A week before the Thanksgiving, a letter reached my office from an inmate serving time in a midwest state prison. It has been some time since I did counseling and interventions with correctional offenders, no wonder I was surprised. The inmate is not one of my previous clients. I only knew from the letter that he was an offender with a Hispanic family name. He said that he wrote to me because he had read my article "How to overcome without fighting: An introduction to the Taoist approach to conflict resolution," and he learned a lot. I was glad to hear his comments because the article, drawn wisdom from the Ancient Chinese texts of both Tao Te Ching (by Lao Tzu) and the Art of War (by Sun Tzu), elucidates how to deal with interpersonal conflict in a peaceful and constructive way.
I checked the prison website according to his mailing address. The website described the facility as having the mission to protect the public by detaining adult male felons and preparing them for custody reduction and eventual reintegration into society. In the letter, he also asked me to mail him some Taoist literature so that he could study it, including "The Art of War" printed on papers because inmates are not allowed to own books there. Convinced that he would benefit from reading Sun Tzu's axiom, "To win without fighting is the best strategy" and Lao Tzu's wisdom against all types of violence, I searched the internet and printed out the two texts.
I mailed him the package several days before the Thanksgiving. I received his response two days ago. He said that he was very upset because he was denied the materials I mailed to him. I wonder why he could not have the texts that teach people how to create and maintain interpersonal harmony and mental peace.
Talking on the phone with the mailroom manager in the correctional facility, I was told that "The Art of War" is one of many books in the State DOC system that inmates are prohibited to read or have. He was not kidding. Although Sun Tzu wrote the book 2,500 years ago, some people believe its contents are unsuitable for offenders. Maybe people who developed the policy and the list of banned books never read the book but they were alerted by the word "war" in the title.
Certainly many individuals may use "The Art of War" for their personal benefits. In the movie "Wall Street," Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, who played a corporate raider and a young stockbroker, respectively, cited the principles from the book to brag about their business shrewdness. Napoleon Bonaparte conquered most Europe by applying military innovations, drawing his tactics from different sources, including The Art of War, which already had a French version in early1800s. Cadets at West Point are required to read "The Art of War." So are the many MBA students at top business schools of the nation.
Ok, if it is the institutional policy, there is nothing can be done about it. I again asked the mailroom manager about the text "Tao Te Ching," "Why the inmate cannot have Tao Te Ching?" He apparently did not notice the second text in the envelop and he said he would look into it.
I hope that "Tao Te Ching" is acceptable in the prison.
PS. Read How to overcome without fighting: An introduction to the Taoist approach to conflict resolution.
