Book 31 is a brief 5 page vignette of an encounter between Confucius and an anonymous Fisherman. While on a roadway adjacent to a lake Confucius and his traveling companions are taking a break from the road. They are approached by this stranger who steps down from his boat. The man is described in some vivid detail: hair and eyebrows white, hair in disarray, sleeves hanging loosely, etc..

He asks one of Confucius traveling companions about Confucius identity. Upon learning who the scholar-consultant-advisor was – he offers an amused response. The undertaking of Confucius to bring order and harmony to society is a very heavy lift indeed. Confucius is “out of his depth.” The old fisherman concisely describes the “sticky wicket”, the many vulnerabilities that portend tragedy for any prospect of universal well-being. Confucius, to his credit listened mindfully, respectfully when the old fisherman said this:

“Now, Sir, you do not have the high rank of a ruler,
a prince, or a minister with assignments.
Yet you have presumed to determine ceremony and music
and to order relations in society
aiming at rectifying various classes of people.
Is this not an inordinate addition
to your undertakings?

“Moreover men are prone to eight flaws and their actions are susceptible
to four perils.

1) To take over the arrangement of matters which are not their concern
    is to be peremptory.
2) To insist on a subject of no consequence to anyone is to be garrulous.
3) To beguile people with speeches intended to appease them is to be subservient.
4) To praise men without regard to right or wrong is to be obsequious.
5) To indulge in pointing out men’s defects is to be vitriolic.
6) To separate friends and family is to be malevolent.
7) To praise falsely intending to harm others is to be base.
8) To dissemble agreement to learn of others intentions, with no regard for their
     being right or wrong, is to be treacherous.

These eight flaws precipitate disorder among men and affliction in oneself. A man of virtue
will not associate with one who has these flaws, nor will a sagacious ruler designate him to be a minister.

Zhuangzi trans. by Hyun Höchsmann and Yang Guorong, Book 31, The Old Fisherman

While reading, absorbing the implications of such vulnerabilities – a single thought came into focus. Transpose the 8 into a true or false test to examine the behavior of the current President of the United States!

Donald J. Trump by virtue of words and policies earns 100 per cent TRUE for every single deficiency: imperious, rambling, servile, spiteful, fawning, murderous, tawdry, and deceitful.

And this taken from today’s post from historian Heather Cox Richardson:

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Singapore’s minister for foreign affairs, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, put in bald language the change in the world order instigated by President Donald J. Trump.

“For 80 years,” Balakrishnan explained, “the US was the underwriter for a system of globalisation based on UN Charter principles, multilateralism, territorial integrity, sovereign equality.” That system “heralded an unprecedented and unique period of global prosperity and peace. Of course there were exceptions. And of course, the Cold War was still in effect for at least half of the last 80 years. But generally, for those of us who were non-communists, who ran open economies, who provided first world infrastructure, together with a hardworking disciplined people, we had unprecedented opportunities.

“The story of Singapore, with a per capita GDP of 500 US dollars in 1965. Now, [it is] somewhere between 80,000 to 90,000 US dollars. It would not have happened if it had not been for this unprecedented period, basically Pax Americana and then turbocharged by the reform and opening of China for decades. It has been unprecedented. It has been great for many of us. In fact, I will say, for all of us, if you look back 80 years.

“But now, whether you like it or not, objectively, this period has ended….