Battle of 2 Leaders
Presenting two leaders or brands of (political) leadership or representatives of political philosophies/strategies of governance in a substantive debate against one another in narrative form (directed to an audience). Short scene, or narrative that would naturally create tension between the two different leaders (or forms of leadership). Requires an understanding of different systems, ideas and figures. Potential for presentations. Utilizing previous research as well as readings in both composition and topics classes.
Scene: Heaven-ish. Think clouds, white spaces, and a gold gate.
Situation: As the Earth becomes more chaotic, everyone who has died and made it to heaven has been paying a close eye on what will happen next amongst the human race. This scene will mostly focus on the opinions of Sun Tzu and Socrates who both have opposite views.
[Sun Tzu enters the white room. Angry]
Sun Tzu: You western philosophers know nothing! All you understand is that there must be reform and yet you fight amongst yourselves on how to achieve it.
[Socrates sitting at a table, reading Plato]
Socrates: At least I’m not driven by the bloodlust of war and add more fuel to the conflicts that are occurring and will occur. You are just another catalyst in the self-destruction of civilizations. At least I try to look at the human potential so that there is no need to worry about war.
Sun Tzu: When will you realize that war is forever? It is human nature to fight whether it be amongst ourselves or with others. Instead of coming up with useless peace-only ideas, we need to see the world for what it is- violent. You cannot evade human nature, Socrates; not even with that method of yours.
[Sun Tzu shakes his head, walks closer to Socrates]
Socrates: I still have the idea of war in the back of my head and that should always be on the minds of any leader. But if you focus too much on what’s happening outside your borders, you may lose the faith and respect of your people. You must still tend to the people’s needs and being involved in the conflict is not the best way to approach that issue.
[ Socrates puts down the book, looks at Sun Tzu. Camera shifts]
Sun Tzu: I never said that peace wasn’t an option; war should only be a result of a lack of communication and preparation between two nations. It is best to fight the war before it’s begun and use peaceful methods to avoid it. It’s like I said back when I was still alive- “To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”.
[ Sun Tzu straightens his shoulders and holds his head high as a way to honor his past life]
Socrates: Now that is something we can both agree on since any philosopher must develop deep insight on what the future holds and plan for any possibilities. I hope that you can understand that it’s not all about the art of war, but to tend to your people and establish a strong government. That is how you obtain a strong presence and reputation in the world.
[Sun Tzu face deadpans. New emotion. Annoyed]
Sun Tzu: It’s funny that you say this, Socrates; and while physical violence is something we share opinions on, you are still not understanding the point that I am trying to make. You must twist and sabotage, be sly and easy with your words to manipulate the other side to resolve any physical conflict. Not all wars must be fought with a sword- sometimes a tongue is enough to alter history itself.
[ Socrates notices, and starts to answer in more of a cunning, smug tone]
Socrates: It’s even more hilarious that you speak of diplomacy and yet you immediately assume that by pointing out a similarity between you and me, I’m somehow trying to twist your rhetoric. You see that’s the real problem with the way you think. You mainly have a pessimistic approach that involves extreme suspicion with others who have completely different ideas than you. Yes, words are enough to alter history, but that comes down to perception and you don’t take too kindly to my unique opinion and that can create a worse scenario than originally intended. I’m simply trying to find some sort of common ground.
[ Socrates goes back to reading, unbothered. Sun Tzu rolls his eyes]
Sun Tzu: Socrates please, your people had you executed for corrupting the minds of the innocent. You went around attempting to enlighten these men and still your student Plato became more successful than you. Plus, The Republic that was created by him is nothing more than a fantasy. You should spend less time arguing here and more time teaching people. But again- just look at how far teachings got you? War doesn’t have to be violent and physical nor does it have to be between nations. You failed to fight the war between yourself and your people by following your teacher’s method.
[ Whitney Houston and Jesus come in, sees the commotion, and walks back out hiding their faces. Socrates & Sun Tzu continue and do not even notice]
Socrates: The Republic that was thought up by Plato wasn’t something that could be achieved easily; civilizations must strive towards improving upon themselves to get as close as possible to that ideal society and that must start at the top with our leaders. That’s why I focused more on creating a template for leadership that will offer the best transparency for the people and inspire the next generations to be wise and as selfless as possible with how they choose to lead the people.
[ Socrates rolls his eyes and tries to get away from Sun Tzu. Camera shifts]
Sun Tzu: You will never understand basic human nature any better no matter how many times I try to explain it to you. Humans will always be at war; they will always fight and it is best to understand this sooner rather than later before we pass the point of no return. Yes, it’s best to get rid of war soon but it’s inevitable.
Socrates: That is another thing about the war that I can’t disagree on. The characteristic of greed will eventually consume those in higher positions of power who will never even think in the slightest to cease their conquest over others. That is why after the fallout of inevitable war, we must look at the mistakes of those who abuse their power to oppress other nations and implement better values into those of the next generation so that the idea of war becomes a less plausible option. Still, any wise leader should be wary of any potential conflicts with foreign governments.
[Socrates shakes his pointer finger to disagree, Sun Tzu gets angry again]
Sun Tzu: Humans will forever represent pain and suffering however a peaceful discussion beforehand is important. However to finish the masterpiece that is this world the art of war is important. As I have said before while alive “Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: 1 He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. 2 He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.3 He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. 4 He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. 5 He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.” I put it step by step for you to understand.
[ conversation calms down a bit from both sides]
Socrates: These are very useful tips that I could use to improve the way the ideal leaders of society should approach the aspect of war while also being willing to implement diplomatic procedures before, during, and after it. If a leader is able to be philosophically and tactically intelligent, they would be able to utilize the power of the pen and the sword. Also, this will allow them to have a lot but not too much control over its people while coming to terms with outside adversaries.
[Sun Tzu sits next to Socrates]
Sun Tzu: You know Socrates; we may never come to a clear conclusion but I think we can agree that you must avoid physical violence and use other methods to change the outcomes. We might not understand everything of the points we make but I think we can respect our cultures’ understanding of these positions.
End.
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