The Cicada and the Ant (1838 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.22 on 10 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Azriel (View user info) at 2006-03-20 15:04:05 EST
To all amateurs of De la Fontaine and Aesop fables...
It's so good to read about it but unfortunately, it still doesn't solve anything.
Here are two versions of a known story :
**Classical version**
The ant, working hard all summer even during the heat waves; built her house and prepared her provisions for the winter.
The Cicada things the ant is stupid; she laughs, dances and plays all summer long.
Whence the winter has come, the ant is inside, warm and well fed.
The Cicada, cold and hungry, dies outside.
THE END
**Today's version**
The ant, working hard all summer even during the heat waves; built her house and prepared her provisions for the winter.
The Cicada things the ant is stupid; she laughs, dances and plays all summer long.
Whence the winter has come, the ant is inside, warm and well fed.
The Cicada, cold and hungry organises a press conference and asks why the ant is warm and well fed when others, less fortunate have to die of hunger and cold outside.
The media then organises live special programs and telethon showing how the Cicada is cold and hungry. They show videos of the Ant all warm and fat from eating well, the table full of delicacies and comfortably watching T.V.
The citizens are angry and don't understand why, in a rich country, we leave Cicadas suffer from hunger and cold outside when Ants are living in abundance. The associations against poverty organise manifestations in front of the Ant's house to show their discontent.
The media organises interviews with other Ants asking why the Ants are so rich and make their riches on the back of other Cicadas and ask the government to raison the taxes of the Ants for them to pay their « Due share ».
In response to all the surveys, the government puts in place a law on the equality of the economy and an anti-discrimination law retroactive from this summer. The taxes of all Ants are raised and a penalty is served to the Ant for not having hired the Cicada as help when she was building her house and pilling her goods.
The house of the Ant is seized by the authorities because she doesn't have enough money to pay the penalty and the taxes raise. The Ant moves to a different country.
The television makes a special program showing the Cicada now well fed, eating up the last provisions the Ant had put away even if spring is still very far.
The old house of the Ant becomes a socially managed apartment building for the Cicada. The building slowly goes to waste because she doesn't take care of it.
The government is then blamed for lack of resources invested in the social building. A commission in put in place at the cost of 10 Million dollars.
The Cicada dies of an overdose. The papers comment on the failure of the government to fix the situation and the social inequities.
The house is squatted by a gang of spiders and the government then congratulates himself on the multicultural diversity in the country.
The spiders then start a prostitution cartel that terrorises the community.
THE END
User Reviews
Submitted by Azriel (user info) at 2006-03-21 08:49:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Well,
I can see that it pissed of a few. The nice thing though is that it's a discussion forum and everybody is entitled to his own opinion.
Thanks
"Sitting on my ass is better then trying to stop the puck kneeling, this way, they can't see i'm too small to play" Theodore.
Submitted by freebie (user info) at 2006-03-21 08:32:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I wrote something like this a couple years ago and posted it. It nicely pissed off all the liberals.
Submitted by G-prime (user info) at 2006-03-20 18:11:38 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
You fucking capitalist.
Submitted by gonefiguring (user info) at 2006-03-20 17:04:52 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
Nicely done indeed, back in the Clinton administration. That's when I first saw this in an email. +1 for adding the spiders, though.
Submitted by Skeptic (user info) at 2006-03-20 16:22:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This is worthy of many +2's. I only wish I had written it.
Submitted by RyuFu (user info) at 2006-03-20 15:51:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Beautifully done.
Submitted by ruthless (user info) at 2006-03-20 15:34:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice.
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-03-20 15:19:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Well done
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-03-20 15:07:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
wow...a French right-winger...you rarely see them this time of year, or ever, for that matter
<jots down in notebook>
Submitted by hactar (user info) at 2006-03-20 15:07:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
awesome