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TekhneMakre
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Just because someone is right about something or is competent at something, doesn’t mean you have to or ought to: do what they do; do what they tell you to do; do what’s good for them; do what they want you to do; do what other people think that person wants you to do; be included in their plans; be included in their confidence; believe what they believe; believe important what they believe important. If you don’t keep this distinction, then you might have a bucket error about “X is right about / good at Y” and “I have to Z” for some Z mentioned above, and Z might require a bunch of bad stuff, and so you will either not want to admit that X is good at Y, or else you will stop tracking in general when people are good at Y, or stop thinking Y matters (whereas by default you did think Y matters). Meritocracy (rule of the meritorious) isn’t the same thing as… meritognosis(?) (knowing who is meritorious). In general, -cracy is only good in some situations.
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Persian messenger: “Listen carefully, Leonidas. Xerxes conquers and controls everything he rests his eyes upon. He leads an army so massive it shakes the ground with its march, so vast it drinks the rivers dry. All the God-King Xerxes requires is this: a simple offering of earth and water. A token of Sparta’s submission to the will of Xerxes.”
[...]
Persian messenger: “Choose your next words carefully, Leonidas. They may be your last as king.”
[...]
Leonidas: “Earth and water… You’ll find plenty of both down there.” [indicates the well with his sword]
Persian messenger: “No man, Persian or Greek, no man threatens a messenger!”
Leonidas: “You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings to my city’s steps! You insult my queen. You threaten my people with slavery and death! Oh, I’ve chosen my words carefully, Persian, while yours are lashed from your lips by the whip of your God-King. I’ll give you a final chance to live with justice: give up your fearful allegiance to your slavemaster Xerxes, do not speak his threats for him any more, and come live in Greece as a free man.”
Persian messenger: “This is blasphemy! This is madness!”
Leonidas: “Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!” [kicks the Persian messenger into the deep well]
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