Nothing Profound here, just what came while eating lunch today.
Some years ago, I read a story that not only has great insight, but it quite funny. The story is supposed to be of a study that was conducted using monkeys. I think the study is fictional. Although I so wish it were legit.
Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, you'll see a banana hanging on a string with a set of stairs placed under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, all of the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.
After a while, another monkey makes an attempt to obtain the banana. As soon as his foot touches the stairs, all of the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. It's not long before all of the other monkeys try to prevent any monkey from climbing the stairs.
Now, put away the cold water, remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him as he makes his way toward the stairs. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana.
I see 3 lessons to be learned here.
1. There is always some jerk ready to throw cold water on you even when you are doing nothing wrong. Trust me on this, as I have often been that jerk holding the hose.
2. Beware of improper goals. Society is great at setting the prize in sight, but placing it out of reach. It seems just a wee bit scumbagish to set the banana out of reach or in a place that should be reachable but lining the path with landmines.
3. Perhaps the greatest moral to be gained is this: ask questions. Plato suggested living an examined life. It seems absurd that the monkeys in the cage at the end of the story continued to attack each other without knowing why. How more absurd for us humans.
I can list a number of times that I have been verbally maligned for not believing in Darwinian Evolution by those who think it true. However, most, if not all, have been unable to provide cogent, legitimate reasons that they believe this theory to be true. On the other side of the coin, I have also received harsh treatment by a number of fellow church members for my stance on young earth vs. old earth. I am not a young earth person (not an area I have studied to a great extent), but few, if any, young earth proponents I have spoken to can logically defend their stance. The point is to ask questions, seek to know the what, why and how. Relying on what you heard some “smart” person say is a recipe for shallow, un-defendable beliefs. Just because ‘that is the way it has always been done’ does not make it right. Just ask the monkey most recently placed in the cage.
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