A MAN DISCOVERED a mouse in his house, and was not pleased about it. But he didn't want to kill. So, he caught the mouse in a clever trap, alive, and took it out into the country, to set it free in its natural wilderness habitat.
Within thirty seconds after setting it free and watching it scurry away, a big hawk swooped down, snatched it in its beak in a flash, and flew into the sky, enjoying his snack. The thought suddenly occured to the man that where there was one mouse, like, in his house, there were usually more.
Rush Limbaugh, our american radio entertainer icon of ultra consrvatism, told this story, and if memory serves, claimed it was true. It really doesn't matter. What matters is what one makes of this story. Rush, predictably, used it to point out the uselessness of compassion, and the inevitability of the competitive (capitalistic) world.
a quick note to our russian readers; rush limbaugh, and many american conservatives, believe that liberal compassion, such as welfare programs or cigarette warnings, is either a trick to increase the power of government, or a condescending disrespect for the abilities of others. to conservatives, compassion is nothing more than giving everyone the same opprotunity.
What i make of the story is that the man did the right thing, and it made a positive difference in the world; a hawk got a meal he otherwise wouldn't have had. the mouse got a second chance. The human who released the mouse got the satisfaction of morally correct behavior.
Then rush told the story of two sea otters who, after having been covered with an oil spill, were cleaned up, and released back into the ocean - only to be eaten soon thereafter by a huge killer whale.
Again, rush limbaugh, typically conservative, disparaging compassion. But, as usual , rush is wrong; the killer whale needs to eat too. compassion is never unnecessary, or unrewarded. By our human compassion we lift ourselves above the kingdom of animal savage barbarity.
And other than that, there aint musch difference, really. So let's keep acting with compassion, and lifting.
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