Unlike math, where two negatives make a positive, two mistakes only compound a problem, making matters worse.

This bonus blog was inspired by a Dan Bongino post, No More Nice Guy Nonsense.

The title concerned me, but I think he got it right.

Bongino understands election theft from personal experience. He ran for a congressional seat in Maryland. In the evening hours of voting, it seemed he won handily. Come morning, he woke up to find out the election had been stolen over night.

Not wanting to seem a sore loser, he acquiesced to injustice. Looking back, it’s one of his deepest regrets. So he’s determined not to make the same mistake now in this important presidential election.

He starts:

Stand by. Hold the presses. The race is not over. It’s fight time. Fight time is here. It has arrived. And by fight, I don’t mean the leftist definition of fight where we’re beating the crap out of our neighbors and burning things down. That’s a leftist thing. I mean this is a time to do what we’ve always done. Go through the process and get every legal, legal, legal count in.

Then, strangely, he continued, We need to learn how to fight like the left. We need to take lessons from the left.

That stopped me short. Seemed like a contradiction. The last thing Trump supporters need to do is stoop to the left’s level, matching hypocrisy, corruption and violence with more and worse of the same.

Tit for tat? We’re better than that. They aren’t our teachers.

The result would look like dogs chasing each other’s tails, spiraling in downward circles of self-destruction.

Speaking of self-destruction, I was very sorry to see that Steve Bannon shot his mouth off. However passionate and probably correct his sentiments, it gave mainstream media adversaries an opportunity to pounce on – an excuse to ban, block and discredit him.

A Sun-Tzu, I Ching warrior would have exercised restraint, held to the middle path of moderation. Kept his powder dry.

Now Sebastian Gorke (an equally passionate but more even-keeled Bannon cohort) – staunch supporter and advisor to the President – also presents himself as a Sun Tze warrior. Which is fine as far as it goes.

BUT . . . The Art of War is just tip of the iceberg. One can’t understand Sun Tze deeply or implement his strategies wisely without first being aware of the I Ching fundamentals which support them.

I felt called to offer a specific example, asking what the oracle would advise both Bannon and Dr. G. at this time. For, sadly, as Bannon’s regrettable mistake demonstrates, gaining competence in the fundamentals of Natural Law would make a powerful difference.

However much provoked, lapses of Hulk-like outrage undermine long-term effectiveness. They’re a disservice to the cause.

But . . . back to Bonjino’s claim that Trump supporters should learn from the left. Fortunately, in the section that starts at 44:52, he clarifies. Viewers are referred to a piece by David Heinz published by the American Conservative called How the Right Can Organize Like The Left.

The #1 take-way: Learn how to organize like the left.

Interestingly enough, the initial outcome of the I Ching reading below is, in fact, ORGANIZATION.

Usually, I simply ask, “What should we be aware of NOW?” For the sake of Dr. G., Bannon, et. al., however, I wanted a specific question, one which covers the strategy side and the need for justice – for both the wronged and wrong-doers.

So I asked The Common Sense Book of Change, “What is the best way to combat election fraud and secure a just outcome for all involved?”

ORGANIZATION is the initial answer. It changes twice.

Advice of line three is, “If a group excludes you, either befriend its leaders or leave.” It changes to ATTRACTION.

Advice of line four is, “Serving others selflessly will help you to prosper and grow.” It changes to UNITY.

When the advice is heeded, the combined final outcome is RESISTANCE.

The I Ching version best suited to address today’s question is Jack Balkin’s The Laws of Change. Not coincidentally, at the time of publication, he was the Knight Professor of Constitutional Law at Yale Law School. Here’s a sample of his comments:

GATHERING TOGETHER (ORGANIZATION)

Keywords

Gathering

Massing

Joining others

Assembling

Having a common cause

Holding yourself together

Pitching in

Cooperation between leaders and followers

. . [in a large group] the ruler needs assistance from trusted subordinates who put aside selfish considerations and devote themselves to the larger purposes of the group.

. . . Fostering unity takes skill and patience. In order to bring people together, whether in a community, a charitable organization, or a business, you must give them a shared sense of purpose.

MUTUAL INFLUENCE (ATTRACTION)

Keywords

Influence

Reciprocity

Attraction

Courtship

. . . the ability to attract others and sway them to your way of thinking. Good and appropriate influence should not be manipulation of one person by another, but rather mutual influence – in which each person is open to the other and responds to the other.

. . . the more important question to ask is whether you have behaved appropriately and with respect for the other and whether the mutual influence that results from your actions is healthy and beneficial.

UNION (UNITY)

Keywords

Joining with others

Joining in

Rallying around a leader

. . . this applies not only to the relationship of a king to an entire nation, but also a smaller, closer, and more intimate association of people.

. . . Successful unions can help all of their members grow as individuals and prosper. But they also require that people be willing to cooperate and work for each other’s good rather than for their own selfish interests.

. . . Unity is more than coming together; it also requires holding people together over the long run, and dealing with the stresses and strains, the difficulties and disagreements that inevitably arise in any group. Holding people together requires leadership – a central person or figure whom others depend on and around whom they can unite.

OBSTRUCTION (RESISTANCE)

Keywords

Impediment

Trouble

Difficulty

Hardship

Hindrance

Looking inward

Self-reflection

Surmounting obstacles within

“One is between the proverbial rock and a hard place.”

. . . instead of pressing ahead urgently one should hold back and accept the situation for what it is.

[Dems are doing the opposite: pressing forward prematurely to usurp the presidency, creating the illusion of a done deal before their corruption can be fully exposed, undone!]

[The rest of us need to cool our jets while the courts sort things out. “Resist not evil. Persist in the good.”]

. . . the point of detaching yourself from your current struggles is not to give up hope of eventual success. Quite the contrary: You must be absolutely determined to prevail in the long run. Rather, the point is to restore your emotional balance and clear your head.

. . . After you have taken time to reassess the situation, you need to join forces with others. Ask for advice from people you respect and trust, and who understand you and your goals. They may have fresh perspectives.

Caveat. Not without irony, it’s exactly when common sense is most urgently needed that folks want nothing to do with calm reason. Freedom fighters and their opponents are equally drunk on the intense energies of the times. Not the time for talk of the I Ching? But we’ve been challenged. “Are you doing your part?” And this is what I’m called to contribute. The rest is up to the powers that move me.

In any event, the warning remains. The real danger here is civil war. Dark lords of the underworld couldn’t care less which side “wins.” So long as Americans remain at each other’s throats, losing hope and trust in each other, THEY win. Humanity loses.

Let all of us think, choose and act accordingly.