Thursday, November 20, 2008

Follow the Leader

Its rainy season now, stay indoor most of the time, watching TV a lot more than before. History Channel is my favorite program.

I would like to cite three persons in history, living in different centuries and sharing several things in common. They were not very intelligent but happened to be in a position of power. The irony is that people followed their leaderships and the outcomes, disastrous. How far different are humans compared to a herd of cattle stampeding across the plain, led by the leader in front?

In the 19th century, the emperor of China became indisposed at a time when European started coming to China's shore. The emperor then let his favorite concubine to counsel him what to do with the "white barbarians" Taking her advice, the emperor issued an order to have them imprisoned. A war ensued and the outcome, a humiliating defeat for China.

In the 20th century a not-too-intelligent Adolf Hitler mobilized the German army in an attempt to get hegemony in Europe. The outcome was also a disaster.

Then in the 21st century, a president, some Americans described as an idiot, George Bush attempted to control the Middle East and everybody knows the outcome there.

So the saying, history repeats itself


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