The Ant and the Grasshopper - modern version

meanoldconservatives's picture

I got this in an email today. Again, I am not claiming to have written this:

The ant and the Grasshopper

Old version:

The ant worked hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thought the ant was a fool and laughed and danced and played the summer away.

Come winter, the ant was warm and well fed.

The grasshopper had no food or shelter, so he died out in the cold.

Moral of the story: Be responsible for yourself!

Modern version:

The ant worked hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thought the ant was a fool and laughed and danced and played the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper called a press conference and demanded to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others were cold and starving.

CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC showed 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 was stunned by the sharp contrast.

How could this be in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper was allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appeared on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cried when they sang, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Acorn staged a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations filmed the group singing, ‘We shall overcome’.

Jeremiah Wright then had the group
kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid exclaimed in an interview with Larry King the ant had got rich off the back of the grasshopper,
and both called for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafted the Economic Equity and Anti - Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant was fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and,
having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home was confiscated by the government Green Czar.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he was in, which just happened to be the ant's old house, crumbled around him because he did not maintain it.

The ant had disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper was found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, was taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorized the once peaceful neighborhood.

Moral of the story: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

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Submitted by Don Amend on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 10:40am.

This is a cute fable, but realistically, it leaves out a crucial point, probably because including that point would show the fallacy of conservative thought.

You see, in real life, the grasshopper is the ultimate libertarian. He really is responsible only for himself, and he does just what he wants to do--eat and enjoy right now.

The ant, on the other hand, is not an independent soul, but part of a colony. His whole responsibility is, not to himself, but to that colony and its queen, and as part of that machine, he is able to survive the winter. If he were truly on his own, he'd die in a very short time, no matter how hard he worked.

Taking that into consideration, one might conclude from the fable that community is crucial to survival, and that total self-reliance leads to disaster.

However, since humans are neither ants nor grasshoppers, we have the choice of choosing the best of both worlds--individualism and community (of which government is one component) to maximize the success--maybe even the survival--of our nation.

Simplistic fables, like rigid political philosophies, rarely tell the whole truth.

Don Amend
Powell, Wyoming

Submitted by blowback on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 6:19pm.

Did they replant Bill yet?

Submitted by AtHomeGym on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 12:42pm.

Fables be dammned--tell us what it's like where you live and what you think. Having spent some time in both Laramie & Cody, my impressions were that locals are some of the most patriotic and freedom-loving folks I've ever met. You agree or not? And if you agree, tell me just how those values match up with current administration actions. Regardless, your views welcomed and if you're not careful, you just might get a shot of Southern hospitality!

maximus's picture
Submitted by maximus on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 12:28pm.

We aren’t required to live in colonies like they do in the insect-cultures of China, NYC, San Francisco, Boston, etc. The purpose of the federal government is to keep invading foreign grasshoppers out. We gladly give up part of our production to support that. The purpose of the State/local government in this fable would be to stop the lazy grasshopper from stealing what we have produced. Again, we gladly give up part of our production to support that. The problem, of course, is when you have more lazy grasshoppers than ants. Then they just elect a group of like-minded do-nothing worms to take everything that the ants produce.


Main Stream's picture
Submitted by Main Stream on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 11:44am.

Thanks for joining in the discussion here in Fayette County, a hotbed of fanatical conservatism where "simplistic fables" are the norm and Limbaugh and Fox News are like french fries for their minds. Yummy to eat, but no nutritional value.


meanoldconservatives's picture
Submitted by meanoldconservatives on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 12:54pm.

Yes Don, welcome to the discussion. As Yellow Stream indicated, this is a conservative hotbed. She is a liberal gadfly who drops by occasionally, usually when on lunch break at McDonalds. She frequently mentions french fries because that is what she does for a living. She is supposedly the french fry "chef" at our local McDonalds. She is very bitter about her miserable life and reminds us constantly. Apparently food stamps are much easier to qualify for in Georgia, because she lives here while hating it soooooooo much. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. But, that is the liberal way....


Submitted by Don Amend on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 5:19pm.

I notice that several responses to my post missed the point of what I said--not surprising.
Having lived in NW Wyoming for nearly all my life (I'm 65), I can tell you
that it is just as conservative as Fayetteville, and listening to and observing conservatives for as long as I have has taught me that the extreme conservative position is a fantasy. That is why I've become more liberal as I age.
Conservative Wyoming was purchased by the federal government (the Louisiana Purchase), it's borders were defined by the federal government, and it was settled with a lot of help from the federal government through subsidized transcontinental railroads (the UP and others), irrigation projects and land ownership (i.e. the homestead act,) not to mention the U.S. Cavalry (Gen. Custer died not too far from here) which swept the Native Americans out of the way.
Powell, where I live is an example. the community owes its life to the Bureau of Recreation, which built the Buffalo Bill Dam and the irrigation project that enables agriculture in what is desert land. All this was after Buffalo Bill tried to develop the area privately and failed, despite spending much of his personal fortune. Had the government not taken over, Powell would literally not exist.
The town itself was laid out by the BuRec., and homesteads were awarded as late as the 1940s. They went to veterans of World War II, and were small compensation for their service, but they were available because of the actions of the federal government.
In addition, local agriculture gained another government benefit courtesy of the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp, where Japanese American internees developed part of the land and extended the irrigation system. After they left, the buildings at the camp were given away, and many homesteaders lived in them for a few years while developing their farms.
In addition, a major crop is sugar beets, which are profitable courtesy of the federal government because the Sugar Act, which limits imports of cheap sugar.
The last figures I saw show Wyoming receives 1.35 from the feds for every dollar we pay in taxes, and we depend on tourism enabled by federal highway spending, and air travel into the region is courtesy of federal and local government subsidies.
So Wyoming conservatives talk a lot about independence, but our situation belies it.
Nobody exists totally on self-reliance. We are all part of an economic and political system and we all benefit from it in various ways. On the other hand, we are all jealous of our freedoms and resent being told what to do. Those of us who deny either reality, that is, the extremists of both ends of the spectrum, are either blind to reality or hypocritical.

D Amend

Cyclist's picture
Submitted by Cyclist on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 5:51pm.

Welcome!

Anyways your "both ends of the spectrum" analogy is true. After all, we have "watch the hate talk" Princess Pelosi and Vice perpetrator Biden and his puppy Reid and "I'll nationalize the oil companies" Maxine Waters. Someone has to keep these liberals in check. Smiling
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Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.


Main Stream's picture
Submitted by Main Stream on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 3:55pm.

...your conservative christian values are showing again.


NUK_1's picture
Submitted by NUK_1 on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 11:07am.

I don't know if I'm ready to have to think too much, and your post had a lot of insight into the overall big picture. My head is starting to hurt and I'd rather you not do that again, OK?


Submitted by Davids mom on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 11:05am.

However, since humans are neither ants nor grasshoppers, we have the choice of choosing the best of both worlds--individualism and community (of which government is one component) to maximize the success--maybe even the survival--of our nation.
Over the years I've been watching China carefully move towards choosing the best of both worlds and create a society more like what we have in the United States. Thanks for sharing.

Submitted by skyspy on Wed, 09/16/2009 - 8:18am.

barney frankenstein wrote and passed legislation that would ensure the grasshopper and other green insects had homes whether they could afford them or not. It was the Grasshopper and other Unemployed Insects Housing Act, GUIHA. This act was established specifically for green insects with no ability to qualify for a mortgage, so they could own a home with zero down and interest only payments for the first 6 months. Just because they have no inclination to work for a living doesn't mean they should not be GIVEN the American dream.

Let's keep all of the free lunch programs coming.

mudcat's picture
Submitted by mudcat on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 8:01pm.

Tell me and MOC what is wrong with the parable.

BTW, Bush is nowhere in the story. Try and respond without Bushbashing.


Robert W. Morgan's picture
Submitted by Robert W. Morgan on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 5:46am.

It wasn't that hard to figure out if one had a room-tempature IQ and did even a little bit of research.

Fortunately, the Obama idol voters have no reason to show up in November 2010 and that's where the real hope and change will happen. I have never felt more confident about a shift in power happening then. Every day brings us a new blessing. ACORN's meltdown will really help.


Cyclist's picture
Submitted by Cyclist on Mon, 09/14/2009 - 8:26pm.

That pretty much sums it up!!
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Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.


meanoldconservatives's picture
Submitted by meanoldconservatives on Mon, 09/14/2009 - 8:37pm.

Sad, but true!


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