Following the leader

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[Genex]

If you were the leader of your country (president, primeminister, king or queen etc)
How would you run your country polecy wise and would you tell others about Morihei Ueshiba's teachings, would you encorperate them into your own ruling.

would you stop the trade of arms, would you outlaw certain items or substances, would you make all school children wear shorts instead of pants to denote them as young'un. Would you start mandatory aikido in all schools or the police force, and which styles would you choose?

imagine you could do anything and lemme know.


personaly i'd change the entire country's energy use to green electric (wind, thermal, hydro etc...) and i'd get a major land conservartion going and mega amounts of recycling.
i'd also outlaw diapers so ppl have to use terry nappies (pampers are bio degradable? hah yeah right)

pete

[ian]

Wow - not sure if this is really aiki related. However, it is interesting. I definately am more of a non-interventionist i.e. the more you play with politics and law the more people will manipulate the regulations. However I do believe in social support.

Firstly, environmentally, I would make sure people pay for the real cost of environmentally damaging behaviour, and the money actually goes towards remidiation of this behaviour i.e. when islands become flooded due to global warming, costs should be paid for by the environmental taxes placed on fossil fuel use. (At the moment costs for environmentally damaging activities are pretty much externalised).

Also, I would get rid of this fallacy of a 'free market'. There should be a new free market established which enables complete free trade based on internationally fixed agreements on i. sustainable development (i.e. not exploiting endangered species and environmentally damaging costs have to be internalised (above)), ii. non-exploitation (i.e. minimal health and welfare standards at work, though not necessarily minimal pay).

I tink a large global problem is that many governments exploit their population, and therefore much of the population try to emigrate. I would have an 'adopt a country' set up where wealthy countries are expected to help with the welfare and development of a less developed nation. This would also mean having an influence on the countries politics. At the moment many people emigrate from countries with terrible regimes or economic policies to richer countries (often causing racial tension), yet the problem isn't solved; civil revolution is increasingly difficult because of the ability of governments to control the population with high tech weapons. In the 'adopt a country' scheme, gradual opening of emigration can be established (which would further encourage rich nations to assist in the development of their poorer adoptee). A problem now is that developing nations cannot often effect the poltics in despotic regimes (without trying to find some justification for war vis. Afghanistan) since it is seen as neoimperialism.

Ian

[Bronson]

From the Tao Te Ching, chapter 57

Rule a nation with justice.

Wage war with surprise moves.

Become master of the universe without stirring.

How do I know that this is so?

Because of this!

The more laws and restrictions there are,

The poorer people become.

The sharper men's weapons,

The more trouble in the land.

The more ingenious and clever men are,

The more strange things happen.

The more rules and regulations,

the more thieves and robbers.

Therefore the sage says:

I take no action and people are reformed.

I enjoy peace and people become honsest.

I do nothing and people become rich.

I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life.

[TomE]

Personally, I tend to be very wary of people who think they would be able to solve all the problems humankind is facing, if only they'd be given absolute power. So far, history has always proven me right...

The only form of authority I acknowledge is the one that comes from people who set the right example, i.e. who inspire others by their knowledge, wisdom or skill.

[SeiserL]

Aabsolutely, absolute power corrupts absolutely. (I forget who said that.)

But it would be nice if we could learn to appreciate and accept differences instead of always thing we are right and try to convince people to our way of thinking and living.

Until again,

Lynn

[Genex]

its a hypothetical question really if i wanted absolute power i'd be mad, i'm just asking if you were in charge of your country for a term or whatever, what would you change

besides if i wanted to be an evil overlord i could simply follow my evil overlord manual which is always increasing

rule no. 27. I shall not consume any energy field bigger then my own head.

rule no.76. i shall not divulge in maniacle laughter, although satisfying i may miss something of vital importance.

just a few faves, dont get carried away peeps its just what'd you do.

although Bronson good post i like it

pete

[wanderingwriath]

Well friends, I'm just not the leader type. I will say that I have to think the world would be a better place if more people practiced Aikido and a master of Aikido were running the world. Maybe that's a new political party. We could call it: Aikifascism. ;) Any other ideas on what to call it?

[Chocolateuke]

You know I dont think I would want to be a leader to much responsiblity! When ever my sensei tells the 1st kyu's to teach the class ( he is doing it more and more) the girls take over and I ride the wave by giving advice to but the girls dominate, for me to rule a country hehhe is just to much out of my ball park!

I would like to be an advisor perhaps tho!

[Kevin Leavitt]

Pete,

Good post. I am trying to do exactly what you are saying, and yes, I think it is very much related to Aikido.

I recently purchased 20 acres of land in rural VA mountains. It is a new concept of about 750 acres where 30 of us will agree to live in harmony with nature and be stewards of the land. We are "going green" as you put it.

It is my attempt to get myself in harmony with the land and nature. In addition I am planning on educating people on having an "awareness of nature".

O'Sensei talks a great deal about nature and it's importance. How can you profess to be in harmony if you are neither in harmony with nature and mankind?

Spent the first 20 years of my career studying the killing arts of destruction in the military....will spend the next 20 some years learning how to put it all back together!!

[Bruce Baker]

In the light of completely changing the economy to a world where we balance the existence of all human beings with the ecological environment, there is a lot of nasty decisions that will have to be made to balance to expansion of the human race to overcome the evironment of Planet Earth.

The planning of ecomonic security, while exstablishing the agricultual base we need to feed humanity, verses getting the hell off the industrial petroleum wheel of destruction, would involve a world wide plan to introduce the preservation of natural plant growing areas while resettling of humanity to lesser areas, either in domes, underground, or start shipping them off to the science fiction of resettling in off world colonys.

Once we have ecological balance, verses industrial expansion, then rendering the monetary system into an electrontic figure would be the logical system for world currency.

We would have to create a manual labor for all of world society that would give cause for some type of labor force and open up uses for recreational activities where consumption of services and goods allow for growth, expansion, and profitability. Still, the "taxation" issue would remain for the social maintainence of military and various social services that are needed to maintain a healthy, happy society.

I believe that maintaining training in all martial arts is the way to find peace, especially in Aikido, but for those who are determined to fight kill and abuse the law of the land, there must either be a warrior continent, Antartica maybe, or a penalty of death for those who can not be rehabilitated to society. If that is the way to find harmony, then it is the path we must accept.

The actual application of using Aikido's principles of Harmony, or finding the Harmony of the Universe should be part of our educational process in higher learning, but it must be open ended in its offering.

Once the wheels are put into place to balance the population, maintain acceptable levels well within safety margins to maintain a population on planet Earth, we might just get to the point of living in some kind of structured society that maintains some resemblence of a peaceful less warlike society.

Buying acreage is the old way of ducking out of the world to get yourself alligned with nature, and the worlds problems. The Europeans took lands from lesser developed Natives, with promises, treatys, and large scale killings of men, women, and children, when all else failed.

Is that the fate we are looking toward for our own society? A stronger more advanced people who take our land and way of life away?

Hopefully Aikido will teach us to make the world a better place, and correct the petroleum industrial society that rules our lives.

[virginia_kyu]

I would build huge factories all over the place. ;)