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Fresh from Kenya: a breakthrough on boiled frogs
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Another writer starts another piece with another use of the fatuous (and incorrect) boiled-frog cliche -- and then takes a surprising turn! John Mbaria, a writer for The East African in Nairobi, shows the way amphibious homilies should be used --and with empathy for the poor amphibian too. From an article he wrote in today's Daily Nation, in Kenya:
THE STORY IS TOLD OF HOW an adventurous young frog struggled hard to climb into a pot of water. After a few false starts, he finally managed and had a nice time, enjoying the swim.
But the pot's owner came, proceeded to light a fire, and placed the pot on it. When the water started warming, the frog found the conditions even better.
But soon, conditions inside the pot became unbearable and the frog decided to jump out. But upon seeing the fire below, he stopped dead on his tracks. He was trapped in a dilemma of his own making. The water was killing him slowly, but the fire would kill him instantly.
As we seek answers on how the dispute over the 2007 presidential results could have triggered such wanton killings, we might ask ourselves how we got trapped in a dilemma of our own making....
Political writers, politicians: let John Mbaria be an example unto one and all.
(Thanks to Nicholas Wadhams of Nairobi for this tip.)
