Post by Bret Walker on Mar 21, 2002 9:08:50 GMT -5
From Tao te Ching, Chap 61:
The first time I read this chapter in the Tao te Ching, I reflected on the goings on with the U.S. and the reasons why terrorist groups just love to pick on us. Why did the Iranians storm the US embassy in 1979 and hold hostages for 444 days? Why did a suicide bomber in Beiruit destroy part of the Marine compound and kill two Marines? Why did Osama Bin Laden take such issue with our presence in Saudi Arabia that he bombed the Khobar Towers, blew a big hole in the USS Cole, and level the World Trade Center?
To put it simply, they want us out of their affairs. Is that too much to ask? After all, when we had periods of unrest in the 60's and 70's, did Britain poke its nose in to restore peace? No. When the Civil War was fought in the 1860's, who jumped into the fray to stop the injustices committed in a war between brothers? Nobody. The U.S. meddles in too many nations' affairs, without being asked to help, and without good reason other than just to rattle our own sabres. We need to step back and look at these conflicts with the words of Lao Tzu ringing in our ears. Perhaps then our nation will be truly great.
When a country obtains great power,
it becomes like the sea:
all streams run downward into it.
The more powerful it grows,
the greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Tao,
thus never needing to be defensive.
A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults
as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy
as the shadow that he himself casts.
If a nation is centered in the Tao,
if it nourishes its own people
and doesn't meddle in the affairs of others,
it will be a light to all nations in the world.
it becomes like the sea:
all streams run downward into it.
The more powerful it grows,
the greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Tao,
thus never needing to be defensive.
A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults
as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy
as the shadow that he himself casts.
If a nation is centered in the Tao,
if it nourishes its own people
and doesn't meddle in the affairs of others,
it will be a light to all nations in the world.
The first time I read this chapter in the Tao te Ching, I reflected on the goings on with the U.S. and the reasons why terrorist groups just love to pick on us. Why did the Iranians storm the US embassy in 1979 and hold hostages for 444 days? Why did a suicide bomber in Beiruit destroy part of the Marine compound and kill two Marines? Why did Osama Bin Laden take such issue with our presence in Saudi Arabia that he bombed the Khobar Towers, blew a big hole in the USS Cole, and level the World Trade Center?
To put it simply, they want us out of their affairs. Is that too much to ask? After all, when we had periods of unrest in the 60's and 70's, did Britain poke its nose in to restore peace? No. When the Civil War was fought in the 1860's, who jumped into the fray to stop the injustices committed in a war between brothers? Nobody. The U.S. meddles in too many nations' affairs, without being asked to help, and without good reason other than just to rattle our own sabres. We need to step back and look at these conflicts with the words of Lao Tzu ringing in our ears. Perhaps then our nation will be truly great.
