What Sun Tzu Got Right That We Still Get Wrong
You can't defeat what you don't understand.
I’ve had a front-row seat to patriot movements for years. I’ve seen what works—and I’ve seen what blows everything up from the inside.
Here’s the harsh reality: most people who call themselves patriots don’t actually know what they’re fighting. They know of the enemy, but not about them. And they definitely don’t know themselves.
This article from 2021 has been updated—but not too much. Turns out humans don’t change a whole lot. We just get better at explaining what’s happening.
When I started The Shepard Scale, the goal was simple: help freedom-minded people become effective. But the truth is, the left has always been better at the long game. They read strategy. They study their opposition. They know what they're doing. Meanwhile, most patriot types quote Sun Tzu while misunderstanding or ignoring the most foundational concept he offers:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
Let’s break that down.
Know thyself.
This isn’t a motivational quote—it’s a call to personal reconnaissance.
There’s the person we show to strangers. The one our loved ones see. And then there’s the version of us that shows up when we’re alone, unfiltered, afraid, or confronted. Most people never actually interrogate that self. But if you want to be resilient under pressure—if you want to lead, influence, or hold the line—this is non-negotiable.
You need to ask:
Who am I, really? What fears and traumas still govern my thinking?
Why am I here? What shaped me? What’s the purpose I’m serving?
What do I believe—and can I explain it without slogans and jingoism?
What am I truly willing to give up in order to live those beliefs?
Saying “I’d die for freedom” is easy. But what about:
Losing your job over a principled stand?
Watching your spouse leave because of your views?
Being called evil in front of your kids?
Living in prison for 20 years?
These are not hypotheticals. And if you don’t know your own limits—your breaking points—then someone else will find them first.
Answering questions like this merely scratches the surface of what you need to know about yourself. And if you don’t even know or are willing to admit where your weaknesses are, you can’t do anything about them. If you are not certain and well-educated on your beliefs, you will not stand for them, because you won’t know where your personal line is—or if it’s in the right place.
Know Thine Enemy
Most people’s idea of “knowing the enemy” is… embarrassing.
They follow a few accounts from the ‘other side.’ They yell at the TV. Maybe they go to a rally. But that is emotional venting, not intel gathering.
If you’re serious about this work, you need to study them like a profiler studies a subject:
What do they actually want? (Short- and long-term.)
Why do they want it?
What formed their beliefs? What influenced them?
Who harmed them, and how does that play into what they want?
What’s their local infrastructure? Who’s funding, influencing, coordinating?
What are they willing to do—and are they capable of doing it?
Think like a counselor taking a case history:
“What brought them to this point?”
“What pain drives their values?”
“What gives them a sense of worth?”
Because that—validation—is the fulcrum. Everyone has a value structure they use to determine whether they matter. For some it’s family. For others, it's identity, ideology, control, or power. If you want to understand or influence someone, find the axis of their self-worth and what causes them shame. That’s the lever.
If you don’t know what defines your own worth, you are just as vulnerable.
Tying It All Together
Your beliefs don’t mean anything if you can’t articulate them, embody them, and defend them, without rage or retreat. Your enemy doesn’t fear your volume. They fear clarity and strategic capability.
So ask yourself:
Do I know what I’m fighting for… and who I’m fighting against? Do I even know how I define fighting? Or am I just reacting?