The Scorpion and the Frog

Like so many of my close friends, I shed a few tears of joy on Tuesday night, and I have been feeling great hope and happiness over the fact that for the first time in a very long time, we have President who will bring us peace, pride, and maybe even prosperity, though the latter is going to take some time and some help from the other side of the aisle. That last point is the one that worries me.

Republicans and Republican law-makers, (especially now that they are a waning force of white people), will not pitch in to help even though they know it is the right thing to do. In fact they will do everything in their power to make Obama and the forces of good fail. They remind me of one of my favorite fables: The Scorpion and the Frog. Here's a summary of the Wikipedia entry for those who have forgotten it:

The Scorpion and the Frog is a fable often mis-attributed to Aesop. The story is about a scorpion asking a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is afraid of being stung, but the scorpion reassures him that if it stung the frog, the frog would sink and the scorpion would drown as well. The frog then agrees; nevertheless, in mid-river, the scorpion stings him, dooming the two of them. When asked why, the scorpion explains, "I'm a scorpion; it's my nature."

The story is sometimes told with a turtle or fox in place of the frog.

It is often quoted to illustrate the purportedly insuppressible nature of one's self at its base level.

The right wing talkers are the worst scorpions of all. I read on a friend's blog that Rush Limbaugh actually referred to our next President as a "Chicago thug!"

My advice to the next Prez: You can sit down and talk with the scorpions, and even tolerate their prattle, but never, never, never let them get on your back.

Be strong,

~ tom