Buzz
Once upon a time, there existed a society that could definitely benefit from a few lessons from classic, often anthropomorphized fables. And that society? Well, it’s us, right here, right now.
Here are ten valuable lessons for today’s world, borrowed from lazy pigs, dramatic chickens, and, naturally, the infamous big bad wolves.
10. The Three Little Pigs
The Plot: Three pigs each build a house. The first uses straw, the second sticks, and the third uses bricks. Along comes a big, bad wolf (who isn’t quite kosher), easily destroying the straw and stick homes with his huffing and puffing. The two pigs run to the brick house, which proves much sturdier. The wolf tries entering through the chimney but ends up boiling himself alive.
The Lesson: Clearly, straws and sticks aren’t suitable materials for construction, particularly for those at the bottom of the food chain. The pig that put in the effort to build a sturdy brick house was best equipped to face life’s inevitable trials, even when faced with predators.
Modern-day Application: The pig who built with bricks wasn’t just better prepared than his fellow pigs, but also outpaced a large portion of humanity. While humans are gifted with intelligence and agility (and a less appetizing physique), many fail to develop either.
Exercise? Proper nutrition? Reading something longer than a Tweet? These all require EFFORT. Just like a well-built house, self-care—the one thing truly under our control—pays off when life’s difficulties come knocking.
Is it a mere coincidence that COVID-19 death rates are 10 times higher in countries suffering from obesity epidemics? We consume more junk than pigs… and then expect to face a global health crisis without crumbling. Even pigs know better (well, at least one in three).
9. Little Red Riding Hood
The plot: In another classic tale featuring a big, bad, home-invading wolf, a young girl sets off to visit her grandmother, traveling through both river and forest. Despite promising her mother not to talk to strangers, the talkative girl not only converses with a predatory wolf but also reveals her destination.
Depending on the version, the wolf either eats the grandmother or locks her in a closet. Then, in an elaborate disguise, the wolf dresses as an elderly woman so convincingly that the girl—who is either extremely myopic or astonishingly naïve—falls for it. Only a woodsman, alerted by the girl's screams as the wolf reveals his true intentions, saves her from becoming the main course.
The Lesson: Don’t place blind trust in everyone you meet, or risk ending up as the prey (or letting your grandmother fall victim).
Modern-day Application: Where do we even start? Perhaps with the left-wing fools who fail to realize that networks like CNN often spin stories or exaggerate issues, generally to sensationalize something a conservative figure said in order to increase viewership? Or the right-wing fools who staunchly believe, against all evidence, that their candidate won the last election?
Far too few people possess reliable bullshit detectors these days. The inability to spot ulterior motives – the wolves disguised as grandmothers – contributes to the deepening polarization in Western society, especially in America.
8. The Boy Who Cried Wolf
The Plot: A young shepherd boy, tasked with watching a flock of sheep near his peaceful village, decides to stir things up a bit. He shouts, “Wolf! Wolf!” summoning the villagers with the name of the classic fairytale villain. The townsfolk rush to his aid, only to find no wolf and the boy laughing. He repeats the prank a few more times.
Finally, the real wolf arrives, probably irritated from hearing all the false alarms. With no boiling water or heroic woodsmen to save the day, he begins devouring sheep. “Wolf! Wolf!” cries the boy again. But this time, no one listens. Not even the mighty Shepherd’s Union can help him keep his job.
The Lesson: A liar will not be trusted, even when they speak the truth.
Modern-day Application: While the story of Little Red Riding Hood addresses gullibility, this tale highlights its opposite: a societal cynicism that arises from years of being misled by those in power.
Politicians, journalists, corporate heads, and union leaders alike – all known for their dishonesty, leading the public to throw their hands up and say, “they’re all lying, so who cares?” This creates an environment where truth and falsehood are indistinguishable, even in the clearest situations – a result of years of deception and disappointment that leaves everyone confused and distrustful.
7. Jack and the Beanstalk
The story: A penniless young man swaps his cow for a handful of magic beans, an exchange that explains why he's broke in the first place. His mother, unimpressed, tosses them out the window, likely while performing a quick search of Jack's room for any other questionable items. But the following morning, Jack wakes up to find a giant stalk reaching up to the sky. Naturally, he climbs it, as he doesn't seem to have any pressing obligations.
Jack arrives at a cloud, where he finds a giant and a stash of gold coins. Jack proceeds to rob the giant. The next day, he returns to steal a goose that lays golden eggs. Despite now having a steady supply of riches, Jack can’t resist returning for one last treasure – a golden harp. But the harp makes noise, and the giant gives chase. Jack narrowly escapes by chopping down the beanstalk, killing the giant in a conclusion that’s far from just.
The moral: Officially, the story teaches us to seize opportunities in life. But considering Jack's actions – stealing from a literal gold-producing factory and being unsatisfied with his newfound wealth – the lesson might be more along the lines of “don’t let greed drive you.”
Contemporary society is deeply entrenched in a culture of excess. From businesses prioritizing short-term profits over ethical responsibility to individuals who believe the next material possession will lead them to happiness, the pursuit of more seems endless. The obsession with accumulating wealth at the expense of personal values is a route to moral decay.
6. The Ugly Duckling
The Story: A duckling is born looking quite out of place, resembling the oddest among the Baldwins—awkward, deformed, and notably unattractive. Even the mother refuses to acknowledge the strange creature as her own; had this been standard behavior, Colin Hanks would surely have had an easier time.
The duckling flees, initially confirming the world’s judgment. A cruel woman and a disgruntled loner label the poor bird as an eyesore. But a compassionate farmer provides shelter for the duckling through the harsh winter. When the duckling returns to the pond, its reflection reveals a graceful swan. In my version, the swan goes on to take vengeance on its family, but that’s probably not the real story.
The Moral: It’s not just unfair but also shortsighted to judge someone based on their differences.
Expelling someone from the group because of their differences? That seems like cancel culture at play. Regardless of physical appearance, everyone is capable of doing ugly things – making mistakes, harboring misconceptions, or acting foolishly. The lack of forgiveness and acceptance in modern society is detrimental and, unfortunately, only worsened by the influence of social media.
Moreover, tribalism itself is inherently ugly. On the left, this manifests in excluding people from 'progressive' political movements simply because their gender, race, or sexual orientation prevents complete empathy. On the right, we see a similar form of ugliness: the scapegoating of minorities, exemplified by the rise of anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Chicken Little
The Story: A reckless little bird gets a bump on the head when a clumsy squirrel drops an acorn. The nut rolls out of view, leaving the dazed chicken puzzled about the cause of the headache.
The small chicken, who seems to consume a lot of sensational news, concludes that the sky is falling. He rallies a group of followers, and they bring their urgent claim to the King. Unconvinced of the looming disaster, the King leads the group back to the scene of the supposed calamity. When the squirrel arrives looking for his lost acorn, the mystery is solved to everyone’s relief.
The Lesson: Turning every minor setback – or knock to the head – into an apocalyptic event is both alarmist and ridiculous.
Modern-day Application: It's clear that many media outlets tend to blow situations completely out of proportion, stretching even moderately important stories into massive, week-long spectacles. A perfect example is CNN's creation of a fake cockpit during their round-the-clock coverage of a missing airplane for an entire month.
Equally absurd is the over-the-top catastrophizing done by ordinary people, especially on social media. Armed with a megaphone, attention-seekers make mountains out of molehills, turning personal issues and minor annoyances into world-shattering crises. They compete for the title of 'Best Online Drama Performance,' fighting for attention amidst a sea of other exaggerators. One of my favorites is when a C-list celebrity dies, and half the internet suddenly acts as though the world has lost a saint, using the tragedy as an opportunity to draw attention to themselves.
4. The Emperor’s New Clothes
The Story: A fashion-obsessed emperor became a living 'Who Wore It Better?' meme. Recognizing his vanity, two swindlers convinced him to commission the most magnificent outfit ever. They promised that the new attire would be so exquisitely made that only the intelligent could perceive it, while the foolish would see nothing at all.
Soon, the king’s men came by to check on the progress. They saw the thieves pretending to cut air with scissors, but to maintain their own reputation, they assured the emperor that the suit was coming along beautifully. When the fabric, which was entirely imaginary, was ‘finished,’ the emperor too played along. He strutted through the town in his ‘new suit’—his birthday suit, to be precise. The townspeople, too afraid to speak out, kept quiet about his exposed royal assets until a young child, untainted by society’s nonsense, finally pointed out the obvious truth.
The Lesson: Don’t let the fear of public criticism stop you from speaking the truth.
Modern-Day Application: Two words: Runaway Wokeness. The reluctance – particularly among sensible centrists and liberals – to call out the over-the-top virtue signaling and purity tests of the extreme left has led to cancel culture, identity-driven selfishness, and absurd ideas like defunding the police.
To quote (US) Democratic Party strategist James Carville: 'Wokeness is a problem and everyone knows it. It’s hard to talk to anybody today who doesn’t say this… But they don’t want to say it out loud.'
3. The Princess and the Pea
The Story: A discerning prince was on a quest for the perfect princess. His RoyalRomance™ app was getting nothing but left swipes, and the ladies at Ye Olde Royal Pub were either too prim and proper or had hay burns on their knees and backs, if you know what I mean.
One rainy evening, a soaked young woman arrived at the castle, claiming to be of royal blood. The prince’s mother, who had an unusual method for testing potential brides, made the girl sleep on a stack of mattresses, with a pea placed under the bottom one. The next morning, when the girl complained of severe back pain, it was declared that she must indeed be a true princess.
The Lesson: I was actually hoping you could tell me. Don’t jump to conclusions? Small things matter a lot?
Do we really want to live in a world where princesses are chosen based on pea-induced back pain? Similarly, do we truly want to live in a society where every tiny “trigger” is scrutinized, sanitized, and policed by the “purest” opinions, rewarded with likes, retweets, and clicks?
Do we really need to shelter people in safe spaces and implant guilt in innocent schoolchildren with a chart showing the “Eight White Identities”? (I’m “White Traitor,” by the way.)
2. The Three Billy Goats Gruff
The Story: Three goats – small, medium, and large – are determined to reach a hill covered in lush, delicious grass. However, their destination is across a deep river, and the only bridge that leads there is guarded by a hungry troll. So basically, it’s a metaphor for several of the regulars in the comment section here.
But these clever goats outwit the irate, half-witted troll. The smallest goat promises that the one behind it is bigger and tastier, and then the second goat repeats the same claim. The third goat is large enough – large enough to gouge out the troll's eyes and trample him into oblivion. With the troll out of the picture, the three goats enjoy the finest grazing fields.
The Lesson: Choose your battles carefully. And if someone else is better equipped to handle a perceived threat, let them take the lead.
Modern-day Application: A major factor driving society’s increased aggressiveness is the inability to simply avoid conflicts and mind one’s own business. From virtue-signaling celebrities ruining the Oscars, to self-righteous college students insisting their social views are the only valid ones, to so-called freedom fighters who believe wearing a mask during a pandemic infringes on their rights, our 'everyone’s an expert' culture shows that no hill is too insignificant for most people to die on.
1. The Pied Piper
The Story: A town plagued by an overwhelming rat infestation is approached by a talented flutist (wink, wink), dressed in a multicolored yellow and red coat (Word of the Day: 'pied' means 'multicolored'). He offers to rid the town of rats for 50 pounds. The mayor agrees, and the Piper puts on a free concert, luring the rats into a river where they drown.
Even though the job was completed, the mayor – a notorious jerk – tries to shortchange the Piper. Enraged, the Piper plays a tune he knows the children will love (Baby Shark?) and leads them away. Depending on the version, the children were either never seen again or met a grim fate like the rats, which seems a bit extreme, but hey, next time, pay the Piper.
The Lesson: If you don't uphold your end of the deal, don’t be surprised when things go sideways.
Modern-day Application: A lot of society seems to have lost the ability to understand cause and effect. For instance, when you outsource and automate jobs, leaving large groups of people behind, they become resentful. And don’t complain when they vote for someone who supports their interests.
If you restrain someone by kneeling on their neck for nine minutes over a minor infraction, and the fatal footage spreads across the internet, you can't be surprised by the widespread public outrage or the lengthy prison sentence that follows. Treating people with fairness, respect, and decency can help avoid or minimize such backlashes.
