Quote of the Day: The Trees and the Ax

 

A Woodsman came into the forest and asked the Trees to provide him with a handle for his ax.

Some of the Trees, wishing to save themselves, told the Woodsman where he could find a very young Ash Tree. The Woodsman then pulled the Ash Tree out of the ground.

No sooner had the Woodsman carved the Ash Tree into a sturdy handle than he began to use his ax. He set to work right and left, felling the noblest giants of the forest.

An old Oak, mourning the destruction of the mighty trees which had been his friends, said to a Cedar Tree nearby, “If we had not given up the Ash Tree to please the Woodsman, we might all have stood for hundreds of years.”

Yes, said the Cedar Tree sadly. We should have known that if we want our own lives protected, we must protect the lives of others.

– From Aesop’s Fables, Retold by Ann McGovern

 

 

Maybe the Trees thought the Woodman’s request was no big deal. Maybe they figured that the loss of one puny Ash Tree was nothing to them. Maybe it seemed impolite to refuse the Woodsman. Or worse, who were the Trees to impose their preferences of the poor Woodsman in need of an axe? Oh, the inequity!

But not long after the Woodsman got to work, the Trees mourned the destruction of their friends and neighbors. Like those Trees, we are now mourning the destruction of many American public and private educational institutions, as well as many of the foundational principles upon which our country has been built. Anti-racism is an axe. It is becoming clear that “anti-racism orthodoxy has resulted in the demonization of white people.” Diversity has been gradually whittled into an axe, regardless of its Civil Rights Era form and function. Do the majority of Americans still stand, even silently, against the multiplicity of axes being wielded by woke activists?

The recent statements by individuals objecting to the race-obsessed indoctrination of students at elite private schools in New York City demonstrate that there are still some willing to stand up and protect themselves and others. In general, I’m not so sure that private citizens are silently enduring the assault on our schools and other institutions. Just because most people don’t have a column in a major newspaper or a large following on Twitter doesn’t mean that they’re silent. And yet how many people can hear them beyond their closest family and friends, and possibly coworkers?  That’s why I am heartened to see the attention paid to the serious and substantive letters written by Paul Rossi and Andrew Guttman in opposition to the ideological conformity demanded by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion agenda.

An army of Woodsmen already have been hacking away at truth, justice, and the American Way for years now. Maybe you don’t feel bad for elites with children in fancy NYC private schools, but realize that those elites are in a position to either strengthen or weaken the reach of woke ideology. When they protect themselves, we all benefit.

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  1. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    We who have our own blogs, speak out quite often against what we see happening to our country.  The gentleman who writes the blog, The Naked Dollar, has been following the NYC private school issues closely, and publishes letters and commentary.

    I also publish on my blog at RushBabe49.com.  I did a new post yesterday, on this exact subject.     Diversity…Divides.

    I have no children or grandchildren, but I am appalled at what is going on in the public schools of this country-not just the racism stuff, but the poor quality of instruction, and constant student indoctrination with left-wing propaganda.  I am a supporter of home-schoolers, and the Hillsdale College Barney Charter School Initiative, which funds Classical charter schools all over the country.

    • #1
  2. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Lilly B: Maybe you don’t feel bad for elites with children in fancy NYC private schools, but realize that those elites are in position to either strengthen or weaken the reach of woke ideology. When they protect themselves, we all benefit.

    I don’t think those elites see it that way, and until they do, they are ONLY protecting themselves.

    Indeed it may be those elites who you need to make this argument to, not the rest of us.

    • #2
  3. Lilly B Coolidge
    Lilly B
    @LillyB

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    We who have our own blogs, speak out quite often against what we see happening to our country. The gentleman who writes the blog, The Naked Dollar, has been following the NYC private school issues closely, and publishes letters and commentary.

    I also publish on my blog at RushBabe49.com. I did a new post yesterday, on this exact subject. Diversity…Divides.

    I have no children or grandchildren, but I am appalled at what is going on in the public schools of this country-not just the racism stuff, but the poor quality of instruction, and constant student indoctrination with left-wing propaganda. I am a supporter of home-schoolers, and the Hillsdale College Barney Charter School Initiative, which funds Classical charter schools all over the country.

    Thanks for pointing me to your post. It’s much more thorough on this issue. I so appreciate your effort! 

    • #3
  4. Lilly B Coolidge
    Lilly B
    @LillyB

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Lilly B: Maybe you don’t feel bad for elites with children in fancy NYC private schools, but realize that those elites are in position to either strengthen or weaken the reach of woke ideology. When they protect themselves, we all benefit.

    I don’t think those elites see it that way, and until they do, they are ONLY protecting themselves.

    Indeed it may be those elites who you need to make this argument to, not the rest of us.

    Maybe so, but I think my point is that it doesn’t matter why they take a stand as long as they do. And the rest of us should be supportive of everyone who finds themselves on the “wrong side” of the woke police. No sitting back and popping the popcorn; instead offer sympathy and an invitation to join us in principled opposition. 

    • #4
  5. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Lilly B (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Lilly B: Maybe you don’t feel bad for elites with children in fancy NYC private schools, but realize that those elites are in position to either strengthen or weaken the reach of woke ideology. When they protect themselves, we all benefit.

    I don’t think those elites see it that way, and until they do, they are ONLY protecting themselves.

    Indeed it may be those elites who you need to make this argument to, not the rest of us.

    Maybe so, but I think my point is that it doesn’t matter why they take a stand as long as they do. And the rest of us should be supportive of everyone who finds themselves on the “wrong side” of the woke police. No sitting back and popping the popcorn; instead offer sympathy and an invitation to join us in principled opposition.

    Maybe so.  But I think you underestimate the ability of those people to believe that their children – for example – deserve a good education, but the rabble out there wouldn’t even understand or appreciate it if they got it.  Isn’t that even one of the reasons they send their children to private schools, while trying to restrict or even eliminate private schools for everyone else?

    • #5
  6. JennaStocker Member
    JennaStocker
    @JennaStocker

    “Just because most people don’t have a column in a major newspaper or a large following on Twitter doesn’t mean that they’re silent.”

    Yes! Although it’s easy to feel like a single, powerless voice when the other side is so loud. We mustn’t mistake volume for being right, nor for being a majority. It helps shore up the determination of people when we know other people think and believe as we do. Sometimes it just takes faith that friends are out there. It only takes one to break the dam of silence. Great post!

    • #6
  7. Misthiocracy got drunk and Member
    Misthiocracy got drunk and
    @Misthiocracy

    If the woodsman was strong enough to pull out of the ground unaided an ash tree big enough to be carved into a decent axe handle, those trees were screwed from the beginning.  

    • #7
  8. Lilly B Coolidge
    Lilly B
    @LillyB

    Misthiocracy got drunk and (View Comment):

    If the woodsman was strong enough to pull out of the ground unaided an ash tree big enough to be carved into a decent axe handle, those trees were screwed from the beginning.

    Ha! Fair enough. It’s an eternal struggle, and the good may never triumph in this world. Still, let’s not surrender and let’s not cooperate with the forces that would destroy all good things.

    • #8
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