This week it appears to be fair game for going ahead with the final summations of an administration pregnant with both trial and tribulations. For me I need to harken back to a time when I was 16, politically aware, but not a participant yet. To me the Clinton era was too riddled with trife– and at the time Mr. Gore was being slandered by some as being, perhaps (cough), more the same. However, he wasn’t.. Mr. Al Gore pursued much like AZ. Senator McCain last year to distance himself from his own administration chief in order to clear a solid path for himself.

Yet I believe for Mr. Bush a burgoning new class took the better half of the country, albeit by a slim majority, and at that point an era of “dubbya” was crisoned. Some enjoyed the charm of this man who was frank and not obsessed with image much like his predessor. Others began sewing seeds of discontent that bloomed into anger and then into hatred which is very common place now amoungst liberal communities.

As for legacy forecasting (which in realistic terms is what it is) by political forecasters it’s a tricky game to pin exactly what history will adjust it’s focus towards. Many of the commentators hold the views of the second half (the anti-Bush/Gore half) and there maybe concern that their slander might end up as the record. So if by any small measure I were to interject into the national dialog some measure by which we should ultimately judge both President G.W. Bush and President Elect Barack Obama… I would present two passages for consideration:

The first from one of Asia’s most influential philosophies and religions (Theravada Buddhism) and the other from China’s most famous philosopher Confucius…

.                             .                             .

In the Theravada sect of Buddhism there is a passage from the edict on the Way of Righteousness dealing with Hatred and Love I find useful for deturming hate and love of people– especially when we deal with someone like President Bush.

[From Dhammapada, 3-5, 201]

“He insulted me, he struck me,

He defeated me, he robbed me!”

Those who harbor such thought

Are never appeased in their hatred….

But those who do not harbor them

Are Quickly appeased.

Never in this world is hate

Appeased by hatred;

It is only appeased by love—

This is an eternal law (sanantana-dhamma). 30

Victory breeds hatred

For the defeated lie down in sorrow.

Above victory or defeat

The calm man dwells in peace.

It is not surprising or particularly unsettling that last year half of Americans, myself included, lost a race to the Democratic Nominee. However, for both sides we mustn’t harbor the by product of causality, but instead rise to the calm man who dwells in peace as the edict says. Why? because if we value honor, we must value humility so as to show the victors (and our deepest critics) that at all of our core we share a single solidarity as a nation– which [should] override all else.

Thus it is not in our place as active members of the present to critique a man or an administration at this very moment. Rather we should be convicted with a heavy heart to the success of our next Chief executive as it is the best way to balance harmony amongst all moral or political factions.

While that should be our creed, the platform by which Mr. Obama must rise to is of a very different standard. Confucius, while talking on many subjects, spoke on goverence. His pupal Mencius wrote of a lecture his master gave on Leading people much like Obama will have to do in the coming days:

From the Analects,

“The master (Confucius) said, “lead them by means of government policies and regulate them through punishments, and the people will be evasive and have no sense of shame. Lead them by means of virtue and regulate them through rituals and they will have a sense of shame and moreover have standards.”

To Mr. Obama, a choice will be offered for which style of government he will establish. Failure is not an option and we should not desire it– no matter how tempting the end result might be. The time of a neverending campaign should be retired with President Bush.

I hope that my little words of zen reflect upon the greater establishment as words of caution and confort. If not, it’s of equal importance that we try to incorporate these into our lives… so as to reflect what we want the next generation to model after.

And that’s my little words of Zen for you today.

~J out

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