The Tortoise and the Boulder

Like many of us, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since the election. Well, before that, too. I agree with Germaine that we are headed for an authoritarian regime. I say that not with the conceit that I know the future–I don’t, and I sure hope I’m wrong. That just looks to me like where we’re headed. So what to do? Germaine is resolved to fight on. I respect that. 

I’m not resolved to fight on. When the boulder was rolling toward the cliff, it made sense to try to stop it. We did try. Now that the boulder has rolled off the cliff, I don’t see any sense in trying to stop its descent. The only outcome I can see from that is getting crushed.

I have not been reading a ton of news, though I skim some headlines. “The problem is this, the problem is that; the Democrats should have done this, they should have done that.” I think that’s all pissin’ in the wind. The problem is a majority of the electorate thought Donald Trump was an acceptable candidate; and a majority of those who thought he was acceptable actually wanted him. After everything he’s done over the past nine years to show us and tell us he is monumentally unfit for public office. A plurality of voters wanted him back in office. 

I can’t solve that problem. The boulder is going to take its course. It will eventually land, and when it does, it will probably shatter into pieces. I don’t know if that’s six months, six years, or sixty years from now. And I don’t know how it will happen, or what will happen next. If I’m still around and have the opportunity, I will try to help shape what comes next. In the meantime, it feels liberating to let go of trying to fight against where the world seems determined to go.

In the meantime, I will practice the Way in my daily life. That has always been more important than my politics anyway. Is that wisdom, or cowardice, or both? I don’t know, but I’d wager both. I don’t expect to be very active on dispol going forward, which is not to say I’ll never come around or make comments. But I think the likelihood of retribution for speaking out is real, if not imminent. And I am interested in self-preservation. So I’m going to tone it down. 

I’ll close with a story from Chuang Tzu. For context: Back in the day the Chinese would use tortoise shells for divination. They would throw the shell into the coals until it cracked from the heat, then read the cracks like we would read someone’s palm today. Here’s the story:

Once, when Chuang Tzu was fishing in the P'u River, the king of Ch'u sent two officials to go and announce to him: "I would like to trouble you with the administration of my realm."

Chuang Tzu held on to the fishing pole and, without turning his head, said, "I have heard that there is a sacred tortoise in Ch'u that has been dead for three thousand years. The king keeps it wrapped in cloth and boxed, and stores it in the ancestral temple. Now would this tortoise rather be dead and have its bones left behind and honored? Or would it rather be alive and dragging its tail in the mud?"

"It would rather be alive and dragging its tail in the mud," said the two officials.

Chuang Tzu said, "Go away! I'll drag my tail in the mud!"

This isn't good-bye, exactly, since I’m not planning on completely going away. But it does feel like a death. I wish everybody here fulfillment, safety, comfort and opportunity on our journey. Godspeed.