It's a rare kid that hasn't heard the children's story "The Three Little Pigs". The three brother pigs set off to make their way in the bacon-eating world and are each beset over time by the evil character, The Big Bad Wolf.
Depending on how each pig built their domicile, straw, twigs, and brick, gave the wolf his main advantage in gaining entry and being the uninvited guest for dinner.
I remember reading this story to my own little ones, trying to get them to connect the moral of the story with their own choices. Now, these would be limited to what toy to play with and becoming a more creative story teller themselves.
It wasn't until years later when I got to revisit this classic tale that I realized what the true moral was. I'd always seen it as being prepared in life so you could protect yourself against stronger and potentially destructive people.
Well, that is part of it, but I think if we look at the Big Bad Wolf himself (Herself, to be politically correct) we have another, more important take-away message:
Avoid those people in life that are full of themselves and the hot air of self importance. They can only see their own desires and will fill their bellies with you and your dreams of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The individual's rights become an easy target if they are not built on a solid foundation; using strong laws to shore up any weakness in the walls protecting them.
Feeling safe and secure behind flimsy safeguards for our freedoms is as foolish as using straw or twigs to build our fortress against the winds of The Big Bad Wolf. We may feel we've done enough to safeguard ourselves, but without the solid bricks of law and order, we are like so much pork in the pot.
3 comments:
What a great post, Francesca. I never thought of those aspects of the children's story. Protecting yourself and your dreams from those who would "eat you up" is so important. I've seen memes on FB that express that very thing. Remove yourself from those who try to bring you down. That's really hard if it's a relative, but sometimes it's necessary to protect the dream.
So true, Francesca. Great way to apply an old fairy tale to today's world. :)
An interesting new take on an old nursery rhyme, Francesca.
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