re: #313 PhillyPretzel

From Sun Tzu’s Art of War: There are three ways in which a sovereign can bring misfortune upon his army: By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that is cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. By attempting to govern an army in the same way he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions that obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldiers’ minds. Humanity and justice are the principles on which to govern a state, but not an army; opportunism and flexibility. on the other hand, are military rather than civic virtues.

As ever, Sun Tzu was a far wiser and more farsighted man than our politicians today.