Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 7: 1 "In war, the general receives orders from his sovereign, assembles troops, and forms an army. He makes camp opposite the enemy. The true difficulty begins with the fray itself."

1) Orders From The Sovereign
2) Assemble Troops
3) For An Army
4) Make Camp Opposite The Enemy
5) And Then The Feces Hits The Fan

Battle it tough. Battle is hell. If you feel it, steps 1 - 4 are the easy steps. Step 5 is the ultimate horror of violence itself.

In America, we actually don't have a sovereign. Yes, our President has all the trappings. But he cannot will law into being. He cannot establish his line over the realm. We have temporary sovereigns. We are a democratic republic. Yet when the President calls, you just say yes.

Accepting your sovereign's orders, you assemble troops and make an army. For Master Sun this was simple. For us, today, not so simple. In our world, this is recruiting and organizing. In the #MAGA movement, we still totally suck at it. Master Sun laughs again.

Making camp opposite the enemy also sounds so simple. Yet, finding the enemy, setting up your base across from him, this is an art. In swordsmanship, we call this 'finding the steel.' At first, your enemy dances here and there and you can't engage his blade, yet.

I realize we have to talk about the 'bind.' When sword encounters sword and the two swords 'bind' together. This is NEVER ANYTHING like the ridiculous scenes in the movies. It last a second or last, typically. The moment you feel your enemy's intent, you use it against him.

His intended attack is your perfect opportunity. You thwart it, and instantly take advantage of the opening his intention caused. He's attacking high right. You engage, bind, he's still pushing right. You allow him through, while defending your left. then, his left is wide open.

What never happens in an intelligent fight, is a contest of physical strength: I linger in the bind, you do too, so we can test whose muscles are stronger. This never occurs. It is pure fiction. Rather, the moment I know your intention, I defeat it. No matter how weak I may be.

Battle is strength against weakness, intelligence against stupidity. And battle is ugly. I won't say I don't believe in glory. I will say, glory arises from the muck of blood, guts, feces and the stench of death. Glory is a dirty business.

Did I skip over the assemble troops => make an army step? Consider that. A troop is one person. Troops are obviously many. But what is an army? Troops organized into units, units into brigades, etc., all with a strategic purpose directing tactical action.

Can I challenge that Master Sun may be wrong? Accepting orders from a sovereign, assembling troops, forming an army...these are, today, NOT easy. They are in their own right almost as difficult as battle itself. Remember, Master Sun did not have the benefit of our constitution.

But of course, he's NOT wrong. Those things are VASTLY easier than waging battle itself. It's essentially easy to meet with friends who agree with you. It's actually easy to go to the ballot box. What is not easy is defeating your opponents at the vote. That's difficult.

Think about fighting with your lover or spouse. Or with your children! How horrible is the fight itself? Think about conflict at work, getting yelled at by the boss. How terrible is that? Battle is hell, living hell. No intelligent person wishes it upon himself.

Me? I'm clearly not so smart. I crave battle and long for it. But even I confess, Master Sun is right. It is the fray in which the real difficulties arise. Have I mentioned how often I lose battles? Have I mentioned how much I hate losing? The fray is very difficult.

Yet, this difficulty is what we're called to embrace. How deeply have you considered the challenges, the battles involved if we are to save America, and make Her great again? This is difficult stuff. Are you up for it? How far will you go in assembling troops, making an army?

But most of all, will you camp next to the enemy and engage in the coming battle, yourself? If so, you're going to desperately require a strategy. In this chapter we will have plenty of time to lay those themes out with loving care. Difficult, by all means. Doable, absolutely!

155 verses completed, 267 to go.

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