Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 4: 27 "A victorious army is like pent-up water crashing a thousand fathoms into a gorge."

Do you know what a fathom is, as in actually know? Until a few minutes ago I didn't. I've heard the word all my life, and had the general idea, 'it's a measurement of some sort, it measures distance somehow.' I knew it had history behind it, somehow. That's all I knew.

So almost without thinking about it, as I commenced to write today's commentary, it finally hit me, 'you should know what a fathom is.' I love Wikipedia, don't you? As a boy, my family owned an ancient copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica that always taunted me.

It was easy to love, hard to use, and impossible to live up to. Wikipedia demands neither love nor commands dedication. And it will teach you, if you just type in the word 'fathom,' exactly what it is, and it will give you tantalizing clues about the history of the measurement.

For strange reasons, let's call a mile 6,000 feet. Now, let's divide that 1,000 times and yep, you've got a unit that is 6 feet long. That's a fathom. History isn't quite that clean, but you'll do just fine with that definition. A fathom is 1/1000th of a mile.

So there goes our man Minford. He knew that, didn't he? Why does he choose this ancient, out-of-date term, 'fathom,' when he could have said 'mile.' See the math, pent up water crashing a thousand fathoms into a gorge. That's just a mile's fall, that's all. Why not say that?

I'm able to guess that the ancient Chinese term in the text was some smaller unit of a much larger one, so Minford is most likely being very perfectly true to the text. But also, it is an ancient text, why not use an ancient term in English, just accessible enough to not confuse.

But wait! Wait!! To fathom means to figure something out, also. Whoa. Go Minford! Meaning within meaning. Hey, but wait again. Are there any gorges that drop an entire mile? Well, well, there are, and the biggest of them all is in...China. It's called the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon.

And how are gorges dug? By water, flowing water over long, long periods of time. But we're not talking about long periods. We're talking about pent up water that then crashes. So obviously, the dam broke. Or, at the right moment, we pulled out a pin, and the water crashed over.

One of the great mysteries of the world that the ancient Chinese pondered again and again was how soft water is, the softest thing, but when it's massed up into a wave it can carry boulders and throw them like pebbles. It is necessary for life, but can snuff life out instantly.

Water is formless, taking only the shape the Earth gives it. Yet, in its relentless flow, water determines the shape of the Earth through time. Mystery within mysteries, how can all that be true? Yet is cannot be doubted. It is fact. Seemingly contradictory facts coexisting.

The Skillful Warrior is like water. He only assesses true dispositions of the contending forces on the land. Yet, when seeing victory, he releases his own forces like pent-up water falling a mile into a gorge. He changes the Earth, by following its truth, its mandate.

What are your forces? What is the land upon which they battle? Who are the contending forces? Who is their leader, and what is their morale, their discipline? We are told, thousands of times, that all politics are local. Is that true? I say yes, how about you?

Let me be clear. You are a general. You have, if nothing else, influence. It may be very small, even quite weak. But it's not zero. There is someone you can speak with who will not just blow you off. You can ask questions, make statements, listen to responses, debate, persuade.

Converting someone from disagreement to agreement is wonderful. It is, however, often too large a task. You won't be the pound; you'll be the grain of sand. But finding someone who agrees, and then with whom you can set a goal to achieve a desired purpose, that's easier.

Did you know that while one person can turn a meeting's outcome, it's almost impossible to stop two people who coordinate their approach? Two people in a meeting, agreeing, and learning how to turn the tide of opinion, can be like water falling a thousand fathoms into a gorge.

In the war for America’s future, our opponents enjoy the benefit of our lack of war fighting in the public arena. We tend to be blind to our power. We’re not strategic and our tactics are terrible. That's why Master Sun keeps coming at victory from alternate descriptions.

He won't stop. Again, and again he'll tell us the victorious general is like this or that or the other. Each is true. Each is needed. Today's is simply awesome. Pent up water falling a mile into a gorge. That's your army's affect, when you lead it properly.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21.

87 verses completed, 335 to go. And also, be sure to purchase John Minford's translation, here:

amazon.com/Art-War-Pengui…

The local MAGA leader’s library needs three other books. The first is by my great friend, hero, and today’s greatest constitutional scholar, @shestokas. His most important work so far is:

amazon.com/Creating-Decla…

The second is available free. It is the combined Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

uscis.gov/sites/default/…

Last is my own book. I'll give you the link here, and then conclude with its ten MAGA principles:

amazon.com/America-First-…

1. Remember The Forgotten Americans
2. Rule Of Law
3. American Jobs
4. Quality Of Life For Every American
5. Heal Our Cities
6. Build The Wall
7. Make America Wealthy Again
8. Make America Strong Again
9. Make America Safe Again
10. Make America Great Again