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This is what is wrong with our society

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, that it only took a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish. The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor.”

The American scoffed. “I am a Wharton MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “Fifteen or twenty years.”

“But what then, señor?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions, señor? Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

We just don’t really think things through.

We buy an expensive house that needs a good job to keep going then we spend hours commuting to that job and don’t see the kids until they are asleep. Then we miss their special events, their first words, starting to walk, schools plays, helping them with homework and then we say it is all for the family.

That is our species in general. Never happy with what we have and too dumb to recognise what we have in our hands is all we really need.

Me, I know what I want and I’m building on it. It won’t make me popular but it will make me happy.

8 comments to This is what is wrong with our society

  • Northern Raider

    Similar analogy over people who commute to dumps like London

    “Commute at great expense to earn money to pay for an overpriced house in a soulless dormitory town that allows you to live near enough to the city to be able to commute at great expense to earn the money to pay for an overpriced house in a soulless dormitory town. !!!!!

  • iaaems

    At least we seem to be arriving at the conclusion that the current way of ‘doing business’ is heading for a crash scenario and by its original concept was almost doomed to fail anyway. I certainly have very little confidence in the current administration to do the decent thing and get to grips with it all – they will look after number one first and possibly get around to the rest of it sometime later. Not a pleasant prospect and if ‘we’ are awake to the possibility of this then some kind of provision can by made by each of us as our circumstances allow.

  • Northern Raider

    Iaaems, CAPITALISM is the absolute totally worst form of government that you can have, until you see the other options.

  • iaaems

    NR, I am not going to have an argument on this subject – but could we just agree that under the heading of Capitalism, in its general form, there are a few subheadings and that the form of government that we have at the moment in GB is that which could be described as Crony Capitalism?
    None of the systems we could have is perfect I would say because there is always some clever dick who finds a way of getting more of something by exploiting a ‘loop hole’ in the system. Mostly these ‘clever dicks’ are of the none too pleasant variety and it seems to be getting worse as the years march on.
    Generally I agree with the sentiment that you express.

    • Northern Raider

      Could not agree more Iaaems old chap, indeed old school tie, old boy network, Croney Capitalism is very good right up their with Champagne Socialist and Rural Multi Culturalist 🙂

      I’m of the belief our political classes are just three sides of the same utterly corrupt and self serving elite that don’t give a damn about the vast majority of ordinary people.

      Capitalism and Socialism in both its current forms only leads to higher taxation, more poverty and more greed.

  • Northern Raider

    I believe the best form of government is the one that governs the least, taxes the minimum, spends the least and lets people take responsibility for their own lives. I do not believe in the welfare state.

  • lightspeed

    SD your comment is spot on:

    <>

    I wonder how many of us have climbed that greasy pole?

    There is an old German country saying that simply goes:

    ” Too soon old……Too late smart ”

    In my case I’m hoping that is isn’t too late 🙂

  • Me_Again

    Voices of despondency or just realists?
    Difficult to know sometimes whether you’re depressed because of the way things are or just depressed at the thought of trying to do something about it.

    I have a vain hope that something good will happen in May and then it will be repeated next May. I don’t want to think a lot further than that or how many leaflets I’m going to need to deliver to wake people up. Nothing is perfect it’s just a matter of working out how much imperfection you’ll tolerate before a fuse pops.

    I don’t know about you guys but I seem to operate on two or maybe three distinct levels.

    1. Everyday mild mannered Clark Kent mode. Pushing the buttons, playing the game. To the world just another Joe, laugh to order, smile to order, dig the garden walk the dog.

    2. Cynical mode. Doubter of others, doubter of leaders, suspicious of strangers, always looking a few feet further ahead than most. Doubt there is a solution to the obvious problems without some sort of ‘reset’ being applied.

    3. Planner mode. Thinker. Resolute in defence of family. Look ahead, plan ahead, take action and prepare for the worst, hope for the best.