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
I don't think so.
It may be in need of new leadership, that can “inspire” the masses, but that is a different matter.
Both parties have been struggling for someone who will inspire the nation as a whole. The last such leader was Ronald Regan. I had great hopes for Fred Thompson, another actor and I find that Huckabee is now a regular FOX TV host perfecting his public speaking and sound-byte skills. And let's not forget the current Governor of California and his ability to “perform in front of a camera.”
Today, winning elections is more about camera presence and ability to inspire than it is about just about anything else. If the Chinese book of politics/war were written today, it would be about finding camera-savy leaders who have a good grasp of oratory, some political experience and have a sincere desire to lead the country.
The Art of War is an amazing read. Hopefully I will eventually apply it correctly to my own life.
Sun Tzu was a great general and strategist, but the story here cannot be applied to the RINOs, I’m afraid.
The equivalent of cutting off the RINOs heads would be to defeat them in the primary elections. Yet this has failed time and again because most ultra-busy conservative don’t pay attention to politics until the general election.
You need the rank and file, those who vote in the Republican primaries, to be the executioners and frankly I just don’t see this happening anytime soon unless we get huge turnouts during our primaries.
Free Republic and individual FReepers could do a great service by banding together in their local districts and organize for the RINO’s opponent. That should be our grass root effort across the nation. Everything else is just the same old song and dance.
FanFan said: ‘Can anyone think of any other options?’
Nope. I’m itching for a bloody knuckle fight come 2010, if not before.
But, if I HAVE to tone it down, let’s change out ‘The ax needs to be sharpened’ to, ‘the VOTERS need to be educated.’
(”So the answer is obvious to anyone that has ever read Sun Tzu. The ax needs to be sharpened.”)
Thanks for the ping.
And if anyone has NOT read ‘The Art of War’ treat yourself. I leave a copy on my desk, along with anything by Thomas Sowell, LOL! Freaks out the LibTards I work with.
Good, clean FUN! :)
We haven’t used the third box yet, guys.
If you’re serious, start filing suits. Screw the “it costs too much” whining; filing fees are affordable.
Writing letters and waving flags is meaningless.
Accept the possibility of failure and file suit over clear, simply-articulated grievances. Someone will hit on the right combination of judges. Someone will reach SCOTUS. And lots of suits will make powermongers nervous.
A winning case, suitably ignored, will make the next step clear.
I tried to be a flame once.
;-)
Better yet—lets have a list of true Conservatives in the House and Senate that should be supported and worked to retain. I do not care if they are Blue Dog Democrats or independents or Republicans or Dixiecrats—as long as they are consistently Conservative! lets start a master list!
I will start.
Duncan Hunter, House California. Please ad more.
You're welcome.
Does your state have closed primaries? If not, your ax will be just as dull in 2010 as it was in 2008.
Rep. Scott Garrett, 5th District NJ
Nope, they're open primaries here. But, hope is not lost - Obama will not have anywhere near as large a blind contingent as last time, so the dem's primary manipulation ability will be greatly reduced. A significant number of his voters have become disillusioned, either by the countless backtracking on promises, the INSANE spending, the repeated adoptions of Bush policies that he railed against, and so forth (I love it when they call him "Obushama"). They won't be there to respond to Axelrod's text messages. In fact, many that I work with openly express regret for supporting him, and (hold on to your seat) that even includes many black Americans. I have hope. Many, many people that voted dem in 2008 only did it because they wanted to "make history" and because they didn't realise that ABC/CBS/NBC/PBS/NPR/CNN/MSNBC/NYT were spoon-feeding them agendized drivel. Many have already woken up...just look at the ratings of FOXNEWS. Hope lives. He'll still have a small hardcore contingent to obey orders, BUT, many of the 'regular' voters that went dem before won't be there for him...they'll be voting Republican. Unless the GOP totaly screws the pooch, like they're trying to do now. We can't let them. Off with their heads.
In my opinion,
Miyamoto was without a doubt formidable and would have beaten Sun Tzu easily in one on one combat. However, his theories and lessons were mainly related to the individual.
Sun Tzu’s were more related to the use of forces and units.
I’d term it tactics vs strategy, but it doesn’t really explain it correctly.
Again just my thoughts.
That’s no good, dammit! It won’t fit on a poster!
What happened? Did you just go ‘poof?’
Add another ‘d’ for a start.
I’ve never read Sun Tzu, but you can bet that I’m going to pick up a copy right away.
His prescription for getting the “concubines” to execute orders is so simple, and demonstrably true, that I feel we need to implement it immediately in the Republican party.
I want to see RINO heads littering the parade grounds.
How about Patton’s “May God have mercy on my enemies because I won’t?”
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