What does it actually mean to refuse an unlawful order—when no one’s watching, and no one’s officially in charge?
In Chapter 17 of The Tao of Lloyd, Lloyd Dobler moves from a humiliating road-rage incident in a Whole Foods parking lot to a chilling national moment: U.S. lawmakers reminding the military of a long-settled legal truth—that service members are required to refuse unlawful orders, only to be accused of sedition punishable by death.
Drawing on Chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching, Lloyd explores why the best leadership is almost invisible, why despised authority governs through exhaustion, and how real power operates long before it announces itself. Along the way, he turns the mirror inward, asking why it’s easier to demand moral courage from strangers than to disobey the quieter, illegal orders issued by our own fear, habit, and need to belong.
This episode blends Taoist philosophy, contemporary politics, and self-implicating humor to argue that refusal doesn’t start with soldiers or systems—it starts at the moment you notice who’s actually driving your reactions.
A meditation on leadership without spectacle, obedience without thought, and the unnerving freedom of realizing the steering wheel was never decorative.
From the edge of empire and the center of self—this is The Tao of Lloyd
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ABOUT / The Tao of Lloyd is a Zen-punk mixtape for late-stage everything—blending Tao Te Ching meditations, Gen-X philosophy, and anti-fascist satire from Lloyd Dobler, your reluctant middle-aged dissident. No ads. No paywalls. Just clarity, chaos, and sacred refusal. Support the show & get bonus episodes: patreon.com/taooflloyd.
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