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The Tao of Politics, Chapter Three
[Editors Note: Part of our ongoing Sunday series examining the intersection of religion and politics and its relationship to our present state of democracy, written exclusively for the DCP, by Matthew Carnicelli]
In the third chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tse begins by touching on two seemingly unrelated ideas that actually hover around a central axis. Let us initially explore each thought separately.
If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
In this first sentence, Lao Tse is in my view describing our tendency to put inspirational leaders – like Martin Luther King and Mohandas Gandhi, for instance – on a pedestal, to make them seem as imposing and larger-than-life as a father or mother must appear to a small child.
In recent years, both King and Gandhi have been linked to forms of intimate expression that some argue tarnish their legacy. However, from my perspective, these revelations only make their lives that much more inspiring and empowering, if a bit more dangerous and true to life. For while they seemed perfect but distant, they remained on a pedestal, their remarkable lives perhaps just another illustration of God’s periodic intervention in human affairs.
But when these two men are revealed as simply human, bearing their crosses as best they could, wrestling with many of the same fears and compulsions as others, then there is suddenly no bar to mere mortals like you and me attempting to follow in their footsteps, and become the King and Gandhi of our generation.
And once that bar is lifted, their power to inspire us returns in all its former glory. Indeed, they become dangerous again – a danger to our complacency, to our habitual inaction, and lamentable self-absorption – which, come to think of it, is exactly how I suspect they’d prefer to be remembered.
With his second sentence in Chapter Three, Lao Tse shifts his focus from an unnatural esteem of particular people to things.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.
Here Lao Tse is telling us that when material possessions are placed atop that same pedestal, when they are made virtual gods – as they appear to be to many in America, especially among that circle that President Bush describes as his “base” – then people will employ extraordinary means to obtain them, and keep them. Some will continue in this mode long after the day when they satisfied any reasonable urge to acquire either money or things.
Evidently, within this quasi-religious frame of self-reference, one’s demonstration of their superior virtue is best expressed through a progression from Chevrolet, to Mercedes, to Hummer or Rolls Royce. And just as naturally, those who cannot quite afford these gaudy symbols of economic virtue will nonetheless attempt to acquire them – using whatever means, legal or otherwise, they have at their disposal. Seen in the context of our aggressively materialistic consumer society, perhaps even stealing should be considered a form of faith-based activism!
With both of these passages, Lao Tse is again (as he did in Chapter 2) directing our attention back towards an awareness of the unhealthy dynamics introduced through dualistic thinking – good and bad, high and low, or great and not-great. This is a theme he will return to again and again.
He concludes this chapter by urging us to get beyond hero worship, materialism, intellectual complacency, and even the recently celebrated ideal of a “purpose-driven life”, and instead choose more emotionally centered, spiritually rich lives.
The Master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.
Practice not-doing,
and everything will fall into place
Still, one wonders if even The Master could impact the mindset of the Bush Administration – where so many remain so sure that they know, even when each and every action they take beget greater uncertainty in the nation, and greater violence and confusion across the planet.
*****
This translation of the Tao Te Ching is by Stephen Mitchell, copyright 1988. It is available in paperback editions from Harper Perennial Classics (ISBN: 0060812451) and Harper Perennial Persona (ISBN: 0060812451).
Interesting Sunday perspective - thanks!
What happens when you overesteem men who are not really great?! (There seems to be alot of that)
I just read an article where anthropologists studied several American families in depth & it concluded that most of us own more than King Tut did.
Thank you, Matthew, for the inspirational thoughts. On this Palm Sunday, this first day of spring, this day of troubled news from many parts of our world, I find myself in great need of hope and inspiration to fill my mind and soul with healing thoughts, so that I can help do my part to heal the soul of our country, our world.
With that in mind, I offer these thoughts from those masters whom I consider wise.
Peace and joy and love and light. Peace, peace, peace.
madame defarge
*************
If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
-- Mahatma Ghandi
It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
-- Confucius
It is better to live one day ethically and reflectively than to live a hundred years immoral and unrestrained.
-- Buddha
Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let us not beg for the stilling of the pain but for the heart to conquer it.
-- Rabindranath Tagore
A man becomes like those whose society he loves.
-- Hindu proverb
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
-- Lao-tzu
When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways -- either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.
-- Dalai Lama
At the end of the way is freedom. Till then, patience.
-- Buddha
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Dear Operation Truth Supporter,
As a loyal OpTruth supporter, we wanted to give you advance notice of a groundbreaking report that will be issued this weekend by Operation Truth. The first-ever review of the war based entirely on feedback from the Troops, an "After Action Review," will be published on our website this Sunday.
WHAT: Read It Straight from the Troops: "After Action Review"
WHEN: Sunday Morning, March 20th
WHERE: Our website, www.optruth.org
Operation Truth has combed through hundreds of stories submitted by our Veteran members and organized them into an After Action Review, examining what has gone well, what has not, and what needs to change. The report is straight from the Troops, unedited and uncensored.
We want you, our supporters, to read it first and tell your friends!
Thank you for continuing to support the Troops.
Sincerely,
Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq War Veteran
Executive Director
Operation Truth
It is there for the reading now
www.optruth.org
I know this is off topic, but the Schiavo case is all that I'm seeing on TV today, and I just want to express my total frustration at the painting of our party as anti-lifers. I don't know what the morality of the Schiavo case is, because I personally cannot get inside her brain and see if there are any thoughts wandering about in there. Neither can her doctors, evidently. Just from seeing the pictures that are broadcast on TV, I probably would not be able to personally remove her feeding tube myself, and I think that's what most of the country is feeling when they have sympathy for the parents in this case. (At any rate, no matter whether she's in a vegetative state or not, removing the feeding tube is a cruel way to allow this woman to expire. If we truly believe that her life is over, a quick injection is the only humane way to let her pass over to the other side.) But to use her as a test case for the majority of patients from whom feeding tubes are removed is obviously unfair. The majority of these patients are not sitting up in a wheelchair and giving the appearance of life- which is what the newsmedia is showing us about Terry Schiavo. We may be getting a skewed picture of the girl from her parents manipulation of the media, or we may not. That's really impossible to determine.
What we can be absolutely sure of in this case though, is that it is being used as a political ploy to paint our party as anti life and anti family values, which we most certainly are not. Bush is using this to cover up Tom Delay's woes, he's using it to cover up the bankruptcy bill, and he's using it to cover up the protests of the two year anniversary of the Iraqi war. And, as they have for the last 4 years now, the entire media machine in this country is aiding and abetting the Republican party in their plans. Every minute of CNN coverage today that is not about Terry Schiavo is about Jessica Lunsford. It's an Oprah world out there in the media- no one wants to hear the hard news, only the so called "human interest" stories. I can tell you this much- if humans do not become interested in Iraq, or in the bankruptcy laws, or in Tom DeLays actions- we may not survive as a free nation much longer. Of course, that's assuming we have already survived as a free nation, and I'm not too sure about that either.
Democrats Block GOP in Schiavo Case
20 March 2005
It appears that House Dems have now decided that the legislation to prolong Schiavo’s life must go to a quorum of 218 members for a roll call vote.
Leaders of both parties agreed Saturday on legislation that they said would allow Schiavo's feeding tube, which was disconnected Friday afternoon, to be reinserted while federal courts review her case.
But when the House convened Sunday afternoon, Democrats made clear they would not let it pass on a voice vote, requiring the assembly of a quorum for a roll call vote.
http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=584
If we truly believe that her life is over, a quick injection is the only humane way to let her pass over to the other side.
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at March 20, 2005 02:22 PM
Linda,
It took about six hours of video tape to get twenty seconds of video which only misrepresents Terri Schiavo's true status. There is nothing cruel about allowing her to die with dignity as opposed to "putting her down" like a dog. Her body will naturally protect itself as it goes through the dying process. She is in a persistant vegetative state. Despite having open eyes, she does not have any conscious perpception of her body nor her surroundings.
As to the Republican's political motives, most Americans, except the ultra right wing nuts, see this as a transparent politcal ploy being used at one family's expense. By far the majority of Americans don't think this should be decided by Congress.
IMHO the Democrats are wise to keep quiet during this phase of the argument. But, when given the opportunity they should make EVERY Republican take a stand on this issue. The Democrats likewise can convincingly argue that they and not the Republicans are the party of family values (as this is certainly a family and not a federal issue that has already been decided by the Florida courts).
I agree that using Terri Schiavo is great cover for Congress this weekend. I can only imagine they are congratulating themselves up and down the halls on thier ability to use Terri for duck and cover. You have to remember, her parents asked for this, so they are culpable too.
Personally, I am horrified by the entire thing. All these years, Terri's family could not work anything out. Legal battle after legal battle favored her husband, and now to try to announce that her parents did not enjoy due process at the state level, is ridiculous.
A federal court may be so inclined to rule in the husbands favor again. Then what would congress do. The Supreme Court handed the case down without comment.
Meanwhile, time passes. Terri is on her feeding tube. I am trying to imagine how well Congress can make Terri. How much health can they give her?
This post is on topic-----
As to 'overesteem great men'
In today's world sports figures are great men, movie stars are great men, and in fact there are fewer great men out there to be esteemed in any way at all.
We talk about wanting our president to be a guy we would have a beer with, someone who is 'just folks' Great men?
Great men, or women for that matter don't necessarily run governments. They are great in other walks of life. I read somewhere that we elect presidents based on personality, and if it turns out that they have brains, it's a bonus.
I'll tell you what, this country didn't make bonus. And the personality department is lacking in a big way, too.
For those who are in despair about our country today, I want you to go to the link pasted below and read all the way to the end. It's well worth it!
Here's a quote from a fellow DCP'er that I've already shared this with on the DCP IRC:
**: thank you, dw. that is the most inspiring thing i have read in a very long time.
**: i say this as i sit here with tears streaming down my face.
**: this must be passed on to others. every word of it.
**: i'm going out this afternoon to purchase this book.
**: thank you again for that link. dw, that one act of yours has given me strength and motivation for another day. and day by day is the best way i can take it sometimes
And here's the best part. This link is the Introduction to the book that is the next selection in our Book Room discussion.
Introduction to You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train by Howard Zinn
http://www.zmag.org/zmag/articles/dec94zinn.htm
Link to our Book Room forum entry:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=441
I expect to see you all there! Enjoy
oncall- I hadn't read that about the 6 hours of videotape that it took to get the pictures of Terry Schiavo, but you must admit that they are touching. As I said, I'm not surprised to know that the media and the parents are manipulating this, but I have to disagree with you that giving her an injection which would end her life would be putting her down like a dog. I certainly would prefer that option myself to the removing the tube one, if the time ever came that I were so incapacitated. I suppose that's why I was so annoyed at the Kevorkian case- I actually think Kevorkian was doing a service to his patients, but I'm not a Catholic, and I understand that there are religious views which might conflict with my opinion on that subject. I respect those views, and respect the backgrounds from which they come, but they're just not mine.
I was proud to find that there were 9 Republican state legislators in my state who stood on the side of the Democrats in refusing to change Florida's Death with Dignity law. As a Floridian, that law affects me personally. One of these Republicans actually showed that his Christian views were real when discussing the issue- he said that Terry Schiavo had been kept from heaven too long, and he would not vote to keep her away any longer. Evidently, his beliefs are real, and it reminded me of something I forget fairly often- that there are real humans in the Republican party. Their leadership makes that fairly easy to forget sometimes.
~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~
Here Lao Tse is telling us that when material possessions are placed atop that same pedestal, when they are made virtual gods – as they appear to be to many in America, especially among that circle that President Bush describes as his “base†– then people will employ extraordinary means to obtain them, and keep them. Some will continue in this mode long after the day when they satisfied any reasonable urge to acquire either money or things.
~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~
Interesting point, Matthew.
When the drug of money or things has satisfied, the gaping hole inside consisting of depravity and lack of inner peace hungers yet for more satisfaction. The need creates another "drug" to try to satisfy. Sometimes that drug is power and the desire to control all. It is like any other drug, the use of it becomes an escalating cycle.
and
~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~
Seen in the context of our aggressively materialistic consumer society, perhaps even stealing should be considered a form of faith-based activism!
~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~
I think that is how it is being framed and portrayed by the circle President Bush describes as his "base".