When people do truly great things and it goes unnoticed, fewer people bother to expend their energy and to rise to the occasion to achieve greatness.

I mean, what’s their motivation?

Just like your complete ignorance in not realizing that the old vase your Granny gave you is several centuries old allows you use it to hold flowers and not worry about it being stolen (Hey, you didn’t even know it was worth thousands of dollars and should be taken on Antiques Roadshow before you started reading this poem! You were just using it as a vase!), avoiding, being ignorant of, or choosing to limit yourself from the activities and substances that awaken unnecessary upset within you will keep you happier.

Therefore, anyone who is wise and trying to be in control of their government will not waste anybody’s time, but just satisfy them. If it’s what the people really want, the wise ruler will say it loud, “I’m Black, and I’m Proud!” give them the Hawaiian birth certificate, and tell all the haters to all take a big ole whiff, because, baby, he’s the SHIT.

But, the wise ruler, at least according to the writings of the Tao, seeks to control his people by keeping most of the public in blissful ignorance of greater affairs of state most of the time, and the very few folks who are actually “in-the-know” – well, they need to be on the side of good (not evil).

The wise ruler, most of all, must practice absolute restraint, himself, in everything. He’s got to be genuine in appearance and reality: something that is achievable but better than most people ever expect of themselves.

Then, and only then will people shut the fuck up…