Parable for Ishmael
There was once a very rich and ambitious man. He had everything he could ever want. One day, he realized there was something he wanted which he did not already have. He realized he had yet to possess his very own city.
And so, the man set about building his own city. He built the most wonderful city there ever was. Railroad, banks, apartments, restaurants, parks, all the things one could ever want in a city. When the city was complete, he found people, and invited them to live in this wonderful city of his. The conditions were perfect. The economy was thriving, the people were happy, and no one could ask for anything more.
Then one day, something disrupted the perfect city. A building sunk into the ground. The man, however, was not worried. He simply said to himself, "Not to worry, I have enough money; I will build a new one in place of the old one." And so he did. Things were back to normal, and everyone was happy again.
And then, another building sunk into the ground. The man thought nothing of it, and built a new one in place of it. However, the buildings did not stop sinking. The buildings sunk one after the other and the man built and built and built. However, the man could not win. The buildings were disappearing into the ground much faster than he could build them. One day, the man woke in despair to find that all the buildings had gone. The city was no more.
The man wandered around his "city" in despair, wondering what had led to its collapse. He had hired the best company. He had used the best materials. He had maintained the excellent conditions of the buildings. He had... Suddenly, his foot sunk into the ground. The man looked down and saw that he was standing on nothing other than sand.
Labels: global ethics
