Wen Tzu - Verse 115, Part III

from Verse One Hundred Fifteen

When you mobilize an army of one hundred thousand, it costs a thousand units of gold per day; there are always bad years after a military expedition. Therefore armaments are instruments of ill omen and are not treasured by cultured people.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

The United States -- as is the rest of the world -- is mired in an economic recession. Check out the television, radio, internet or newspaper and you'll see a zillion different explanations for why we find ourselves in this plight. But the one explanation that one rarely sees or hears has to do with the fact we're fighting two wars in two different countries!

Thousands of years ago Lao Tzu recognized that war is not good for foreign or domestic tranquility. It brings about severe imbalance for the country being attacked and the country doing the attacking. It transfers vast stores of wealth from all aspects of government to the military. And it harms the well-being and social conscience of the people.

Isn't it a shame that we STILL have not learned this fundamental lesson?

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.