Fortunately, for you, Douglas , who’s arguably clung to the middle path, that is, without zig zagging (perhaps) as much as you and i, is signing a copy for you and coming over to our side of the street. I just can’t tell who’s in the middle!

Eddie! After the recent Court Decision, your Confucius is best! “Virtue is *not* left to stand alone. He who practices it *will* have neighbors.” Our collective concern here in this thread is how to be virtuous and practice virtue in these very interesting times.

I always think that Douglas must be the most occupied with this concern, only because he has so much more exposure to so many more people than we. All the more reason to do right by Doug. I’m not saying one should fawn over Douglas like mika does, just “give him strength, strength; and we shall be strengthened!”

-mason

I watch the US, as I watch the world, and I see very little worth saving. Even Sodom & Gomorrah had a higher percentage of “righteous” individuals. I hope god is dead. The US would certainly not survive my judgment. But neither would the rest of the world.

Re the rest:
I went backwards recently and again started thinking that we need to convert the ignorant to a more enlightened lifestyle of using less energy.
Doug’s post reminded me that our global consciousness needs to evolve (or awaken) and our egos and individualities need to take a back seat permanently. We can’t be taught this, we must individually realize it for ourselves. Like birds taking their first flight, we will learn it or die, but either way, the sun will explode in 4.5 billion years. So there is no reason to get too upset about it.

-mason

The cognitive dissonance we felt perceiving these small revolutions (from the left or the right) was completely subjective and even more limited to the degree it coincided or shared a set of actionable values with others’.

I agree with everyone here, Confucius mostly, but only because Confucian society or culture is so very as below so above, with the added admonition to do everything, absolutely everything one can…..

If, one argues, the election signified real choice, Obama has misread himself and the support of others by choosing his advisers. Part of this (perhaps) is due to the destructive behaviours of the Clintonites.

As the year comes to a close, my analysis suggests we all have listened to the wrong old men Obama included! And the propaganda men are becoming first among the worse sort that have our ears. Sprinkled throughout this Confucian Ode are some interesting names for these sort.

IX
Duke Mu to his colleagues in the ministry,
avoiding Lèse majesté in the form.
First of the “changed odes,”
in King Li’s time. 877-841 B.C.

Folk worn out, workin’ so late,
Kind rule at centre hauls on a state.
Pitch out the slimers and scare off worse,
Thieves and thugs see a light and curse;
Easy on far men, do with what’s near,
And the king can sit quiet the rest of the year.

2
Folk worn out need support,
Men gather round a kindly court;
Throw out the punks who falsify your news,
scare off the block-heads, thugs, thieves and screws.
Don’t shove it off on the working man,
But keep on doing what you can
for the king’s support.

3
Folk worked out need time for breath,
Kindness in capital
draws on the four coigns withal;
Sweep out the fakes and scare the obsequious
thugs, thieves and screws
and don’t promote the snots to sin on sly.
Respect men who respect the right
and your own honesty may heave into sight.

4
Folk burnt out need a vacation,
Kind court alleviates people’s vexation;
Throw out the flattering fakes,
scare blighters and crushers,
Don’t ruin folk pretending it’s government,
tho’ you’re mere babes in this business
and the job bigger than you can guess.

5
Folk burnt out need a little peace,
Kindness in middle causes no injuries.
Turn out the oily tongues and parasites,
thieves, squeezing governors; don’t upset honest men.
The king wants jewels and females, I therefore lift up these wails.

x
Attributed to the Earl of Fan
in King Li’s time, 877-841 B.C.

The sky’s course runs a-foul and in reverse,
a jaundiced people sink beneath the curse.
Given to untruth plotting never a-right,
You say, and lie, that no sage sees the light.
Against your nearsightedness
I employ this reproving verse.

2
The heavens send down the hard, pull in your smirk
Gainst sky’s square kick, no man has time to shirk.
Words fit to fact
folk will enact;
Calm discourse needeth no force.

3
From a different line of work, my colleagues, I bring you an idea. You smirk.
It’s in the line of duty. Wipe off that smile,
and as our grandfathers used to say:
Ask the fellows who cut the hay.

4
There is no joke in heaven’s severity,
Old men clear ditches and young men step high.
My word ‘s not moss-grown. Your frivolity
is a muck heap’s blaze.
Fagots, not to be saved, blaze higher,
Medicine grass puts out no fire.

5
Dour heaven ‘s not cogged to fit your jactancy,
Good men sit corpse-like still, perversity
is your line. The people groan,
none dares ask why
all ‘s wrack, no charity.

6
Light’s lattice, the sky aloft, tunes man
as flute or pitch pipe can;
easy to lift as half
the jade tally-mace, none tries to enlarge his half to tune.
Prone to untune, be not yourselves the base
of their untunedness.

7
True men a fence, and serried ranks a wall,
Great states a buffer, clans as a flank bulwark.
Straightness in action gives calm. That meditate,
Clan-chiefs shall be as solid thy stronghold,
let it not moulder here till solitude
be not thy worst to fear.

8
Revere the anger of heaven
nor count it vain stage-play;
Revere the motion of heaven, bawl not thy jactancy,
The light of heaven is clear enough to see
the king going out, and at sunrise there’s light
enough to show
the revel’s remnant, idleness’ overflow.

His acts so far have proven he is no different than a propaganda stunt without an own agenda.

Maybe he has one, but then he lacks the power to enforce it.