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.Translation by Stephen Mitchel.
Philosophy
10 Key Conservative Principles
Today’s popular definition of “conservative” means little more than “that group of people/notions that stand opposite to what the ‘liberals’ stand for”. And even then I’m not sure how often they’re actually opposing.
Anthony G. Martin has a nice summary of 10 Key Conservative Principles.
Tao Te Ching #57
If you want to be a great leader,
you must learn to follow the Tao.
Stop trying to control.
Let go of fixed plans and concepts,
and the world will govern itself.The more prohibitions you have,
the less virtuous people will be.
The more weapons you have,
the less secure people will be.
The more subsidies you have,
the less self-reliant people will be.Therefore the Master says:
I let go of the law,
and people become honest.
I let go of economics,
and people become prosperous.
I let go of religion,
and people become serene.
I let go of all desire for the common good,
and the good becomes common as grass.Translation by Stephen Mitchel.
It’s that middle section that really hits home today.
Tao Te Ching #75
When taxes are too high, people go hungry.
When government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit
Act for the people’s benefit. Trust them; leave them alone.Translation by Stephen Mitchell
Ancient wisdom, that still holds true today.
The Art of Fighting Without Fighting
One of my favorite scenes in Bruce Lee’s film, Enter the Dragon:
While there’s no question it’s fun to talk about the hardware of martial arts (gun calibers, gun makes/models, swords, canes, staff, form/style, modern vs. traditional, etc.) in the end the key to any bit of self-defense is the software: your brain. There are priorities of survival:
- Awareness and preparedness
- Tactics
- Skill
- Equipment
Notice that equipment is the least important; it’s still important, just that there are more important things. As you go up the ladder, there’s a “force multiplier”; #4 gives you the least multiplier, #1 gives you the most – all towards your chances of survival. In fact, #1’s multiplier is so strong that it alone can zero out all the others. Take a class like Street and Vehicle Tactics from InSights Training Center.
Best way to win a fight? Don’t get into one. If you know there’s going to be a fight (gun fight, fist fight, whatever), don’t go into it. It’s often said, your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation. Bruce Lee demonstrates this perfectly in the above scene, fighting without fighting, taking care of the bully without throwing a punch or losing his temper.
The Tao of Programming
While there are pretty HTML versions out there, I think there’s something about plain ASCII text that’s more appropriate.
Such is my world, in a nutshell
Update: There are also the Unix Koans of Master Foo.
On Sarah Palin
Via Instapundit via The Volokh Conspiracy, The Meaning of Sarah Palin.
The crux of the article is something I felt throughout the 2008 Presidential Campaign: one of intellectual elitism. I dealt with this a great deal back in undergrad (and somewhat in my K-12 years and in grad school), and it always turned my stomach. I believe if you want to be a big person, build yourself up; don’t cut others down.
Stuff From Hsoi 