When foreign trade began to threaten. Japanese independence in the mid-nineteenth century, the Japanese debated how to defeat the foreigners. One minister, Hotta Masayoshi, wrote a memorandum in 1857 that influenced Japanese policy for years to come: "I am therefore convinced that our policy should be to conclude friendly alliances, to send ships to foreign countries everywhere and conduct trade, to copy the foreigners where they are at their best and so repair our own shortcomings, to foster our national strength and complete our armaments, and so gradually subject the foreigners to our influence until in the end all the countries of the world know the blessings of perfect tranquillity and our hegemony is acknowledged throughout the globe." This is a brilliant application of the Law: Use surrender to gain access to your enemy. Learn his ways, insinuate yourself with him slowly, outwardly conform to his customs, but inwardly maintain your own culture. Eventually you will emerge victorious, for while he considers you weak and inferior, and take no precautions against you, you are using the time to catch up and surpass him. This soft, permeable form of invasion is often the best, for the enemy has nothing to react against, prepare for, or resist. And had Japan resisted Western influence by force, it might well have suffered a devastating invasion that would have permanently altered its culture.
In 473 B.C., in ancient China, King Goujian of Yue suffered a horrible defeat from the ruler of Wu in the battle of Fujiao. Goujian wanted to flee, but he had an adviser who told him to surrender and to place himself in the service of the ruler of Wu, from which position he could study the man and plot his revenge. Deciding to follow this advice, Goujian gave the ruler all of his riches, and went to work in his conqueror's stables as the lowest servant. For three years he humbled himself before the ruler, who then, finally satisfied of his loyalty, allowed him to return home. Inwardly, however, Goujian had spent those three years gathering information and plotting revenge. When a terrible drought struck Wu, and the kingdom was weakened by inner turmoil, he raised an army, invaded, and won with ease. That is the power behind surrender: It gives you the time and the flexibility to plot a devastating counterblow. Had Goujian run away, he would have lost this chance.
We have seen that it can be better to surrender than to fight; faced with a more powerful opponent and a sure defeat, it is often also better to surrender than to run away. Running away may save you for the time being, but the aggressor will eventually catch up with you. If you surrender instead, you have an opportunity to coil around your enemy and strike with your fangs from close up.
This is the essence of the surrender tactic: Inwardly you stay firm, but outwardly you bend. Deprived of a reason to get angry, your opponents will often be bewildered instead. And they are unlikely to react with more violence, which would demand a reaction from you. Instead you are allowed the time and space to plot the countermoves that will bring them down. In the battle of the intelligent against the brutal and the aggressive, the surrender tactic is the supreme weapon. It does require self-control: Those who genuinely surrender give up their freedom, and may be crushed by the humiliation of their defeat. You have to remember that you only appear to surrender, like the animal that plays dead to save its hide.
I am more inclined to agree with Claire’s emphasis on studying for an advanced degree while continuing to work full-time because, in this way, one would be able to learn more skills and expand their knowledge scope without losing their sensitivity to the industry.
Compared to a full-time student, who might have to live a full academic life more, including reading loads of papers and conducting experiments throughout the day, a person who pursues a higher degree while continuing to work would pay more attention to knowledge and skills that are more applicable and is more competitive in the ever-evolving industry and job market, contributing to a better prospect after their graduation. For example, a person working in a marketing company can learn the most current and advanced marketing techniques. As he learns in school, he can immediately apply the skills to his job, helping him gain an advantage over his competitors. On the other hand, because of his real-world practice, he would learn knowledge more effectively because of his contextual learning. However, if a student does not get real-world experience, he might learn theories only without the opportunity to understand them in context.
Keys To Power
What gets us into trouble in the realm of power is often our own overreaction to the moves of our enemies and rivals. That overreaction creates problems we would have avoided had we been more reasonable. It also has an endless rebound effect, for the enemy then overreacts as well, much as the Athenians did to the Melians. It is always our first instinct to react, to meet aggression with some other kind of aggression. But the next time someone pushes you and you find yourself starting to react, try this: Do not resist or fight back, but yield, turn the other cheek, bend. You will find that this often neutralizes their behavior they expected, even wanted you to react with force and so they are caught off-guard and confounded by your lack of resistance. By yielding, you in fact control the situation, because your surrender is part of a larger plan to lull them into believing they have defeated you.
When the great lord passes, the wise peasant bows deeply and silently farts.
Ethiopian proverb
Keep in mind the following: People trying to make a show of their authority are easily deceived by the surrender tactic. Your outward sign of submission makes them feel important; satisfied that you respect them, they become easier targets for a later counterattack, or for the kind of indirect ridicule used by Brecht. Measuring your power over time, never sacrifice long-term maneuverability for the short-lived glories of martyrdom.
Interpretation
The Hollywood 19's confrontational approach won them a lot of sympathy, and years later they gained a kind of vindication in public opinion. But they were also blacklisted, and lost valuable years of profitable working time. Brecht, on the other hand, expressed his disgust at the committee more indirectly. It was not that he changed his beliefs or compromised his values; instead, during his short testimony, he kept the upper hand by appearing to yield while all the time running circles around the committee with ague responses, outright lies that went unchallenged because they were wrapped in enigmas, and word games. In the end he kept the freedom to continue his revolutionary writing (as opposed to suffering imprisonment or detainment in the United States), even while subtly mocking the committee and its authority with his pseudo-obedience.
After only an hour of questioning, the committee members had had enough. "Thank you very much," said the chairman, "You are a good example to the [other] witnesses." Not only did they free him, they offered to help him if he had any trouble with immigration officials who might detain him for their own reasons. The following day, Brecht left the United States, never to return.
Brecht's English was more than adequate, but he used an interpreter throughout his testimony, a tactic that allowed him to play subtle games with language. When committee members found Communist leanings in lines from English editions of his poems, he would repeat the lines in German for the interpreter, who would then retranslate them; and somehow they would come out innocuous. At one point a committee member read one of Brecht's revolutionary poems out loud in English, and asked him if he had written it. "No," he responded, "I wrote a German poem, which is very different from this." The author's elusive answers baffled the committee members, but his politeness and the way he yielded to their authority made it impossible for them to get angry with him.
Unlike the other witnesses, Brecht answered the question of whether he belonged to the Communist Party: He was not a member, he said, which happened to be the truth. One committee member asked him, "Is it true you have written a number of revolutionary plays?" Brecht had written many plays with overt Communist messages, but he responded, "I Hitler and, of course, they can be considered, therefore, as revolutionary because I, of course, was for the overthrow of that government." This statement went unchallenged.
The committee finally summoned Brecht on October 30. They expected him to do what others among the Hollywood 19 who had testified before him had done: Argue, refuse to answer questions, challenge the committee's right to hold its hearing, even yell and hurl insults. Much to their surprise, however, Brecht was the very picture of congeniality. He wore a suit (something he rarely did), smoked a cigar (he had heard that the committee chairman was a passionate cigar smoker), answered their questions politely, and generally deferred to their authority.
Brecht disagreed. What good was it, he asked, to play the martyr and gain a little public sympathy if in the process they lost the ability to stage their plays and sell their scripts for years to come? He felt certain they were all more intelligent than the members of the committee. Why lower themselves to the level of their opponents by arguing with them? Why not outfox the committee by appearing to surrender to it while subtly mocking it? The Hollywood 19 listened to Brecht politely, but decided to stick to their plan, leaving Brecht to go his own way.
Both Rrap’s cast bronze and welded Speechless (2017) and Dupain’s iconic silver gelatin print Sunbaker (1937) illustrate how context can shift perceptions of what it means to be Australian, revealing the evolving messages across generations. Seeking to capture the male physique through stark contrasts, Dupain uses an achromatic palette and resulting chiaroscuro; whereas Rrap utilises traditional materials in a contemporary manner to symbolise a contest between power and voice, creating a dialogue around agency through the lectern and it’s interactive nature for the audience. Through a low-angle perspective in Sunbaker, the figure's body mass and vitality are accentuated against an almost abstract, sun-soaked background, which unintentionally became iconic in the 70s as a symbol of Australian identity and the nation’s association with leisure. Rrap’s work conversely encourages interactivity, allowing viewers to either lie down and be 'speechless' or take a stand at the lectern to discuss pressing political issues. Unveiling the dynamics of communication this choice contrasts with Dupain’s more static representation of the human form. Contrasting in their methods of engagement, with Dupain presenting a more observational and representational approach and Rrap fostering a participatory experience where her artwork is far more conscious. Together in the presentation context of the ‘Under the Sun’ NSW exhibition, both artists challenge the viewer to consider their relationship with Australian identity and the power of expression.
To realize that within our grasp, in Zeta Tau Alpha, lies the opportunity to learn those things which will ever enrich and ennoble our lives; to be true to ourselves, to those within and without our circle; to think in terms of all mankind and our service in the world; to be steadfast, strong, and clean of heart and mind, remembering that since the thought is father to the deed, only that which we would have manifested in our experience should be entertained in thought; to find satisfaction in being, rather than seeming, thus strengthening in us the higher qualities of the spirit; to prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served; to seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the good in everyone; to see beauty, with its enriching influence; to be humble in success, and without bitterness in defeat; to have the welfare and harmony of the Fraternity at heart, striving ever to make our lives a symphony of high ideals, devotion to the right, the good, and the true, without a discordant note; remembering always that the foundation precept of Zeta Tau Alpha was Love, “the greatest of all things.”
Reservation policy fails to achieve its purpose of giving equal opportunity to everyone because of lack
of infrastructure in the rural areas of the country where the proportion of backward classes is
significant. A number of people living in some remote areas in Orissa, M. P. or Bihar are not even aware
of these policies. They are deprived of even primary education and basic employment which make them
more backward financially. It fails to establish which causes disequilibrium in the status of the states.
The total reservation quota stands at 49% in many states of India and this includes the SCs, STs and
OBCs. The trend seems to have shifted to reverse discrimination rather than more affirmative action.
Some backward class’s elite have gained political and economic clout based on this reservation.
However a majority of the backward classes is not living any differently than before because their
subsistence is meagre and rural lifestyles do not provide them with any of the benefits. The worst thing
is that many are not even aware of these policies, especially in the interior parts of the nation. Thus a
distinct economic class system exists within the backward classes. Mostly undeserving people have
gained the advantages and the deserving ones are still without any significant positive change in their
plight. It is interesting to note that the constitutional provisions regarding reservations which explicitly
single out certain castes for special preferential treatment contradicts the documents prohibition on
discrimination based on caste, race and other such other criteria. Besides, despite the creation of
commissions to monitor the implementation of reservation policy by the centre the constitution gives
great liberties to the individual states to determine the quantity and limits of reservation which often
lead to exploitation. In reality there is no abolishment of caste system. Instead the disparity increases
because of antagonistic attitude on both sides.
Unlike street addresses web addresses begin with "www" followed by things like "Google" or "Yahoo" and end in ".com," ".org," or other similar endings. We call these types of addresses "urls", "Websites", or simply "Web Addresses". Countries sometimes have their own endings such as ".uk" for the United Kindgdom and ".au" for Australia.
Unlike street addresses web addresses begin with "www" followed by things like "Google" or "Yahoo" and end in ".com," ".org," or other similar endings. We call these types of addresses "urls", "Websites", or simply "Web Addresses". Countries sometimes have their own endings such as ".uk" for the United Kindgdom and ".au" for Australia.
Unlike street addresses web addresses begin with "www" followed by things like "Google" or "Yahoo" and end in ".com," ".org," or other similar endings. We call these types of addresses "urls", "Websites", or simply "Web Addresses". Countries sometimes have their own endings such as ".uk" for the United Kindgdom and ".au" for Australia.
