“… and then he bean to tell a most disconcering tale about a country bumpkin who became an important official during a time of political upheaval… [he] was appointed minister, or governor, or perhaps even president, because there was no way of telling what people would do in their follu. Becuase of this appointment he came to believe that he was indeed important and learned to put on an act.
…[he] was very good at public appearances and could whip up a speech with no difficulty at all, but his position required that he read his speeches, and the man was illiterate. So he used his wits to outsmart everybody. He had a sheet of paper with something written on it and flashed it around when eer he gave a speech. And this his efficiency and other good qualities were undeniable to all the country bumpkins. But one day a literate stranger came along and noticed that the hero was reading his speech while holding the sheet upside down. He began to alugh and pointed out the lie to everyone.
… he faced everyone calmly and said, ‘Upside down? Why whould the position of the sheet matter if you know how to read?’. And the bumpkins agreed with him.”
Taken from Carlos Castaneda’s “Tales of Power”