{"id":295,"date":"2022-10-26T05:20:16","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T05:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brucecampaign.org\/?p=295"},"modified":"2022-10-26T05:20:17","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T05:20:17","slug":"parable-the-president-has-no-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/?p=295","title":{"rendered":"Parable: The President Has No Weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Origin: Hans Christian Andersen (1837)<\/strong><\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Parable:<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Many months ago there was a President so exceedingly fond of new weapons that he spent all his country’s money on being well armed. He cared nothing about reviewing his soldiers, going to the theatre, or going for a ride in his Airforce One, except to show off his new weapons. He had a weapon for every hour of the day, and instead of saying, as one might, about any other ruler, \u201cThe President is in council,\u201d here they always said. \u201cThe President is in his arms manufacturer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the great city where he lived, everyone was trying to be rich. Every day many corporate CEOs came to town, and among them one day came two swindlers. They let it be known they were weapons manufacturers, and they said they could build the most magnificent weapons imaginable. Not only were their missiles smart and launchers uncommonly fine, but these missiles made of this tech had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to anyone who was unfit for his office, or who was unusually stupid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose would be just the weapons for me,\u201d thought the President. \u201cIf I used them I would be able to discover which men in my empire are unfit for their posts. And I could tell the wise men from the fools. Yes, I certainly must get some of the stuff manufactured for me right away.\u201d He paid the two swindlers a large sum of money to start work at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They set up two military industrial complexes and pretended to build, though there was nothing in the warehouses. All the finest technology and the purest super conducting metals which they demanded went into their traveling semi trucks, while they worked the empty warehouses far into the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to know how those weapons manufacturers are getting on with the missiles,\u201d the Emperor thought, but he felt slightly uncomfortable when he remembered that those who were unfit for their position would not be able to see the missiles. It couldn\u2019t have been that he doubted himself, yet he thought he\u2019d rather send someone else to see how things were going. The whole town knew about the missiles peculiar power, and all were impatient to find out how stupid their neighbors were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll send my honest old Secretary of Defense to the weapons manufacturers,\u201d the Emperor decided. \u201cHe\u2019ll be the best one to tell me how the material looks, for he\u2019s a sensible man and no one does his duty better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the honest old Secretary of Defense went to the factory where the two swindlers sat working away at their empty warehouses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeaven help me,\u201d he thought as his eyes flew wide open, \u201cI can\u2019t see anything at all\u201d. But he did not say so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both the swindlers begged him to be so kind as to come near to approve the excellent pattern, the beautiful colors. They pointed to the empty warehouses, and the poor old Secretary of Defense stared as hard as he dared. He couldn\u2019t see anything, because there was nothing to see. \u201cHeaven have mercy,\u201d he thought. \u201cCan it be that I\u2019m a fool? I\u2019d have never guessed it, and not a soul must know. Am I unfit to be the minister? It would never do to let on that I can\u2019t see the missiles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t hesitate to tell us what you think of it,\u201d said one of the CEOs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, it\u2019s beautiful -it\u2019s enchanting.\u201d The old Secretary of Defense peered through his spectacles. \u201cSuch a pattern, what colors!\u201d I\u2019ll be sure to tell the President how delighted I am with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pleased to hear that,\u201d the swindlers said. They proceeded to name all the colors and to explain the intricate pattern. The old Secretary of Defense paid the closest attention, so that he could tell it all to the President. And so he did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The swindlers at once asked for more money, more microchips and gold, to get on with the building. But it all went into their pockets. Not a microchip went into the warehouses, though they worked at their construction as hard as ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President presently sent another trustworthy official, the Secretary of State, to see how the work progressed and how soon it would be ready. The same thing happened to him that had happened to the Secretary of Defense. He looked and he looked, but as there was nothing to see in the warehouses he couldn\u2019t see anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t it a beautiful piece of goods?\u201d the swindlers asked him, as they displayed and described their imaginary pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know I\u2019m not stupid,\u201d the man thought, \u201cso it must be that I\u2019m unworthy of my good office. That\u2019s strange. I mustn\u2019t let anyone find it out, though.\u201d So he praised the material he did not see. He declared he was delighted with the beautiful colors and the exquisite pattern. To the President he said, \u201cIt held me spellbound.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the corporate media was talking of this splendid weaponry, and the President wanted to see it for himself while it was still in the warehouses. Attended by a band of chosen men, among whom were his two old trusted officials-the ones who had been to the factories-he set out to see the two swindlers. He found them building with might and main, but without a microchip in their machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMagnificent,\u201d said the two officials already duped. \u201cJust look, Your Presidency, what colors! What a design!\u201d They pointed to the empty factories, each supposing that the others could see the stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d thought the President. \u201cI can\u2019t see anything. This is terrible!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I a fool? Am I unfit to be the President? What a thing to happen to me of all people! \u2014 Oh! It\u2019s\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0pretty,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has my highest approval.\u201d And he nodded approbation at the empty loom. Nothing could make him say that he couldn\u2019t see anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His whole retinue stared and stared. One saw no more than another, but they all joined the President in exclaiming, \u201cOh! It\u2019s\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0pretty,\u201d and they advised him to use the missiles made of this wonderful material especially for the great war against Russia he was soon to lead. \u201cMagnificent! Excellent! Unsurpassed!\u201d were bandied from mouth to mouth, and everyone did his best to seem well pleased. The President gave each of the swindlers a Medal of Honor, and billions more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the procession the swindlers sat up all night and burned more than six million barrels of oil, to show how busy they were finishing the President’s new weapons. They pretended to take the weapons off the factory. They made cuts in the air with huge scissors. And at last they said, \u201cNow the President\u2019s new weapons are ready for him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the President himself came with his noblest noblemen, and the swindlers each raised an arm as if they were holding something. They said, \u201cThese are the missiles, here\u2019s the fighter jet, and this is the air defense system,\u201d naming each weapon. \u201cAll of them are as light as a spider web. One would almost think Ukraine had nothing, but that\u2019s what makes them so fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExactly,\u201d all the noblemen agreed, though they could see nothing, for there was nothing to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Your Imperial Presidency will condescend to take your old weapons off,\u201d said the swindlers, \u201cwe will help you on with your new ones here in front of the CIA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President got rid of the country’s old weapons, and the swindlers pretended to put his new weapons in Ukraine, one missile after another. They took him around the base and seemed to be fastening something \u2014 that was his train-as the President turned round and round before the CIA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow well Your Presidency’s new weapons look. Aren\u2019t they becoming!\u201d He heard on all sides, \u201cThat pattern, so perfect! Those colors, so suitable! It is a magnificent outfit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the Whitehouse Press Secretary announced: \u201cYour Presidency’s bullet proof car is waiting outside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m supposed to be ready,\u201d the President said, and turned again for one last look in the mirror. \u201cIt is a remarkable fit, isn\u2019t it?\u201d He seemed to regard his costume with the greatest interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The noblemen who were to carry his train stooped low and reached for the floor as if they were picking up his mantle. Then they pretended to lift and hold it high. They didn\u2019t dare admit they had nothing to hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So off went the President to proxy war in Ukraine under his splendid jets. Everyone in the streets and the windows said, \u201cOh, how fine are the President\u2019s new weapons! Don\u2019t they work to perfection? And see his long train!\u201d Nobody would confess that he couldn\u2019t see anything, for that would prove him either unfit for his position, or a fool. No costume the President had worn before was ever such a complete success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut he hasn\u2019t got any weapons,\u201d a little child said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you ever hear such innocent prattle?\u201d said its father. And one person whispered to another what the child had said, \u201cHe hasn\u2019t any weapons. A child says he hasn\u2019t any weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut he hasn\u2019t got any weapons!\u201d the whole country cried out at last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, \u201cThis Ukraine proxy war has got to go on.\u201d So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn\u2019t there at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Imagine this is Biden with Donkeys.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Origin: Hans Christian Andersen (1837) Parable: Many months ago there was a President so exceedingly fond of new weapons that he spent all his country’s money on being well armed. He cared nothing about reviewing […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[33,30,31],"class_list":{"0":"post-295","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"tag-putin","9":"tag-russia","10":"tag-ukraine"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":298,"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions\/298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpt-v52m.104-36-62-101.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}