Brilliant! Sent from my iPhone
> On Mar 30, 2015, at 17:12, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical > Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > Parable by James Thurber > > The Bear Who Let It Alone > "In the woods of the Far West there once lived a brown bear who could take it > or let it alone. He would go into a bar where they sold mead, a fermented > drink made of honey, and he would have just two drinks. Then he would put > some money on the bar and say, 'See what the bears in the back room will > have,' and he would go home. But finally he took to drinking by himself most > of the day. He would reel home at night, kick over the umbrella stand, knock > down the bridge lamps, and ram his elbows through the windows. Then he would > collapse on the floor and lie there until he went to sleep. His wife was > greatly distressed and his children were very frightened. > > "At length the bear saw the error of his ways and began to reform. In the end > he became a famous teetotaler and a persistent temperance lecturer. He would > tell everybody that came to his house about the awful effects of drink, and > he would boast about how strong and well he had become since he gave up > touching the stuff. To demonstrate this, he would stand on his head and on > his hands and he would turn cartwheels in the house, kicking over the > umbrella stand, knocking down the bridge lamps, and ramming his elbows > through the windows. Then he would lie down on the floor, tired by his > healthful exercise, and go to sleep. His wife was greatly distressed and his > children were very frightened. > After telling this little story the father turned to his young children and > said: > "Moral: You might as well fall flat on your face as lean over too far > backward." > > > Several years passed and the children were by the fireside again and one of > the girls > said that she was thinking about the parable and wondered if there was more > to it > than her father had let on, several years before. > > "Children, now that you are older," said the father, "I can explain that > parable > in more detail. Back then you could not have understood the deeper meaning > but I think you should be able to grasp things with the advantage of all > you have learned in the past several years." > > "I think the bear stands for a person," said the girl, "and I think his > behavior > stands for something people do besides knocking things over." > > "That is absolutely correct," said the father, "here is the hidden meaning > of the story : > > "The bear stands for an American citizen who votes, it could be anyone. > Getting drunk signifies the excesses of the Democratic Party, its irrational > acceptance of every new idea that comes along, all the stupid ideas as well > as good ideas. In other words, if you stick to just the good ideas > it is like just having a couple of drinks, which is basically a good thing to > do, > but getting drunk is like being uncritical about the new ideas you accept > and, as a result, acting like an idiot." > > "What does it mean that the bear became a teetotaler?," asked the girl. > > "That is the other extreme, the lunacy of the Republican Party, unable to > accept hardly any new ideas and feeling self-righteous about it and then > proclaiming to the world how good their ideas are even if some of them > are now hopelessly obsolete and are causing harm to others." > > "So we should not be like either?" asked the girl. > > "Exactly," said the father, "which is why your mother and I are > committed Radical Centrists and registered Independent voters." > > > At that, the oldest boy spoke up: > > "You can take this one step further," he said. "The Democrats say their > favorite > president is Thomas Jefferson, but he really is Jimmy Carter, an inept and > naive bungler who spouted high-minded ideas but basically didn't know > what he was doing. The Republicans say their favorite president is Abraham > Lincoln but who he really is, is Herbert Hoover, whose policies not only > led us into the Great Depression but were so inflexible and out-dated > that in the 3 years he had to fix the problem he made everything worse." > > "And who is the favorite president of Radical Centrists?" asked the girl > > "Well," said the father, "we say it is Teddy Roosevelt, and there is some > truth > to that, TR was a far sighted man with bold ideas that steered the country > in the right direction for decades after him, but who he really is, is George > Washington, who made the United States possible, who had courage > and was committed to democracy and always sought the best available > ideas for governing the nation wherever those ideas came from." > > "Is there anyone like that today?" asked the boy. > > "That," said the father, "is who we must search for -until we find him, > or it could even be a woman; but whomever it is it is up to us to make > the effort, it is the political equivalent of the Grail Quest. But I can tell > you > one thing for sure, it won't be any of the current candidates of either party > that the pundits are now talking about. > > > > > > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
