Lisbon
Yesterday, the Irish nation voted on the Lisbon Treaty – again! Lots of us felt like saying to our erstwhile government: What part of No don’t you understand? Well, I may as well tell you now that I voted the same way this morning as I did in June 2008: YES!!! Some of you will nod and agree with me, others will be aghast. You what...?
Yes, I voted yes. Not because I understood the treaty (who does?), not because I think that the EU gets everything right but because since joining the European Union, we - the twenty-seven members – have not once taken up arms against each other and don’t plan to do so. We may fight about the shape of bananas, or when you can call feta cheese the real deal; we may have edicts from on high land on our doorstep telling us how to farm our fields, treat our cattle, weigh our vegetables. But never once, not even for a nano second have we decided to kill our brothers, murder our mothers, shoot, maim or slaughter in the name of some twisted logic that says, you’re different, you should be exterminated.
The Art of War by Sun Tzu is the oldest military treatise in the world and was translated from the Chinese by Lionel Giles, M.A. in 1910. Far from extolling the supposed necessary evil of war, Sun Tzu discusses struggle and confrontation with advice on techniques that could just as easily be applied to politics or the world of business. Sun Tzu deals with leadership, intelligence, trustworthiness and courage and the importance of discipline, rewards and punishment consistently applied.
“So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.”
It is hoped that there are a few copies scattered around the halls in Brussels and that our leaders will take note.
Yes, I voted yes. Not because I understood the treaty (who does?), not because I think that the EU gets everything right but because since joining the European Union, we - the twenty-seven members – have not once taken up arms against each other and don’t plan to do so. We may fight about the shape of bananas, or when you can call feta cheese the real deal; we may have edicts from on high land on our doorstep telling us how to farm our fields, treat our cattle, weigh our vegetables. But never once, not even for a nano second have we decided to kill our brothers, murder our mothers, shoot, maim or slaughter in the name of some twisted logic that says, you’re different, you should be exterminated.
The Art of War by Sun Tzu is the oldest military treatise in the world and was translated from the Chinese by Lionel Giles, M.A. in 1910. Far from extolling the supposed necessary evil of war, Sun Tzu discusses struggle and confrontation with advice on techniques that could just as easily be applied to politics or the world of business. Sun Tzu deals with leadership, intelligence, trustworthiness and courage and the importance of discipline, rewards and punishment consistently applied. “So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.”
It is hoped that there are a few copies scattered around the halls in Brussels and that our leaders will take note.
Labels: Lisbon, The Art of War
