"18. All warfare is based on deception.
19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."
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http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html
Look, one can only stop so much from happening. But once it happens, whatever it is, one can deal with it.
Paul can still deal with whatever reality is created over the upcoming days and weeks. We all have to. One can't determine everything, but one can deal with anything.
If you look at your goals, be they defending your life or your liberty or whatever, as JUST an endpoint, you are always going to be disappointed, because there is always going to be a threat, or at least a potential for threat.
But that's why defense of what one values is a process that does not end.
One must win as many battles as possible, but the war goes on.
If Paul does not become president, then to me the BIGGEST battle, so far, was lost. That is MY opinion.
But the war goes on. The POINT of war is to DEFEND, not to "win."
If one chooses to defend one's self, one's freedom, one's life, one's family, then one must never give up on the process. Some battles must be lost in order to survive, so that one can continue to fight and defend.
I don't claim to know what Paul's intentions are, what, if any, plan he has, but I can believe that he has an endgame, and that it is defending the people of this country, of this world.
That endgame is the "war" itself, DEFENSE.
By choosing the defense as the endgame itself, one can only go wrong it what it chooses to defend.
Whatever realities has been created by the campaign, the RNC, or by Paul himself, I believe that I cannot place 100% faith in any theory that I or anyone else can come up with as to how or why these realities were created. And by realities, I mean facts, as in, "Ron Paul is still a candidate for president", or "Rand endorsed Romney."
Do I believe that Ron Paul has the intention of defending the people of this world? Yes, I believe that. When I balance what I know about him, that is something that I am willing to put faith in.
But does Ron Paul deceive? If he is fighting a "war", and if one accepts the premise that "all warfare is based on deception", then yes, I do.
The point is, "why" and "how" does one deceive? If one deceives to defend, to protect, then the deception is in alignment with the point of the war.
So if Ron Paul has a "plan", and he has or does deceive, I believe that it is in alignment with his endgame, to defend the people of this country, the people of this world.
That is my belief.
But NO ONE can determine the outcome of each battle. One has to reposition one's self, find new strategies to fight, in order to NOT LOSE THE WAR.
As long as those strategies are in alignment with the principle, the ONLY just principle that one can have to go to war, which is to defend that which should never be taken from anyone, then one has the moral high ground.
"16. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success."
I believe, that at this moment in our history, our moral leader is Ron Paul.
I will place faith in him, his intelligence, and his sincerity, as much as I see that it is due.
But as individuals, it is our responsibility to determine what is truly going on and act accordingly. If we are part of this "war", then our mission is to defend that what must be defended, while adhering to moral principles.
That, to me, is the only way a "war" can be justified. The means justify the ends, and the ends justify the means.
This, again, to me, is a dynamic that exists in everything we do, whether it is trying to elect a president, or that president defending his nation from physical harm, or just me talking with someone. There is always the possibility that I or anyone could infringe on someone's rights.
That is the balance that must be kept. Defend what must be defended for you and for all.
If I had to choose one person to do that as the president of the United States, right now it would be Paul.
Babe Ruth used to hit more home runs than other TEAMS.
I want him hitting clean-up, not as the bench coach.
But we can't always get what we want.
But we have to keep trying.
And to me, the whole freaking point of this is to DEFEND that which must be defended.
Paul or no Paul.