Wisdom Prevails Over Brute Force

In battles, the side that uses wisdom often prevails over the opposition who uses brute force. In the ancient Greek myth of Theseus, the son of Poseidon and King Aegeus, the boy was taught how to use his knowledge rather than using his strength in battles and fights. He learns how to use the strength of an enemy against him and tricking larger enemies to his benefit. The same idea is shown through many real life situations; such as a small group of people gaining independence from its country, the small protagonist prevailing over a large, hulking opponent, and in many fictional stories.

One such modern example of a small territory winning a certain independence from its country is Taiwan. Taiwan has had to overcome major obstacles such as having very little resources, a very small military compared to China when trying to gain political independence and economic growth. With all these problems, how does Taiwan manage to keep its boundaries and have one of the world’s biggest economies? Taiwan starts with a highly agricultural economy to rebuild its losses from World War 2. Then, with man power and skilled labor from mainland China and the United States of America, Taiwan creates a superior technological industry that allows Taiwan to have a great economic growth¹. After several agreements, China and Taiwan are currently at peace so life is good for the Taiwanese people.

Gandhi is a famous, historic example of how a small protagonist can prevail over a large opponent. The antagonist in this case is the British. The British treats all Indians as second class citizens so they barely have any rights. Whenever Gandhi encountered a problem, he never resorted to violence. In his major movements such as the Salt March made the whole world realize how horrible the British were treating the Indians, even placing a tax on salt! What Gandhi did was lead a campaign where all Indians would march to the sea and make their own salt so they won’t have to pay the tax. Later Gandhi formed a raid on the Dharasana Salt Works. He told his fellow Indians that as they walk up to the gates, they will be beaten by the British soldiers, but they are not allowed to fight back to defend themselves. What was Gandhi think? Sending his people to be beaten up or even to their own deaths? In Gandhi’s words, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Before that day, Gandhi sent for several foreign reporters to inform the world what was to happen. Gandhi knows that if they fight back, it would only give the British reason to beat them up so the world would think that the British are the good guys and would forget about how badly the Indians were treated². I am deeply impressed in what Gandhi has accomplished in his life, I wish that I could starve myself and all bouts and arguments that I see would disappear! Life would be so much better.