The Questioning Monkey
“Maybe we can’t use force,” Kiyoko said, “but we still need the equivalent of an army. Do you have a plan other than making videos that not many people will see?”
“We’ve been talking about that,” Waylee said. Do you know the Monkey Master fable?”
“Um... no.”
Waylee wracked her brain for the details. “This old man kept a group of monkeys in a stockade and ordered them to go into the forest and collect fruits for him every day. Each monkey had to give a portion of their fruit to the old man, and if they didn’t meet their quota, they were ruthlessly flogged. But none of the monkeys dared to complain.
“One day, one of the monkeys asked the others, ‘Did the old man plant all the fruit trees and bushes in the forest?’
“The others said: ‘No, they were provided by nature.’
“The questioning monkey then asked, ‘Why do we need the old man’s permission to come here and gather fruit for ourselves? Why do we have to give him a portion while he sits at home doing nothing? Why do we go back to the stockade and let ourselves be flogged?’
“The others realized he was right. They returned to the stockade and tore down the walls. They reclaimed the fruits the old man had taken from them, and never returned.
“The moral’s obvious, I hope,” Waylee concluded.
Kiyoko exhaled. “People don’t need to follow the orders of a tyrant, and as soon as they realize that, they can free themselves.”
“That’s as good an interpretation as any. Dictators and oligarchs can only rule as long as people let them. I thought our Super Bowl video would be like the questioning monkey, but unfortunately MediaCorp drowned out our message. But they can’t do that forever. The more lies they tell, the more they ultimately discredit themselves to the point where no one will believe them. We have to keep at it, and at the same time, encourage people to organize.”
Shakti nodded. “A quick solution was unrealistic.”
-- from Zero-Day Rising
“We’ve been talking about that,” Waylee said. Do you know the Monkey Master fable?”
“Um... no.”
Waylee wracked her brain for the details. “This old man kept a group of monkeys in a stockade and ordered them to go into the forest and collect fruits for him every day. Each monkey had to give a portion of their fruit to the old man, and if they didn’t meet their quota, they were ruthlessly flogged. But none of the monkeys dared to complain.
“One day, one of the monkeys asked the others, ‘Did the old man plant all the fruit trees and bushes in the forest?’
“The others said: ‘No, they were provided by nature.’
“The questioning monkey then asked, ‘Why do we need the old man’s permission to come here and gather fruit for ourselves? Why do we have to give him a portion while he sits at home doing nothing? Why do we go back to the stockade and let ourselves be flogged?’
“The others realized he was right. They returned to the stockade and tore down the walls. They reclaimed the fruits the old man had taken from them, and never returned.
“The moral’s obvious, I hope,” Waylee concluded.
Kiyoko exhaled. “People don’t need to follow the orders of a tyrant, and as soon as they realize that, they can free themselves.”
“That’s as good an interpretation as any. Dictators and oligarchs can only rule as long as people let them. I thought our Super Bowl video would be like the questioning monkey, but unfortunately MediaCorp drowned out our message. But they can’t do that forever. The more lies they tell, the more they ultimately discredit themselves to the point where no one will believe them. We have to keep at it, and at the same time, encourage people to organize.”
Shakti nodded. “A quick solution was unrealistic.”
-- from Zero-Day Rising
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