Why This Matters
Modern society is inundated with strategists who use the ultra-famous Art of War as a guide for interacting with those around them. Many executives, lawyers, business schools, corporate sales and marketing departments, sports coaches and dating guides have described using this ultra-famous text.
That the Art of War is a popular modern-day guide being used by people all around you is a fact that can help you better develop your skills of discernment. Similarly, you can benefit from reviewing the Enemies of Truth.
Note
Many people avoid giving attention and energy to issues they perceive as not affecting them or as beyond their control. That’s a crucial and effective strategy that preserves our energy for things we love and that we can directly impact. Topics such as the ones on this site may seem to fall within the dark underbelly of society, beyond our actual daily lives and our influence.
However, the subjects on this site have been chosen because the evidence demonstrates that they are, in fact, widely influential and impact our daily lives. In other words, nothing here is presented just because “you should be aware.” Rather, these typically hidden subjects are brought to light, bringing more awareness to how we can dismantle dysfunctional systems and replace them with healthy, sustainable solutions. By making informed choices and by joining with others, we can create positive change that will uplift and empower the many good people seeking to improve our world.
It’s More Than Just Lies; There are Many Strategies at Play
On one hand, we have the truth. And on the other — you would think — we have lies. As it turns out, lies are only a fraction of the issues faced by truth-seekers. There’s a staggering assortment of strategies used to hide and subvert the truth.
You’re probably pretty good at seeing through distortion and evasion, trickery and deception, right? Not many folks think of themselves as chumps. But even if you’re a diehard skeptic, there are an awful lot of deceptive strategies that are so built into some of the systems around us that they’re hiding in plain sight.
What is not up for debate is the emphasis that The Art of War places on strategic thinking. The Art of War… trains the thinking person in the subtle art of knowing when to stick to the rules and when to toss them aside.
– Michael Nylan
The point here isn’t to look at some examples of a “few bad apples” (or “a broken system”) and then shake your head, hoping “they get caught.” Rather, we can choose to open our eyes to the reality even when it’s unpleasant, so as to be empowered with knowledge.
Knowledge is power.
What do executives, lawyers, business school professors, corporate sales and marketing departments, sports coaches and dating guides have in common? Modern-day people from each of those professions consult the ultra-famous Art of War.
The Art of War is a book that was published in the 4th or 5th century and attributed to a Chinese military leader named Sun Tzu. It has been called a “meditation on the rules of war.”
This 2,500 year-old book proves that while the weaponry has changed over time, the rules for successful warfare strategies have not. It is a surprisingly compact distillation of strategic principles that is still as useful today as it was when… Sun Tzu first wrote it. Its principles are applied by… the corporate warriors in the sales and marketing departments of today.
– YellowBridge, Sun Zi’s Art of War
Rulers and scholars across Asia consulted The Art of War as they plotted their military maneuvers and imperial conquests. Japanese samurai, for example, studied it closely… Historians say that the French emperor Napoleon was the first Western leader to follow its teachings… Ever since The Art of War was published, military leaders have been following its advice. In the twentieth century, the Communist leader Mao Zedong said that the lessons he learned from The Art of War helped him defeat Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist forces during the Chinese Civil War. Other recent devotees… include Viet Minh commanders Vo Nguyen Giap and Ho Chi Minh and American Gulf War generals Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell. Meanwhile, executives and lawyers use the teachings of The Art of War to get the upper hand in negotiations and to win trials. Business school professors assign the book to their students and sports coaches use it to win games. It has even been the subject of a self-help dating guide. Plainly, this 2,500-year-old book still resonates with a 21st-century audience.
– History.com, The Art of War
The Art of War is considered to be very wise and most importantly, it “still resonates with readers today.” (History.com)
So, the fact is: many people and organizations around you consider a war manual to be an important source of guidance. This implies that those unaware of the strategies are at a disadvantage, don’t you think?
Here are a couple of examples from the Art of War.
Deception is Key
Warfare is the art of deception. So when you can, feign incapacity, and when deploying troops, appear to have no such plans. When close, seem to them to be far away, and when far away, seem near.
– The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Concealment Leads to Victory
In chapter four, Tactical Dispositions, we find an incredibly vital teaching:
Secrecy leads to victory while showing your condition leads to defeat.
It is through the dispositions of an army that its condition may be discovered. Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.
– Sun Tsu’s Art of War, Chapter 4: Tactical Dispositions
Controlling Many Isn’t Difficult: It Only Requires Division
It is no more difficult to lead/control many than to lead/control few: it only requires dividing the troops into groups and using signs.
The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers. Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.
– Sun Tsu’s Art of War, Chapter 5: Energy
Rather than Engaging, Unleash Surprises on Them
In general, conventional methods engage the enemy, while surprise secures victory. Thus, by definition, to be good at unleashing surprises is: to be as various as the cosmos itself, to flow as inexhaustibly as the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers, to begin afresh as constantly as the sun and moon, to turn like the seasons, bringing new life, even from death.
– Sun Tsu’s Art of War
War, Enemy, Combat
Truth is at war with mind control and deception. So, to speak the truth is a combative act.
– Mark Passio, ex-priest of a satantic cult and “committed de-occultist”
Whether or not you choose to use war terminology, the point is that there are many powerful people around us who do think in terms of war including such strategies as secrecy and divide-and-conquer.
In Enemies of Truth, we begin to take a closer look at powerful adversaries in the quest for truth-telling and truth-seeking.
