- Dec 11, 2012
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I wrote this due to being so frustrated with certain current events. Hopefully you'll be able to see what I'm getting at here:
One day, a fire broke out in a small city. No one knows exactly how it started - some suspected it was set deliberately, although there was no proof either way.
The important thing was that it was spreading fast.
Now this was in the olden days, so there were no fire trucks, fire hydrants, or even running water in most buildings. There was, however, a large river that ran close by the city. So the city's leaders issued instructions for everyone to grab as many buckets as they had and form bucket brigades, to carry water from the river to put out the fire.
Most people complied. But a large amount of people didn't. They all had various reasons for refusing.
Some were more concerned about how the fire started. Despite not knowing how it started, everyone knew that it started in one particular neighborhood of the city, and that neighborhood already had a bad reputation for various reasons. So some people didn't join the brigade because they were too busy blaming the people of the neighborhood where the fire started.
Others simply didn't like the idea of being told to work. "We're supposed to be free, I'm not going to go lug water around just because someone tells me to. It's my choice to refuse!"
There were also those who distrusted the city's government. They were sure that they had some sinister ulterior motive for ordering this, other than just fighting the fire. Perhaps it was the first step in a plan to enslave the citizens, just testing how obedient they would be when told to do something. So they proudly refused to grab a bucket.
When members of the bucket brigade begged for help from those who refused, they would often hear "The part of the fire near your house was already put out. So why do you care if I help put it out in other places or not? It doesn't affect you." When the brigade kept insisting, these people took it as suspicious, and some saw it as confirmation of the previous theory of the evil ulterior motive, which just caused them to double down in their refusal.
There were also those who were wary of the river water. They thought the river was dirty, and had known people who had gotten sick from swimming in it. So they refused to carry the water and risk getting it on them.
Some people even said that the fire itself wasn't all that bad. "Most of the people were able to escape from their homes before they burned down," they said. "Only a small portion of people in the city have actually been killed by the fire. So we'd rather not do all of this work."
The fire was eventually put out, but as a result of these attitudes, it spread much farther, did much more damage, and killed many more people than it otherwise would have.
The important thing was that it was spreading fast.
Now this was in the olden days, so there were no fire trucks, fire hydrants, or even running water in most buildings. There was, however, a large river that ran close by the city. So the city's leaders issued instructions for everyone to grab as many buckets as they had and form bucket brigades, to carry water from the river to put out the fire.
Most people complied. But a large amount of people didn't. They all had various reasons for refusing.
Some were more concerned about how the fire started. Despite not knowing how it started, everyone knew that it started in one particular neighborhood of the city, and that neighborhood already had a bad reputation for various reasons. So some people didn't join the brigade because they were too busy blaming the people of the neighborhood where the fire started.
Others simply didn't like the idea of being told to work. "We're supposed to be free, I'm not going to go lug water around just because someone tells me to. It's my choice to refuse!"
There were also those who distrusted the city's government. They were sure that they had some sinister ulterior motive for ordering this, other than just fighting the fire. Perhaps it was the first step in a plan to enslave the citizens, just testing how obedient they would be when told to do something. So they proudly refused to grab a bucket.
When members of the bucket brigade begged for help from those who refused, they would often hear "The part of the fire near your house was already put out. So why do you care if I help put it out in other places or not? It doesn't affect you." When the brigade kept insisting, these people took it as suspicious, and some saw it as confirmation of the previous theory of the evil ulterior motive, which just caused them to double down in their refusal.
There were also those who were wary of the river water. They thought the river was dirty, and had known people who had gotten sick from swimming in it. So they refused to carry the water and risk getting it on them.
Some people even said that the fire itself wasn't all that bad. "Most of the people were able to escape from their homes before they burned down," they said. "Only a small portion of people in the city have actually been killed by the fire. So we'd rather not do all of this work."
The fire was eventually put out, but as a result of these attitudes, it spread much farther, did much more damage, and killed many more people than it otherwise would have.
