By Marc Kelley
America is a nation of kind and generous people. When we see someone who needs help to get back on their feet we do not turn away; but rather, offer our hand. Once you have again regained your footing, we expect you to have gained a deeper understanding of what it takes to help not only yourself but also the people who come after you, the people who have themselves fallen on hard times. We do this willingly because it is the right thing to do, rather than seeing it as a chance to signal our superior virtue. We learned these lessons from our parents, our grandparents, and from the teachings of yet another, who was looked upon with disfavor by the uninformed and fearful self-proclaimed members of the elite within society’s inner circles.
The media of late has begun mocking Donald Trump for his use of parables, as he delivers his message to America. Perhaps it is not by their own ignorance of the subject matter; but rather, because in their laziness they have failed to even consider the message. Most of us know exactly how it feels to have our backs against the wall, forced to choose a path, and face circumstances for which there are very few good options. We have all been burned, disappointed, and abandoned by those who professed in good times to be our friend, then when their support truly mattered, chose to remain silent and in the end turned away, as if we had outlived our usefulness. This reality however in no way relieves us from our responsibility to do the right thing. We have learned it is not through religious dogma nor high moral standing we endure, but rather, by the understanding…there but for the Grace of God go I.
In America, we see value in working hard to get ahead. We are pragmatic people who believe in the value of self-sufficiency. We have learned our survival requires us to use the brains the Good Lord gave us. To open our eyes and see for ourselves, to believe only half of what we hear and none of what we see on the evening news. From our earliest days we have been warned…be suspicious of anyone who tells you they are from the government and they are here to help and serve The People. As much as we despise the thought, we understand, there are those who walk among us who will never change their nature. Try as we may, we accept the reality, that people will only change when they see that change is in their own best interest. As much as we would like to change human nature, experience has taught us it is imperative we remain vigilant and maintain a safe distance from those who think only of their own benefit.
Fables have been used for millennia by politicians and leaders alike, who understood speaking out openly against an authoritarian ruling party would be met with persecution and punishment. This punishment, if the truth actually be told, is not directed at the single individual who is himself speaking out; but rather, is used as a warning to those who follow. This heretic you so adore will bring you only pain and suffering. You have fallen under the spell of an apostate, not the messenger Gabriel. If you know what is best for you and yours, you must believe, it is we who have your best interest at heart and it is we who will always be by your side. Deceit, dishonesty, and greed have long been the standard for retail politicians. Believing their verbal sleight of hand and ever-changing definition of the truth will simply go unnoticed by those they see as little more than the great unwashed. Politicians believe it is by their superior understanding of how the world should be, they are justified in saying one thing in public, then laughing behind our backs, working not in the best interest of The People, but rather for their own enrichment. Finding a way to deliver a message directly to the people, in plain language and using the words of the common man, is a gift sought by many, yet accomplished by few. Choosing to stand tall and speak out against tyranny when you are outgunned and outnumbered, demands understanding, your survival depends upon your ability to keep your wits about you. Being clever may well be your only saving grace and being clever, brings with it a formidable type of power. It is here where we find the usefulness and the truth which lies within a fable. A fable is a short story in which many lessons include an animal that not only takes on human characteristics but also teaches the lessons and the consequences of poor choices.
On her way to work one morning
Down the path alongside the lake
A tender-hearted woman saw a poor half half-frozen snake
His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew
“Oh well,” she cried, “I’ll take you in, and I will take care of you”
“Take me in oh tender woman
take me in, for heaven’s sake
take me in oh tender woman”, sighed the snake
She wrapped him up all cozy in a curvature of silk
and laid him by the fireside with some honey and some milk.
Now she hurried home from work that night and soon as she arrived,
she found that pretty snake that she’d been caring for had indeed now been revived.
“Take me in, oh tender woman
take me in, for heaven’s sake
take me in oh tender woman”, sighed the snake
Now she clutched him to her bosom, “You’re so beautiful,” she cried
but if I hadn’t brought you in, by now you might have died.”
Now she stroked his pretty skin and then she kissed and held him tight
but instead of saying thank you, that snake gave her a vicious bite
“Take me in, oh tender woman
take me in, for heaven’s sake
take me in oh tender woman”, sighed the snake
“I saved you” cried that woman
“And now you’ve bitten me but why?
You know your bite is poisonous, and now I’m going to die”
“Oh shut up, silly woman”, said the reptile with a grin
“You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.”
This story, of course, is a modified version of Aesop’s Fable, “The Farmer and the Viper.” There are many in America today who believe our country is filled with relics of the past and the ideals that represent only the days of long gone by. It is easy to mock and make fun of someone who you do not understand, yet it is that very lack of understanding that allows your worst fears to worry your days and haunt your nights. The cleverness or perhaps brilliance some may say in using fables to convey a message can be found not only in the words but so much more brilliantly within the images they conjure in the minds of the listener.
The lesson that comes from the reading of fables is unique to the reader. Our interpretation is based on our own lived experiences. So then, what does Trump’s use of the fable mean to you? Is it a message warning of the perils of trusting in an authoritarian government? Is it a message warning to our country about the dangers of an open border? Is it condemnation of the self-proclaimed elites who live a life of luxury, flaunting a rakish and indolent lifestyle, acquired not by their own hand; but rather, by utilizing the immoral trappings of a politician dressed in sheep’s clothing?
The answer of course depends upon your perspective and your life’s experiences. No person can tell another what to think and expect to have sway simply with their words. Who alone can say the habits that grow from laziness and ignorance are in and of themselves less dangerous than evil alone? Only when we consider the behavior of those who so unashamedly cling to power at all cost, can we truly see that cruelty, crimes, and antisocial acts have become so commonplace, that they are now routinely dismissed as “normal behavior.” It is exactly in this revelation that we can truly understand the words written by a former Greek slave in the 6th Century BC when he counseled… learn from my fate and take not pity on a scoundrel.
