Confucious Says...

When the Great Way prevailed, the world community was equally shared by all. The worthy and able were chosen as office-holders. Mutual confidence was fostered and good neighborliness cultivated. Therefore people did not regard as parents only their own parents, nor did they treat children only their own children. Provision was made for the aged till their death, the adult were given employment, and the young enabled to grow up. Old widows and widowers, the orphaned, the old and childless, as well as the sick and the disabled were all well taken care of. Men had their proper roles and women their homes. While they hated to see wealth lying about on the ground, they did not necessarily keep it for their own use. While they hated not to exert their effort, they did not necessarily devote it to their own ends. Thus evil schemings were repressed, and robbers, thieves and other lawless elements failed to arise, so that outer doors did not have to be shut. This was called the age of Great Harmony (Ta Tung)

While in Chinatown last week, I stumbled across this statue of Confucius. Being alone gave me the time to read and reread his words until they were engraved in my mind.

The words highlighted above stood out in my mind. Provisions are made to care for the old, the sick, the disabled and the orphaned. Jobs are provided for all. Wealth was used for the good of all.

The DOE scorns the old. Too many years in the system, especially with an unscrupulous principal can mean verbal abuse, a "U" rating or even an all expense paid trip to the rubber room (or whatever they decide to use to replace that hell hole) Extra money now is used to fund those elite charter schools run by big business and the cronies of Bloomberg and Klein.

I don't know much about what Confucius stood for, or how right or wrong many of his philosophies were, but I liked what I read here and I wish there was a way to get others to accept and practice it.