Fluidity

"So a military force has no constant formation, water has no constant shape: the ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to the opponent is called genius." Master Sun - 'The Art of War'

This quote made me think about the President's "stay the course" statement. He repeats this often and we hear it often from the main stream media. It seems to be in direct opposition to Master Sun's famous treatise. There is the solidity of staying the course, you could call it, let's not budge, or let's hunker down, or let's dig in, or let's remain firm. You don't get a sense of fluidity with these statements.

I can't evaluate Master Sun's statement in regards to war, but in life it seems to have appeal and it makes sense. We change, so its best to remain fluid and adapt as the need arises.

Seymour Hersh spoke on Democracy Now on Monday August 14. He mentions that the Bush administration "does not talk with people it doesn't like." This is distressing news. There are no high level negotiations or talks going on between the US and Iran. Yet the prospect for a war with Iran is high, given that the Neo Conservatives want to have a war with Iran. The idea of war becomes a self fulfilling prophecy in this context. The Neo Cons want a war and are unwilling to negotiate. So the die is cast from the Neo Con perspective.

I mention this in relation to the original quote. The Neo Conservatives do not have an ability to negotiate or to be fluid in a situation. They have an ideology and a project and that's that. Think of the negotiating skill of Neo Conservative John Bolton, US Ambassador to the UN. Bolton is known as having no diplomatic skills. There is no fluidity in this approach.

America sorely needs an exciting charismatic leader with dazzling diplomatic skill. This would imply an ability to change as the situation demands. Think about how the notion of "flip flopping" is used. It is used in the pejorative sense for the politician who understands the need to change. In fact, this is what we need right now. Someone who can change, someone who can dialogue with the enemy, someone who can learn from the mistakes of the past and not continue with those mistakes into the future.

Painting is a Hopi Maze