Thursday, May 20, 2010

Tao te Ching Says Stop Sniping at Political Leaders

This article was originally published by Technorati on 20 May 2010 as a Simply Spirited feature. To see all my Technorati articles, click Lifestyle in the Contents listing on the sidebar.

President Obama's approval rating is hovering at or below 50%, which means, I suppose, that half the country or more disapproves of the job he's doing. Right-wing pundits are punditting that Tuesday's primary races signal his demise in 2012. Others are taking potshots at him for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, calling it his Katrina.

Left-wingers did this to Bush for eight years. Right-winger did it to Clinton for eight years before that. Perhaps there's a better way.

The Tao te Ching says, "When a new leader is chosen, don't offer to help him with your wealth or your expertise. Offer instead to teach him about the Tao."

First step: learn about the Tao yourself. But even if you know nothing about the Tao at this point, the advice is a little arresting. It's a whole different head from the general sniping of the political conversation over the last 17 years.

The Tao te Ching offers specific advice for those who would govern a country. Selecting a few of these would be as good a place to start as any in educating our President.

Photo Credit: The Unsuitablog

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