Sun Tzu, He's not so tough

After a very long hiatus, I am back to thinking about philosophy once again. Unlike my recent posts, I've actually thought this one through for about a week, so I hope you enjoy.

Sun Tzu. He is the ancient Chinese general that is credited with writing "The art of war"; the oldest military instruction book we know of. Very little is known about Sun Tzu, in fact, some historians now debate whether or not the man even existed, or was just a pseudonym of several Chinese philosophers who worked together. But, this blog isn't about who this man was or wasn't, it’s about his effect on the world, and what it teaches us.

"The Art of War" is considered by most military strategists to be good advice, at least for ancient armies doing battle about 400 BC. Some people now take this book as something akin to scripture, quoting it, and basing their decisions off of the advice therein. While I was playing Warcraft once, I was losing, and an ally of mine said "If you do not adapt, you die." I contested that I didn't feel like adapting, and was confident with my current strategy. At that point he got fairly belligerent, and told me I was an idiot, and that that quote was from Sun Tzu. He thought that that meant it was indisputable. Sure, it carried more levity knowing it came from Sun Tzu, but that doesn't mean that it is 100% true.

Sun Tzu is not the authority on military matters.

Even though my team mate wanted to make me change by telling me that Sun Tzu thought it was a good idea, that didn't mean I had to. Perhaps Sun Tzu was wrong in some of his assertions. Perhaps he messed up once or twice. He was just a human, like the rest of us. People now revere his words as though he was more than a man, and that's where problems begin to arise.

I was born a little more than 15 years ago. I quickly started learning, but I started off at nothing. I didn't know anything. I had to learn from my surroundings, figure out how to communicate with those around me, and then how to take care of myself. 15 years later I am still learning. I still don't understand even a fraction of what is going on around me.

My dear associate Sun Tzu started out the exact same way. He was born to a mother and father, pooped all over the place, and had to learn just like me. In fact, I assume that mine and his first 5 years were probably fairly similar. Since both of us couldn't take care of ourselves, somebody else had to take care of us, we peed all over the place, but most importantly we both learned. We both started off at nothing, and then we both had to start learning.

What makes me different from Sun Tzu? Nothing. What makes people believe every word Sun Tzu spoke as though it were from a prophet? I have no idea.

I've had 15 short years to learn everything I can. That is not a long time. I don't understand how other people's brains work, I don't understand why gravity works, I don't know the chemical formula for photosynthesis off the top of my head. Everybody that you know started off with nothing. And now, we've all progressed a lot, learned a lot, but we're still clueless.

15 years isn't enough time to figure out exactly why we are here, or what we're all doing. 15 years isn't long enough to figure out how girls' brains work. 15 years isn't long enough to find out how to make world peace, or how to make a government work, or how to please everybody. I firmly believe that 150 years isn't long enough to learn this, or even 300. Sun Tzu didn't know everything, he was just like us. He didn't have time to learn everything. Neither do we.

We're all in the same boat. When I think about humanity, it’s easy to see that there are a million times more things that connect us to one another than things that tear us apart. What’s the difference between me and an Australian bushmen? I know how to program, he knows how to hunt. I wear shoes; he makes shoes out of animals he kills. He can send a smoke signal, I can program. He can dance; I'm a white guy that can't.

What are our similarities? Well, he was born to a mother and father, and he couldn't feed himself for about a year. Same with me. He walks on two feet, and wonders why the world is the way it is. Me too. He doesn't know how to make a girl fall in love with him, and neither do I. He doesn't know why people older than him don't make decisions like him, same here. He has to eat to live, and use the restroom every once in a while. Hey, me too.

Sun Tzu was just a man, just like me, or you, or anybody else. Why don't they quote me? I still haven't figured it out, but maybe its better that way. Maybe it keeps us all on ground level. Remember, everybody else is just as lost as you are in this road of life. Everybody else wonders. Everybody else has good days, and bad days. Everybody else is going to make a mistake too. Everybody is gonna get their heart broken, even Sun Tzu.