From: ibshambat@gmail.com   
      
   Michael Hopf wrote, “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good   
   times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” I would   
   contend with that.   
      
   First, good times don’t always create weak men. By historical standards,   
   times in Australia now are quite good. That doesn’t mean that Australian   
   people are weak. I take classes in jujitsu, and most people there are strong   
   enough.   
      
   Secondly, I do not see how weak men create hard times. I would say that   
   malevolent men create hard times. Some malevolent people are strong and some   
   malevolent people are weak, and I do not see a link, positive or negative,   
   between the two.   
      
   Genghis Khan was a strong man, but he did not create good times. Bill Clinton   
   was not as strong, but life under Bill Clinton was good. Probably the worst   
   form of government is a military dictatorship. Military dictatorships have a   
   horrible record of just    
   about everything. And these people are not weak.   
      
   I would say that benevolent people, strong or weak, create good times, and   
   malevolent people, strong or weak, create bad ones. A hero is a strong man who   
   stands up for people weaker than him. A tyrant is a strong man who abuses   
   them. There have been    
   plenty of both in history. In both cases we see strength; but one form creates   
   good times and the other form creates bad ones.   
      
   Is it valid to support training in strength? Of course it is. I am much   
   stronger now than I was when I was a teenager, and I like myself a lot more.   
   This can be done regardless of whether the times are good or bad. Martial arts   
   training helps people to    
   be strong even if they don’t have to go to war. And I sincerely recommend   
   martial arts training to anyone who doesn’t want to be weak.   
      
   So I do not see how weak people are more likely to create hard times than   
   strong ones. There will be both good and bad people who are strong and both   
   good and bad people who are weak. The best outcome, once again, is the hero: A   
   strong man who stands up    
   for people who are weaker than him. And it is these people that truly create   
   good times.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)