Everyone knows the story of Alladin, right? It's one of the more popular "1001 Arabian Nights" stories.
Well, it looks like we've become a society that has taken the lesson of Alladin to heart and we're all the worse for it.
THE LESSON OF ALLADIN
Gotta keep
One jump ahead of the breadline
One swing ahead of the sword
I steal only what I can't afford
( That's Everything! )
And I've always enjoyed Disney's version of Alladin, in general, but there's one thing that bothers me.
One jump ahead of the lawmen
That's all, and that's no joke
These guys don't appreciate I'm broke
One jump ahead of the slowpokes
One skip ahead of my doom
Next time gonna use a nom de plume
One jump ahead of the hitmen
One hit ahead of the flock
I think I'll take a stroll around the block
And yes, I understand it's only fiction, but we seem to have taken the lesson from this book and applied to to our lives.
Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat
Otherwise we'd get along
BEGGARS IN EVERYDAY LIFE
It used to be that you'd see young, unfortunately bikini-clad young ladies waving "Car Wash" signs at traffic. That was bad enough.
But, these days, have you noticed that the theoretically responsible adults are sending kids into traffic to beg for money because, "Our vollyball team has been invited to participate in 'Nationals' and we're 'raising money' for the trip to Orlando" or whatever the excuse-du-jour happens to be.
So, now our public school children are being taught that begging is an honorable, acceptable way of getting money for whatever you need it for. I've even seen a fully-grown woman raising money for her divorce by holding a sign up to traffic.
Nevermind that, like Alladin, they are fully capable to work for their money (and I seem to recall a Bible verse about something like working and eating...) Begging is easier.
GOTTA EAT TO LIVE, GOTTA LIE TO EAT....
And then, there's this.
Why did this guy fake his interviews? "Freelance writer Bjoern Benkow said in a statement that the interviews,
published in Norwegian and Swedish media, were partially concocted
because of financial 'desperation,'"
In other words, he had to lie because he needed to eat. Apparently, there weren't any other actual stories to be written and he was unable to do any other work.
WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO
So, how are you combating this societal trend in your children? Or are you fitting them out with a cardboard sign and old soup can?
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