Donald Sensing found this delicious fable about a Red Hen and her fair-weather friends. Basically, the Red Hen does all the work, and yet her slacker friends expect to share in the rewards.
To which Red Hen says: "No, you won't. I did all the work. I get the rewards of that work."
The Right. Rev. Sensing justly applies this to our current situation about not allowing France, Russia, Germany, Canada, et. al. to compete for reconstruction contracts. A lot of people think this is a deliberate and gratuitous slap in the face of our allies. I disagree.
In essence, this is about principle. The same principle the fable of the Red Hen is about: If you will not help your neighbor in his work, do not expect a share of your neighbor's reward. Yes, following principle is inconvenient right now, as we are trying to get these nations to forgive Iraq's debt. But if you only follow principles when they're convenient, they're not principles.
Posted by Thief at December 11, 2003 06:38 PM