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 Imagine that you are the president of a very powerful country. You receive a very cordial letter from a smaller country which wishes to grow more powerful, and which asks for your presence that it may obtain your help in doing so. Now imagine that when you arrive, you are greeted by someone dressed in a paper Burger King crown who reads a welcome from a card or out of a book, mispronouncing your name and possibly even the name of your country. This person obviously hasn't done much preparation for your arrival, and their kingdom is in total disarray, yet they kiss your buttocks with flattery and ask for favors from you. OR, worse still, they merely flatter you and ask you to stick around while they prance around pretending to be a king, just so you can "be present and impart your virtue" to their pretense. Now again imagine that you are a wise ruler who receives an invitation from a different small nation. You go there to find it a well-ordered kingdom on its way to acheiving power. It has a ruler who is very familiar with his people, and it is clear that his small kingdom has already taken the initial steps to prepare itself for whatever advancements you bring. The king greets you with joy and fanfare, but nothing pompous, outrageous, or tedious. He lets you know that he is confident, that you are welcome, and that he wishes you both to be mutually satisfied in whatever you try to accomplish. Which nation would you rather visit?
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