9/21/16

Prompt: "Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak." Sun Tzu

This quote is a philosophy of strength. Weakness is a perception of the ones who feel like they are of greater tolerance, mystique, and character of another. Strength is a symbol of power, dominance, and resilience and we show strength depending on the standards. People can be strong in numerous ways, whether it be through childbirth or war, people can be weak when seen as cowardly or not assertive. Tzu is an icon of the idea of strength and he cites how weakness is a perfect cloak for strength. While, at the same time, the portrayal of strength is a great way to deceive others into thinking one is not weak. In modern day, one can see this as an example of leaders like Kim Jong-Un. Un tries to display strengths by testing bombs, missiles and by threatening other countries around him. In reality, whenever Un gets challenged on his claims, he backs down, demonstrating exactly what Tzu is trying to get across. It is human nature to try to appear stronger rather than weaker, especially in today's society. It seems like today it is frowned upon to show any moment of weakness or fault, so instead people decide to falsely display acts of strength. Tzu is correct on the basis of his argument if it was a situation of war, but on normal terms, Tzu's quote leads to a bigger issue of the lack of transparency humans tend to feel in today's society. 

JB