The Tao is the way. Too bad Machiavelli never heard of it. Or got to read it. If he had, The Prince might have been a different fellow. An unrecognizable one, in fact.
I like to read Lao Tzu’s paradoxical pages every now and then, and when I do, I reach for my copy of Tao Te Ching. The wisdom here is unsettlingly logical. So un-Western. And in this day and age, sadly, so un-Eastern, too.
Here is one entry I particularly enjoyed. Like rivers and streams, the metaphor is simple yet deep. If only a few politicians who resemble the Duke and the Dauphin Huck meets (their weaknesses exposed the minute they open their well-snakeoiled mouths) would read it. But that won’t happen unless it is read aloud to said politicians . On Fox Channel story time, maybe. Which gives the fox—an otherwise fine animal—a bad name.
From Tao Te Ching:
The reason the river and sea can be regarded as
The rulers of all the valley streams
Is because of their being below them.
Therefore they can be their rulers.
So if you want to be over people
You must speak humbly to them.
If you want to lead them
You must place yourself behind them.
Thus the sage is positioned above
And the people do not feel oppressed.
He is in front and they feel nothing wrong.
Therefore they like to push him front and never resent him.
Since he does not contend
No one can contend with him.
The moral of our story: Lead from behind. Get on top from below. Be humble! In our time, most wannabe leaders have lost their way (reminder: “The Tao is the way”).