law 2: never put too much trust in friends – learn how to use enemies 1937 was difficult for Communist China. There was a civil war against the Nationalists and at the same time, Japan was invading. Mao’s advisors told him to let the Nationalists and the Japanese fight each other out. But Mao knew that China was too vast to be conquered by Japan. Instead, the Communists and the Nationalists, bitter rivals, fought alongside each other until Japan retreated. The story does not end there. The Communists had now gained enough experience to defeat the Nationalists once and for all. Enemies make great motivations. They give us someone we are better than; someone we have to prove something to. They never expect it if they are treated otherwise. When Emperor Sung took over the imperial throne of China, he gave riches and positions in his palace to all those he conquered. This won them over; the Sung Dynasty ruled for 300 years. Enemies treated kindly are forever grateful. At the same time, they are out to prove that they are worthy of your kindness. Abraham Lincoln put it simply, “do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” In fact, we have to be even more wary of our friends. They are trusted but too much power and wealth can go to the head too easily. Let your guard down and, well, look at what happened to Michael III. Basilius, a stable boy, saved Michael III’s life and the two became the closest of friends. Who better for Michael III to choose as his councilor, right? Not quite. The power and wealth quickly went to Basilius’ head. One night, the emperor awoke to Basilius in his room and by dawn, he was emperor. The law tells us (1) to make good use of our enemies and (2) we can never be too sure of our friends. As the old saying goes, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Like Caesar, we have our own Brutuses, but if we can’t trust our friends, then who is left? Emperor Sung was wise, but, as seen in the film 300, Xerxes did something similar. And all it took was 300 fearless Spartans to unite Greece and knock the Persian off his perch. If a long time friend can too easily betray you, what’s to stop a former enemy from doing so? Sam Bautista
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 21:53:27 +0000
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