Straw Dogs
There is something undeniably enduring about the metaphorical imagery of the straw dog from Verse 5 of the TTC. Even if our Westernized and modernized sensibilities put our understanding of the homid-canid dynamic several degrees removed from those of Ancient China, the notion of constructing a little totem of something valued and cherished (such as a dog) out of something as blatantly worthless as straw speaks to a fundamental human experience on numerous anthropological levels. Even outside its historical context as an object of effigy ritual, the practicals of a straw dog follow the same reasoning as to why one made children's dolls of cloth: there is an implicit hazard to the object that means making its component parts out of that which is readily available (or even mendable) beyond pragmatic. The doll and the dog are the same. They are ritual objects in effigy, used to carry the gravitas of the focus without incurring the monumental cost their mortal counterparts carry.
But this is hardly groundbreaking opinion. From Dao De Zhen Jing Zhu ( https://ctext.org/dao-de-zhen-jing-zhu#n90484 )
"The sage is unkind and treats the people as cud dogs."
聖人不仁，以百姓為芻狗
This reading of unkindness persisted long through linguistic history, and in the future when effigy sacrifice became rather more passé for harvests or religious ceremony the term nevertheless persisted, going on in business jargon as a junk proposal serving little purpose outside prompting discussion between those involved. Therefore it persists even into the modern day that when neonates discover the text and see 'straw dogs' their rational minds effortlessly grasp what is being demonstrated: the object is worth nothing.
Alarmingly, there remains a persistent belief that this turn of phrase is somehow an endorsement for the negligence, or perhaps indifference, towards the people around the individual practitioner. The sage is like Heaven, after all, and if Heaven treats all things as straw dogs then so too must the sage and it is no difficult step to take from that a reading that everything should be treated as sacrificial. This is the reading that must be pushed back against, and it is precisely because many neonates come to this place and pose this very dilemma.
First, textual foundations. From He Shang Gong (https://ctext.org/heshanggong/5)
"The sage regards the common people like straw dogs and livestock, not expecting them to offer respect or gratitude."
天地之間空虛，和氣流行，故萬物自生。人能除情欲，節滋味，清五臟，則神明居之也
This passage clearly obligates the sage to the common peoples, equating the straw dogs to livestock. This character usage is quite deliberate, for livestock carries with it the unavoidable aspect of cultivation. It is not enough to have cows or goats, but the care of these animals for their utility is placed front and center in this phrasing.
Again from He Shang Gong:
Heaven and Earth give birth to all things, yet while humans are the most precious among them, Heaven and Earth regard them no differently than straw dogs or livestock—valuing them without expecting anything in return.
天地生萬物，人最為貴，天地視之如芻草狗畜，不貴望其報也
In the context of livestock, this might bear a question: how could someone not expect a cultivated result from something they are cultivating? What circumstances could exist that might cause that? The answer to such a thing is simply to consider the perspective of an ox herder on the Yellow River. Should the river decide, you may lose more than just your animals. At the whims of nature, even one's whole village could be swept away in a horrible torrent. Nevertheless, the ox herder must perform their obligations to the herd without any expectation that the oxen will reach maturity for slaughter, or even the herder themselves may persist to do the slaughtering. This is what it means to perform without expectation.
And the slaughter is an equally important component of the grand analogy at work here. Just like the straw dog of before, death is an absolute certainty for the domesticated cattle. It may be by the butcher's blade, or by the river's wrath, or even a barn sickness or insectile plague. Maybe even bandits. Only Heaven knows the end, and so for a practitioner to look at someone around them and see disposable straw is an utter shame, the height of arrogance. A human is not straw because of their worth, they are straw because of their commonality. They are straw because of their frailty. Further, irrespective of what they are made of, they are ordained by Heaven's Way to have a purpose. By being a witness, one is involved.
The author implores the reader to remember that when regarding someone as a straw dog, do not pay any attention to the straw. Be mindful that who you are looking at is heading into a fire, unavoidably, and so you must tend to them as long as you are able. Expect nothing in return, for this is the Way. Heaven will provide for them as it provides for everyone, and as a disciple of the Tao it falls to us to perceive the Way forward and bring it to fruition. Not for us, not for them, not for anyone, simply because it must be so.
Finally, from the He Shang Gong:
Too many words lead to exhaustion. Much activity harms the spirit; too much speech harms the body. When one opens his mouth and raises his tongue, misfortune is sure to follow. It is better to hold to the center (the emptiness within). Better still is to uphold virtue within, nurture spirit and energy, cherish breath, and speak sparingly.
多言數窮，多事害神，多言害身，口開舌舉，必有禍患。不如守中。不如守德於中，育養精神，愛氣希言。
May I be forgiven for running my mouth.