Nice try, Harvard

[Taomeow]

Quite reasonable , but ,, what is there that could tweak power structures?

Theres the saying, I have seen the enemy ,and he is me.

Societies moral values are heavily dependent on the basic human condition , including both its illusions and truths in measures. This is the origin of societies conceptualized "good and evil " is it not? with the firmware of its support sometimes called law , sometimes called religion, or attitudes .. and its just not a simple thing to shift this substanceless conceptual tangle... where could one grasp it ? how could one smash it ? shade it , or diminish its influence?

and yet it does change, and we all know of people we believe have shifted the course of history ,, changed public opinion.

Look back to attitudes prevalent here just one hundred years ago... many of them ,you probably do not share.

(this a SHORT hop back in time, not even the full life span that some have enjoyed- though yes many have lived and died in such a period.. for instance if I remember my own childhood it was a circumstance which still personally affects me today and therefore still is pertinent and influential ) Its just that such changes, with the invisible pace of seasons.

"Thou , young and full of life , impatient , headstrong, uncalmly lovely. ..be patient , or be not so patient , time sweeps by."

 

Like I said, I have some hopes for magic. It would have to influence the moral values of the rulers (or otherwise affect the rulers) in order to trickle down to the subjects. I am aware of two such examples in history, so my hope is not entirely unrealistic.

 

One is Qiu Chuji, aka Changchun, the founder of the Dragon Gate sect of taoism, interacting with Genghis Khan, on latter's invitation (which could not be refused). Genghis got curious about what taoism is all about, and Changchun had a bit of a reputation by then of being the guy to ask. The interactions resulted in Genghis possibly converting to taoism (opinions of researchers vary, some say he definitely did, some say indefinitely), in any event he ceased and desisted from that point on and lost interest in further conquests and stopped taking lives.

 

The second example is Rasputin's influence on the Russian royal family at the turn of the 20th century. Incidentally, the guy who murdered him, Prince Felix Yusupov, was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, and the secret society he belonged to was at war with the one Rasputin learned from for centuries. Rasputin predicted (in a letter to the tsarina that survived to this day) that if he gets killed by his enemies, the country will be drowned in blood. He was, and it was.

 

Perhaps the new course at Harvard is a manifestation of a minor victory in the war raging in the magical realms. Perhaps it's that one swallow that does not the spring make. Perhaps it is what I said it is -- a nice try.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Taomeow