Do weak men create hard times?

Michael Hopf wrote, =E2=80=9CHard times create strong men, strong men creat=
e good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.=
=E2=80=9D I would contend with that.

First, good times don=E2=80=99t always create weak men. By historical stand=
ards, times in Australia now are quite good. That doesn=E2=80=99t mean that=
 Australian people are weak. I take classes in jujitsu, and most people the=
re are strong enough.

Secondly, I do not see how weak men create hard times. I would say that mal=
evolent men create hard times. Some malevolent people are strong and some m=
alevolent people are weak, and I do not see a link, positive or negative, b=
etween the two.

Genghis Khan was a strong man, but he did not create good times. Bill Clint=
on was not as strong, but life under Bill Clinton was good. Probably the wo=
rst form of government is a military dictatorship. Military dictatorships h=
ave a horrible record of just about everything. And these people are not we=
ak.

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 abus=
es them. There have been plenty of both in history. In both cases we see st=
rength; 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 str=
onger now than I was when I was a teenager, and I like myself a lot more. T=
his can be done regardless of whether the times are good or bad. Martial ar=
ts training helps people to be strong even if they don=E2=80=99t have to go=
 to war. And I sincerely recommend martial arts training to anyone who does=
n=E2=80=99t want to be weak.

So I do not see how weak people are more likely to create hard times than s=
trong 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.