THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER
This one is a little different…
Two Different Versions…
Two Different Morals…
OLD VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE OLD STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green…’
Occupy the Anthill stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house where the news stations film the SEIU group singing, ‘We Shall Overcome’.
Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper’s sake, while he damns the ants.
President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush 43, President Bush 41, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper’s plight…
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government GreenCzar and given to the grasshopper…
The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant’s old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn’t maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.
The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be careful how you vote in 2012.
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13 comments:
Power to the ants!
This stuff makes me so mad that I'm just going to exercise restraint and leave it at that. Any more words may reflect poorly upon my class participation grade/net me "points."
But really. Bogus.
Dylan--I couldn't agree more. We do not live in a theoretical world driven by perfectly competitive free markets which Brandon, Smith, and Friedman would have found utopian.
I can understand well argued points about how (for example) certain tax cuts would stimulate growth and boost the economy, i.e. helping everybody. But Brandon, if you are going to write a blog post with such inflammatory assertions toward liberal policies, I think it would help to provide the audience with some data/evidence to support your claims. Until then this post makes me angry and I disagree with your rhetoric.
That was an interesting tale, which my esteemed colleague Mr. De Graff posted; he did however forget to state that the text itself is a summary of a story, which appeared on Vulpine News.
P.S. being green is hard when it can get you fired, keep you from being hired, or get you killed simply because you want to keep your ears warm on the way back from the store with your skittles and tea …
After reading that I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth...I, like Dylan, will try and use some self control but this is a bit outrageous. *cough* myth of meritocracy *cough*
Methinks BDG is just being a wag. I chuckled.
Cam, well said. I still run your show on the courts, though, don't forget that.
Your right Cam, I received it in an email today and thought it was worthwhile to share. As all of you will accuse me of being narrow minded and elitist for posting this short story, I really do believe that there are some realities exposed here. Yes Boole, I believe that the free market is far more productive than a planned and controlled economy. I do not think it is an 'inflammatory assertion on liberal policies' at all if people who work hard get to keep what they earn, its in reality upholding civil liberties. Obviously there are barriers to entry and those can and should be addressed, as I very much believe in the merits of equality of opportunity and trying to achieve it. The reason I posted this little story is not to make people angry, but to expose the problems with equality of outcome (I noticed you mentioned Mr. Friedman and yes I agree with him, he is a brilliant thinker). From one utopian planet to another, equality of outcome does not work. The reason I posted this story is because it pokes fun at some of the characters that believe in these failed policies of fixing the problem after it already happened, namely Nancy Polosi among others. They make me so mad because their rhetoric is driven on emotion and not on reason, and that to me is very clear as it is highlighted in this little story. Call me insensitive, but with decisions of great magnitude which affect the rest of the world economically, politically, and socially as are most decisions in this country, it beehooves us as a nation to make decisions based on facts and logic.. I do not believe the leaders mentioned before do that and that is why I do not want them leading my country and the world.
You all have already gone to CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC and ran a headline, GOP anti-poor. I am absolutely not anti-poor, I just believe in preserving the incentives of contributing to the economy and protecting civil liberties that have made this country prosperous. This is just another example of liberal thinkers and/or politicians twisting an opposing comment, policy, or position into something it is not in order to win political favor. It has happened with Democrats ‘painting the GOP’ as ‘anti-women’ (it’s a constitutional issue where the government has no right to tell an employer to pay for something for an employee that they do not feel is morally right- do I think we should be discussing birth control and abortions, NO, I SUPPORT IT!, but I do not think we should be discussing the GOVERNMENT FORCING an employer to pay for something that is against their core beliefs, that is inherently wrong in itself and infringes on civil liberties). They also say we are ‘anti-healthcare’, NO!, we believe that competition will make programs better and would rather the patient and his/her doctor make the medical decisions rather than a board of unelected bureaucrats. Just because I believe that the president’s plan is not the most efficient and affective plan, does not mean that I do not believe in the merits of finding a better way of providing healthcare, I just don’t think the ACA is it. And I am absolutely not trying to push an old lady off of a cliff!
Anyway, back to the twisting of arguments, I implore you all not fall victim to this emotion-driven rhetoric used by Democrats to gain favor with certain interest groups. Before you make a comment or express your feelings about something that is stated, said, or even posted on a blog.. step back, calculate the merits of the position, assess what you believe is a better solution, and then you can make a comment instead of jumping right in and making assumptions. I think this is an unfortunate reality of our political system and the Democrats (Deb, Nance, Barack, etc.) are undeniably responsible for twisting the positions of individuals who question their policies and approaches in order to gain political favor, this has led to gridlock and distrust (Republicans are not innocent of causing gridlock either, I am just saying it is part of the problem and I wish it were addressed). Maybe the Republicans need to defend their positions better, but I really do believe that this twisting of arguments is often over the top by Democrats. Instead of trying to twist my argument, let me explain my argument and then take it for what it is and respond in a manner that actually acknowledges the points that I bring up.. I applaud Dillon for not responding irrationally and stepping back and at least considering the merits of the story. I hope that he does recognize some of the merits of rewarding individuals who work hard and ensuring that those incentives to work hard are upheld.. the reality is that some people do unfairly take advantage of the system and that’s really bogus.
One of the characters in this anti-grasshopper video looks a bit like Mr. Reider.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOmSJM_w6-4
I am shocked by the angry responses that I have received both on the blog and off regarding the story I posted above. This post was meant to be cheeky and exaggerated to make a point more lighthearted. I thought you all would appreciate it and take it with a grain of salt as I did. No I do not want 'all poor people to die', again please be rational, that is all I am going to say-seriously getting so angry over this and taking it outside of the blog is not only dissapointing to me but also irrational, absolutely uncalled for, and immature.
Thanks.
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