from Verse Eighty-FourWhen the people are estranged and alienated, the strength of the nation wanes. When the people rebel, the leadership has no authority. When people are contentious, they easily do wrong. When those below resent those above, then rank is dangerous.~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~
Throughout the thought of Lao Tzu, there is this interplay between the individual and the collective. While the main thrust of walking the path of the Way is focused on the individual, the collective eventually will be served as well.
Where do leaders come from? They come from the people and if the people, as individuals, do not live a Tao life, then there is little chance that those chosen to be leaders will be any different.
In one of his routines, the late George Carlin liked to point out that the main reason the US government was so screwed up is that, by and large, American society is screwed up. He made the astute point that the best way to remedy the situation was to fix the public and its leadership would follow suit.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
Where do leaders come from? They come from the people and if the people, as individuals, do not live a Tao life, then there is little chance that those chosen to be leaders will be any different.
In one of his routines, the late George Carlin liked to point out that the main reason the US government was so screwed up is that, by and large, American society is screwed up. He made the astute point that the best way to remedy the situation was to fix the public and its leadership would follow suit.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
Will we shortly hear how the public should be fixed?
ReplyDeleteThat should be fun.
Embrace the Way. That's the message of Lao Tzu & Chuang Tzu.
ReplyDeleteGo on then TRT: embrace away.
ReplyDelete