A great nation is like a great man:
Excerpt from Chapter 61 of Tao Te Ching by Lao-tzu, as translated by Stephen Mitchell, HarperPerennial, New York, USA, 1988.
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.
Lao-tzu, a legendary ancient Chinese philosopher, is believed to have lived during the sixth century BCE. He is considered to be the founder of Taoism.
Three Worlds One Vision 
He should be listened to
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My thought exactly, Derrick!
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Unfortunately, Laozi and Zhuangzi have never received the attention they deserve in Western thought. We keep placing the “blame” on others and even when we secretly know we are wrong, our “mental spin-doctors” correct it. And with dualistic thinking we can’t get off this merry-go-round.
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The disturbing part, Friedrich, is that this merry-go-round is one mired in death.
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If only more leaders of nations took Lao-tzu’s words to heart… 😦
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If only, Dave…
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Very few have been listening to these ancient words! Perhaps today, whilst we remember all those who lost their lives in all the wars, more will act on Laozi’s wisdom.
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Ashley, it would seem that we humans have learned nothing from the two World Wars. We prefer to focus on the heroism of those who fought and died than on the human suffering inflicted on peoples still suffering from the fallout.
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I do understand 🙏 but when an attacker enters one’s country I can’t imagine many would just sit on their hands! 💙💛💙💛
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By Lao-tzu’s standard, there have been few great nations in this century and the last, unless we include apologies that came long after the mistakes had passed and most of those who made them (not to mention their victims) were gone. The irony is that after WWII ended, Germany would be included on the list of great nations. Among the countries with blood on their hands for contributing to the Holocaust, they alone took responsibility. One could name others that still have not.
Closer to home, responsibility for slavery, the internment of the West Coast Japanese citizens, and the US slaughter of Native Americans came very late, to the extent that they happened.
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So true, Dr. Stein. Our leaders are reluctant to take responsibility for crimes committed because it would involve reparations of some kind.
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I agree, Rosaliene. I also think the same prejudices that drove those decisions exist for a very long time — finally acknowledged only when someone else is in power and encounters a smaller political cost by acknowledging the wrong done by his predecessor.
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Rosaliene, Reparations required of Germany after WWI led to hyperinflation, the rise of Hitler, and WWII. Can anyone be responsible for reparations from group to individual or vice versa? I understand that individuals might try to make reparations to individuals, but for groups, the idea of reparations becomes murky and a set-up for more conflict within both groups.
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Wisdom for the ages! A timely message. ❤ Thank you for posting this, Rosaliene! ❤ We have the insight; we need the will!
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My pleasure, Cheryl 🙂 We humans can be stubborn in holding on to self-destructive ways of thinking and behaving.
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With respect to Ms. Otto’s point, the reparations visited on Deutschland after WWI were draconian. While they made a contribution to setting the stage for WWII, they were not the only reason for it. Germany was forced to take full responsibility for the war and had the terms of the Versailles Treaty dictated to it despite the fact that the armistice began while no enemy army occupied their land.
Additionally, Germany’s own war propaganda caused its people to believe they had been “stabbed in the back” by a malignant internal betrayal. The Jews were blamed without evidence. The allies allowed Hitler to violate the peace treaty when he could have been defeated, giving him the time to rebuild the army and prepare for WWII.
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Rosaliene,
Thought-provoking analogy. I can only add that nations have longer histories than individuals do, so they have more to account for, and more people who have different perspectives on wrongs done, and to whom or what.
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Very true, Katharine. What’s more, as individuals, we often refuse to assume responsibility for the wrongs committed by our forefathers.
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Rosaliene,
I’m sure all our forefathers committed wrongs. What are we, now, supposed to do about it? For instance, my paternal grandfather immigrated from Norway in 1907, or thereabouts. He apparently had Viking ancestors, but this is lost to history. My paternal grandmother was born in Georgia, but my maternal grandmother was French Canadian and apparently had 14 siblings. Grandmother Kate was a geneologist but only researched her own family’s side. I still haven’t figured out all the relationhips amongst my forebears only two generations back.
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A good philosophy. Unfortunately philosophers and scholars are often ignored or diminished by politicians, only seeing one path. Have a good Sunday. Allan
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Sadly true, Allan.
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Ours a great nation?
Only in our own eyes.
Would that it were only
Other-wise.
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Mister Muse, we humans can be quite blind to our own flaws.
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Not too many people, and not too many nations, meet his definition. Or so it seems to me.
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They are few, indeed, Neil. According to the World Happiness Report, that judges the success of countries by the happiness of its peoples, the top five happiest countries, based on a three-year-average 2020-2022, are Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Israel, and the Netherlands. I was quite surprised to see Israel among the top five. The USA comes in at #15. You can see the complete list at the following link: https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2023/
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I love that I can always look forward to learning something new or refreshing my memory when reading your posts. 😍
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Thanks very much, Tammy 🙂
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Lao-tzu was able to find the highest level of human aspiration, he laid out a path, if you will, to how we can become our better selves, but as we have seen in the centuries since he wrote those words, not many people or nations choose that path, for life’s troubles, its difficulties often push those thoughts out of our minds. Too many people are living in the trenches of life, struggling, doing battle with the inner and outer that it is emotionally difficult to reach those levels of consciousness.
We are a contentious bunch, and our continuous struggles with grasping for more power, territories and riches will continue. When we go to the Moon and to Mars to mine the minerals, I foresee more battles being fought over the control of these. With our current consumerist ways of thinking, our desires to have more and more disposable goods to enjoy and then jettison, we will continue to fuel these power struggles.
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Tamara, thanks very much for so eloquently describing the human condition. It is my hope that a time will come–perhaps sooner than we expect–when we the people of Earth will be forced to change our current self-destructive behavior for survival as a species.
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At present I do not hold those hopes, for I have seen how we have consistently failed through the centuries. If we destroy Earth and by extension ourselves, our planet will live on and eventually rejuvenate without us mucking it up. I feel strangely at peace with that notion!
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Tamara, it’s just a matter of time before our species are replaced by another dynasty. If you haven’t already done so, I recommend that you watch the Netflix series about “Life on Our Planet,” produced by Steven Spielberg and narrated by Morgan Freeman. Watch the official trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy1v0pzMP4g
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Just turned it on! Thanks for the suggestion!
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My pleasure 🙂
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True, we probably won’t see when or how mankind will end itself. We could die in a fireball if all the crazy despots in power around the world choose to duke it out and try to annihilate their enemies. Our planet would suffer for a while, but ultimately it would be fine without us. Bravo to you for taking responsibility for your carbon footprint.
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This is one of the great philosophies that cannot be entertained by the greedy, it’s bigger than them. Otherwise we would have been living in a better world.
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I agree, Zet Ar. Human greed has no bounds.
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Our political landscape in the US could use a bit of his wisdom about greatness.
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We can, indeed, Rebecca.
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Thanks so much for sharing these powerful words from Lao-tzu, Rosaliene. I agree with you that we can be blind to our flaws. That is so evident when we look at our society and the conflicts going on around the world. As that old saying goes, “If you’re living in a glass house, don’t throw no stones.” Cheers to a FANtabulous and peaceful week my dear! 😍🥂🥰☮💖
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My pleasure, Kym 🙂 We humans keep on doing the same thing, with the same results: human suffering and devastation. A peaceful week for you, too ❤
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I agree Rosaliene. No change…no change! Peace, blessings, hugs, and smooches to you too my friend. 🥰💖😊
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Wise words.
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They are, indeed, Mitch.
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We need more great nations like this
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We do, indeed, Claire. Good to hear from you 🙂
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