time the remaining concubines performed the exercise flawlessly.
Sun Tzu’s orders were clear. The fault was with those that were entrusted to carry out those commands. When that fault was remedied everything worked like it was supposed to.
There is a modern day parallel that can be drawn from all this as well and it has nothing to do with commanding a military. That is the beauty of Sun Tzu. The “Art of War” that he codified is able to be adapted to any situation with a goal.
Right now in America we have the Republican Party as it sadly exists; a chattering mass of concubines who have come to believe that they are favorites of some higher authority and they will have no harm ever come to them. The problem is that we, the people, who are the real authority behind the Party are not at all amused. We have given them power. We have given them arms. We have even given them orders. But still they sit there and giggle at us as though those orders are not at all important.
We tell them to lower taxes and they giggle. We tell them to reduce the size of government and they giggle some more. We tell them to stand up for innocent human life no matter the age and they laugh out loud. We tell them to return to within the boundaries set up for them by the Constitution and they flip us the bird while mocking us openly. So the answer is obvious to anyone that has ever read Sun Tzu. The axe needs to be sharpened. The heads of the lead concubines must be lowered onto the chopping block. And these fools need to be released from their duties and obligations. It is time to behead those giddy concubines who are in charge and who are not willing to carry out the clear orders given to them.
You would be surprised to see how quickly the rest of the concubines wise up and start to follow orders once this is done.
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J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com
(My apologies to disease ridden street whores for comparing them to Democrats.)
Thanks. I have just reached my limit on the corruption. When the dims took over in November, I never imagined just how far they would push this. Hell, it’s only May and our Constitution is very much in peril. And where is the opposition? We elect them to represent us and they are not only falling down on the job, they are working with them to destroy our rights and freedoms. OK fine, guess what Rinos, you are not elected for life. And guess what, life out here in the real world in a little more difficult that your protected well connected life in the district. I have kids coming up that are going to be in the working world in less than 10 years. If I don’t fight for them, I am falling down on my job. And since the repub party has just laid down, OK we now have to do their job. The American citizen matters dammit and we are fixin to get in the game. You idiots have taken us for granted for way too long. The bill is due. Pay up or go home.
Got Tea?
It is an outstanding book. So is USMC training.
Howdy rinos. We are not going to be quiet and trust you anymore.
So, bottom line, we need to go Islamic on the Republican leadership. Heads must roll!
thanks, bfl
Korben Dallas: We need to find the leader, Mangalores won't fight without the leader. Aknot: One more shot, and we start killing hostages! Korben Dallas: That's the leader. Aknot: Send someone to negotiate. Fog: [as Dallas looks at him] Uh, I-I've never negotiated before. Korben Dallas: Do you mind if I try? Fog: No, sure, sure, sure. [shouts] Fog: We're sending somebody in to negotiate! [Corben walks into the room and shoots Aknot between the eyes. As he falls, the other Mangalores drop their weapons and bow over him, keening] Korben Dallas: Anybody else want to negotiate? Fog: Wh-where did he learn to n-negotiate like that? President Lindberg: [looking at General Munro] I wonder.
Typically an army is led by one man who gives orders to his officers. The Republican party does not have any such general giving orders. The officers are allowed to do what they want....mostly in opposite directions.
Bush was not the general the party needed. Reagan was.
Conservatives must work hard to throw out those who betray the cause (McCain, etc as outlined by many here). Once we have established that Republican voters will not tolerate moderation, a general will appear to take charge.
If all we do is complain and change nothing, we will end up with another poor general incapable of leading.
Who are those people?
Great post. I’ll spread it around.
From a great movie, “The Fifth Element” ... thanks for the reference.
Ping...
We organize well...
And summarily put a couple of these info-'ho's out of business...
Maybe have the same effect as this story....
Just food for thought...
I cross posted this to the 912 project.
ping to NJ FReepers. We should apply these lessons here in NJ!
Cheers!
Great article!
Thanks for the ping.
This from a “libertarian conservative”?
1. We have the weapon: (the Constitution) to WIN this battle right now.
2. We have the issue: (the eligibility of the usurper).
3. We have the standing: ANY state or national level senator or representative who all are duty bound to "support" the Constitution in their oaths of office in Article six) to force this issue into the courts.
The twentieth amendment, section three REQUIRES that the President Elect "qualify" for the office of President BEFORE being allowed to assume the office of President.
If Obama is legal, show us where he has "qualified". We the people have a right to know whether or not the person presuming to be our president is in fact legally doing so. If this "qualification" did not take place, he is not President at all and in fact this nation has no current President.
We need to start pressing legal charges against all of our local representatives and senators covered by the oath of office in Article six for disobeying their oaths to support the Constitution as it pertains to the language of section three of the Twentieth amendment. Put PRESSURE on them to represent the document that gives them their authority in the first place. We are looking into how best to do this down here. We all should be looking into this approach. NOW.
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