Perhaps This Is The Age

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

Confucius, the Chinese politician, teacher, moral reformer and philosopher, wrote the symbols for those words five hundred years before anyone thought about Christianity. Confucius liked to be called as a transmitter who invented nothing. He urged his followers to study the ancient Classics. The Classics revealed solutions to the moral problems of the present by analyzing past political issues and events. He also wanted students to study the reflections of noblemen, and how those thoughts impacted working class individuals.

The foundation for his teachings was firmly rooted in moral and ethical correctness, self-cultivation and skilled judgment rather than knowledge of controlling rules. His methods were often executed indirectly using tautology, innuendo, and allusions. Confucius was never short on thoughts. Almost all of them require attention in order to be understood. Over the years, Confucius developed a knack for expressing humanism in a very unique way. The significance of attention in relation to what is important to us in political affairs has suffered a major setback. We get a failing grade for giving our attention to the methods of politicians. We pay more attention to what we are thinking rather than paying attention to what they are doing. We pay homage to the original idea or suggestion, and neglect to focus on how that suggestion is manipulated in the minds of our elected representatives.

When we focus on the original idea and overlook how it has been turned in some manner by this group, we open the doors of control. And when the altered suggestion is accepted en masse, it can become what no one wanted except the few that push the buttons of control.

When those buttons are pushed, the individual becomes unimportant. Unimportance opens the door of fear. There are countless examples of working people giving their attention to a good idea and losing freedom and individuality in the process. History is filled with examples of how we fail to understand the ins and outs of political economic games and gains.

Perhaps this is the age when we all pay attention to the idea as it evolves in the political arena. Perhaps we will wake up and begin to focus on our collective freedom and individuality. Perhaps we should start to use Confucius tactics on our elected officials. Perhaps then we can adjust their attention to our wishes instead of our gullibility.