Aesop's Fable Friday.
The Farmer and the Viper
One winter a Farmer found a Viper frozen and numb with cold, and out of pity picked it up and placed it in his bosom.
The Viper was no sooner revived by the warmth than it turned upon its benefactor and inflicted a fatal bite upon him; and as the poor man lay dying, he cried, "I have only got what I deserved, for taking compassion on so villainous a creature."
Moral of the story: Kindness is thrown away upon the evil.
Well - this one sent me all over the place! It is so true but then that little voice inside me says (the Catholic one), "By showing someone evil some love - perhaps they will change their ways." Maybe it's NOT the Catholic voice, maybe it's the addiction enabler voice...
D'ya see what I'm doing to myself? So. I've decided that I will not show compassion for someone who is trying to behead me. (I know, Catholic voice, I know - I should pray for them....Alright. While I'm shooting them I'll send up a little prayer.) As for the addicted trying to take advantage - I'll send up a little prayer for them, too but direct them to the nearest addiction treatment center. My enabler voice can live with that. Anyone else - - if you try to hurt me or my family I will not allow it. Whatever it takes I will do. I WILL say a little prayer for you though.
Oh what a tangled mess Aesop's Fables can be when one is a recovering Catholic. LOL!
posted by Grizzly Mama | 23:18
16 Comments:
I hear ya! LOL! They mess with me they will need your prayers!
Yes Rasta - growing up Catholic really messed me up. Oh - I do not shed tears for the animals I eat - no way! In fact I had a DELICIOUS steak and egg breakfast at the Melrose in South Philly just tonight. DAMN. It was SO good.
dcat - if there is someone who needs praying for I am always happy to oblige. LOL!
So you are a recovering catholic huh? Well take two protestants and call me in the morning:-)
My "turn the other cheek" side has a hard time with my hardened attitudes too.
Rastaman's right. Survival of the fittest will win every time. I only pray that WE will be the fittest!
But what kind of way is that to live life, showing no kindness to any who could even potentially cause harm to you? Why not take that further- why ever place oneself in harm's way? Why trust anybody, because surely a human is less trustworthy than a snake? A snake will defend itself, but humans can be cruel and vindictive for absolutely no reason.
I have to disagree with Aesop on this one.
Old song, from the '60s, I think: "The Snake." Very similar.
Now wait a minute Rasta:
Aren't these Aesop's fables the same as child abuse?
Telling stories about vicious snakes biting people may terrorize children.
You're not being consistent.
Turn-the-other-cheek is a fine, honorable, and kindly default mode - compassion is seldom a bad response, but it doesn't work for every instance and it's often even confused by the "compassioner" with a more appropriate response.
There is no one-size-fits-all-do-it-all, not in every instance -- and in the confusion of implementing what some people may think is a "goodly" way, the results can have some very negative unintended consequences.
Still, someone would have to be pretty damn confused to hug a dangerous cold-blooded reptile - that's what a terrarium and a light-bulb are for.
Thanks Sandy - LOL!
tshsmom - there has to be a limit and I try to teach my kids that it is good to be compassionate and that doesn't mean allowing oneself to be abused. Compassion from a position of strength? Hmmm - I'll have to mull this one over.
Steve - I think that there is strength in vulnerability. However we need to discern who can be trusted with that vulnerability. Sometimes we get burned and I agree that there is no getting around that except by being hardened and unable to be vulnerable at any time whatsoever. That is no way to live. There are many more people worthy of trust than a snake because a snake only does what is natural to it and that is to attack if it believes itself to be in danger - it is not capable of discernment.
AOW - I don't think I've ever heard the song. I was but a 'wee child' in the 60's. ;-)
dirtcrashr - so true!
Mike - do we now need to release a politically correct version of Aesop's Fables??!! N0 - LOL!
Hm, sounds like the snake was doing what snakes do. Certainly can't blame the snake.
However, the man's last thought must have been..."what was I thinkin?"
Monica:
You might have missed this post on explaining the Iraq war to children:
http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/#114382164680781489
You've been so busy battling the Euroweanies.
Rasta thought that the suggestion in that post would be tantamount to child abuse, hence my comment here.
Rasta! What is this? Well to say I disagree with you is an understatement and I left a response at Mike's.
I empathize with your struggle with this. But you know what I was thinking this applies to? All the hoopla about illegal immigration. I think some people's sympathy for illegal immigrants is misplaced compassion that could come back to bite them just like this snake. Great post :-)!!
Yes LMC and I would apply it to Islamofascist terrorist bastards, too. (ITB's I call them.)
And this illegal situation has got me all riled up.
I think that if Aesop had been living today, he would still be writing philosophy for children; that's just the kind of guy he was. And I think maybe one of them would have been called "The Only Thing You Can Trust a Muslim to Be Is a Muslim." That's the "snake" fable in contemporary terms. From there, you can go on to talk about taqiyya, kitman, hudna, and all that sort of thing. It would be a very nice segue to teach about Islam. In fact, the "snake" fable is not a bad starting point at all!
Steve,
To show compassion to someone determined to kill you in the hopes that he will suddenly "see the light" is RARELY successful.
The hope that he will change comes from the notion that his moral code is basically like yours. In the case of Islam, that is unfortunately just not the case.
Here's the scoop: A "moral code" is a set of values we choose to guide our thoughts and behaviors.
In the West, for the most part, we have chosen "life" as the primary value, the so-called "standard" of what is good. "Life" is the value, the standard, by which all other values are chosen.
The way we figure it in the West, if something tends to promote life, we consider it "good." If something tends to threaten life, we consider it "bad."
But what about Islam?
The moral code of Islam holds that "the spread of Islam" is the "standard," the primary value by which all other values are measured.
This has very profound consequences on it's relationship with all non-Muslims, not just us; by this standard, anything that tends to promote Islam, up to and including murder and mayhem, is "good." Anything that tends to obstruct the spread of Islam is "bad."
It is for this reason that a terrorist can blow up dozens of men, women, and children, or bomb a crowded marketplace, or cut off the heads of little schoolgirls, and then sleep well that night and smile at himself in the mirror the next morning.
According to his moral code, he has done something "good."
Please don't make the mistake that it's only a minority of Muslims who believe that this sort of thinking and behaving is "good." Well over 90% support it, because they have all been taught a very different moral code from earliest childhood, and they take it seriously.
It's painfully difficult to believe that anyone, anywhere, could think that death, torture, killing of children, etc. could possibly be "good," but it's the unfortunate truth.
The understanding of the differences between our moral code and the moral code of Islam is absolutely crucial in deciding how we are to survive.
Thank you Cubed - as always it is a pleasure to hear from you!
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