Verse Thirty-One
A strong military, a tool of misfortune
All things detest it
Therefore, those who possess the Tao avoid it
Honorable gentlemen, while at home, value the left
When deploying the military, value the right
The military is a tool of misfortune
Not the tool of honorable gentlemen
When using it out of necessity
Calm detachment should be above all
Victorious but without glory
Those who glorify
Are delighting in the killing
Those who delight in killing
Cannot achieve their ambitions upon the world
Auspicious events favor the left
Inauspicious events favor the right
The lieutenant general is positioned to the left
The major general is positioned to the right
We say that they are treated as if in a funeral
Those who have been killed
Should be mourned with sadness
Victory in war should be treated as a funeral
~ Derek Lin translation ~
Our entire society is built upon the edifice of competition. As legendary Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi once said, "Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing!"
Winning -- often at ANY cost -- permeates our society. It is such a ubiquitous part of the American ethos that we Americans believe that we will win every war, every athletic competition and anything else we participate in. When we don't come out victorious, it's because someone else cheated or the situation was rigged or the weather was against us or some other nonsensical rationalization.
Of course, this belief in yourself as the perennial champion goes hand-in-hand with another belief -- you or your group is always right, the "good guys". These two beliefs feed upon each other and turn you into a self-righteous tyrant!
I suckled at the breast of competition as a lad. Not only did I soak up the societal emphasis on winning, but I lived in the home of a super competitive attorney. My dad hated to lose at anything, including playing the game of Candyland with his young son! Not only did he need to win at this friendly children's game, he needed to trounce you in the process.
I learned this lesson far too well and, during my youth and young adulthood, I too was super competitive. In most games, it wasn't enough for me to come out as the champion, I had to obliterate my opponents. When I did win -- which was a good deal of the time -- I paraded around like a self-righteous asshole! I rubbed people's faces in my obvious superiority. I pranced around like a prima donna.
Oh, but I was even worse when I...heaven forbid...lost. I would fume. I would sulk. Most of the time, I would get very angry and I often thought the ONLY way I could have lost was if someone else cheated. In essence, even as late as age 30 or 35, I acted like a two year old by having major temper tantrums. It was nothing short of pathetic!
Fortunately, both for myself and others, I came to realize how big of a prick I had become. I slowly weaned myself away from viewing winning as an arbiter of my worth as a human being. Today, I still like to win, but it's not that important anymore. Simply playing the game -- win or lose -- can be fun.
And, for me, that's one of the aspects of today's verse. In games, play for the fellowship it engenders. In life, try to avoid competition in all its various forms. War is one of the ultimate forms of competition and, as indicated in yesterday's verse, it should be avoided as much as possible.
In those rare situations when war cannot be avoided, then press the action ONLY as far as needed and be a gracious victor. If the victor goes out of its way to humiliate the vanquished nation[s], all you end up doing is creating an enemy that will seek revenge at some point in time. (Think Germany after WWI.)
In the end, regardless of which side wins and which side loses the war, all sides end up losing. War tears families apart, kills and maims far too many people and lays waste to the environment. As Lin's translation states, the aftermath of any war should be treated like a funeral by everyone involved.
Winning -- often at ANY cost -- permeates our society. It is such a ubiquitous part of the American ethos that we Americans believe that we will win every war, every athletic competition and anything else we participate in. When we don't come out victorious, it's because someone else cheated or the situation was rigged or the weather was against us or some other nonsensical rationalization.
Of course, this belief in yourself as the perennial champion goes hand-in-hand with another belief -- you or your group is always right, the "good guys". These two beliefs feed upon each other and turn you into a self-righteous tyrant!
I suckled at the breast of competition as a lad. Not only did I soak up the societal emphasis on winning, but I lived in the home of a super competitive attorney. My dad hated to lose at anything, including playing the game of Candyland with his young son! Not only did he need to win at this friendly children's game, he needed to trounce you in the process.
I learned this lesson far too well and, during my youth and young adulthood, I too was super competitive. In most games, it wasn't enough for me to come out as the champion, I had to obliterate my opponents. When I did win -- which was a good deal of the time -- I paraded around like a self-righteous asshole! I rubbed people's faces in my obvious superiority. I pranced around like a prima donna.
Oh, but I was even worse when I...heaven forbid...lost. I would fume. I would sulk. Most of the time, I would get very angry and I often thought the ONLY way I could have lost was if someone else cheated. In essence, even as late as age 30 or 35, I acted like a two year old by having major temper tantrums. It was nothing short of pathetic!
Fortunately, both for myself and others, I came to realize how big of a prick I had become. I slowly weaned myself away from viewing winning as an arbiter of my worth as a human being. Today, I still like to win, but it's not that important anymore. Simply playing the game -- win or lose -- can be fun.
And, for me, that's one of the aspects of today's verse. In games, play for the fellowship it engenders. In life, try to avoid competition in all its various forms. War is one of the ultimate forms of competition and, as indicated in yesterday's verse, it should be avoided as much as possible.
In those rare situations when war cannot be avoided, then press the action ONLY as far as needed and be a gracious victor. If the victor goes out of its way to humiliate the vanquished nation[s], all you end up doing is creating an enemy that will seek revenge at some point in time. (Think Germany after WWI.)
In the end, regardless of which side wins and which side loses the war, all sides end up losing. War tears families apart, kills and maims far too many people and lays waste to the environment. As Lin's translation states, the aftermath of any war should be treated like a funeral by everyone involved.
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