PARABLE OF THE FLASHLIGHT

by Mr. Mean-Spirited



 

Think of the United States as a decaying town slowly being reclaimed by the jungle. You might have purchased an emergency flashlight when times were better, but the light of civilization is slowly going out no matter what. There are only a few remaining streetlights flickering in the distance – bulbs that are deliberately broken by the immigrant youth in a game of midnight basketball. You could add your light to the sum of light – and hope to keep the culture shining a little longer. Perhaps that added illumination might be enough for that generator to be repaired – perhaps, but not very likely. Chances are that that glow would be squandered in something as useless as a political campaign. Hell, with the kind of people in government, your flashlight would probably just be confiscated by the ruling elite and then damaged by some liberal who didn’t understand how the device worked. You can’t take the risk that other people might learn what you might have in your pocket.

You are better off keeping that Maglite all to yourself. If you are caught in the shadows with only a single flashlight to your name, the best thing you can do is to shut the damn thing off and hoard the battery. You never appreciate the darkness so fully as when you know you can flick the light back on when you get far away from the rest of society. When the lights are going out all over Western culture, the wisest thing to do is to gather up your belongings and proceed into the mountains. You might be on your own – but you never gave up your own light.