Saturday, April 24, 2010

Wen Tzu - Verse 179

from Verse One Hundred Seventy-Nine
When the government is noninvasive, the people are pure; when the government is invasive, the people are lacking.
~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~
Passages such as the one above are what cause many people to see Lao Tzu as an early advocate of libertarian and anarchist ideals. It is also why, I believe, the vast majority of conservative Christians view Taoism as a subversive system of thought.

If Christian fundamentalists had their way, the main thrust of government would be to regulate people's behavior in the bedroom. If you listen to them talk -- I wouldn't advise it -- their main shtick centers around homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, promiscuity and pornography; all things connected, in some degree, to people's sexual preferences and behaviors.

If such stuff is not the quintessential definition of invasive, I don't know what is!

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

2 comments:

  1. I love that you say their main "thrust" is bedroom behavior.

    They would faint if they read about Taoist bedroom arts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not sure the "vast majority of conservative Christians" have a clue about what Taoism is or who Lao Tzu might be, to say nothing of having a view of it all.

    ReplyDelete

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