Thursday, February 23, 2006

A Rainbow Of Grey.

Hands up all those who know the story of The Rainbow Fish? If you don't, here it is in a nutshell:

Rainbow Fish has lots of lovely coloured scales, Blue Fish wants one, Rainbow says no. Rainbow is henceforth ostracized by the fishy community. Rainbow upset, goes to see the Wise Oracle Octopus(tm) to find out why. Octopus tells him not to be greedy and he'll be happier if he did give away his scales. Blue comes back, asks again, Rainbow says ok.

Rainbow feels the love, and proceeds to give away all his lovely scales. Forever more, everyone has one pretty scale each, Rainbow is rainbow no more, but lives happily ever after.

This has been sold as a christian allegory for kids for years, but I never saw it like that.

I can't remember where I saw it, but in one online discussion it was remarked upon as being more communistic than christian. I have to agree with that.

For one thing, sharing is all well and good, but to give away everything?

Anothing thing to ponder: regarding the Blue Fish, whatever happened to taking no for an answer? Disappointment is a part of life, but I guess it would have been a pretty short story, even for a kid's book.

What is wrong with being pretty?

This mob have put together some discussion suggestions to relate it back to bible studies for youngsters, and I can see where they are coming from, but I still don't agree.

It's all a bit to culty with the lovebombing and socialism.

I am so glad Magilla prefers Dr Seuss.

Ahhhhh. Propaganda for children. Get them young and you've got them for life.

/rant

9 Comments:

At 10:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Get them young and you've got them for life.

Welcome to the world of the Left. So despicable and lacking of morals and common decency they will even try to brainwash children. Anything to further their goals.

 
At 10:22 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

SD, I know how you feel but as I stated, you just don't hate the left enough.

I know you despise them, and I know it is not for lack of trying, but the truth remains only Ann and myself share that level of hatred for them.

Only Ann and myself are capable of that level of hatred for them and thus it is clear we are meant to be together.

I know you don't want to face that but please - we must refocus out offensive against the Left.

No more trying to cut my lunch :)

 
At 6:32 PM, Blogger Nilk said...

Now, boys. Settle down. Take it outside, please and take aim at twenty paces.

I don't want blood on the carpet.

 
At 7:42 AM, Blogger Dag said...

I had five graduate students from Turkey, none of whom were able to read or write English well enough to cope with the work assigned. I figured I'd do my job and bring them up to an acceptable level, not through the usual rote and drill but by presenting them with the rythms and rhymes of our language, giving them a chance ot grasp the movement of the music that is English so they'd have a sense of it's reality rather than its component parts only.

You'd think I drew a cartoon of Mohammend infront of their very eyes. I brought out and read a book for them. Here's part of it:

Oh, the Places You'll Go!
by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

 
At 10:22 AM, Blogger Nilk said...

The mind boggles. How can anybody be offended by Dr Seuss? We've got a selection here, as we read a story everynight before bed(unless someone has been particularly challenging)and I'll fess up now that Dr Seuss is one of the few authors I don't skimp on. PD Eastman (Go Dog Go and Sam and the Firefly) is another.

 
At 1:33 PM, Blogger Dag said...

Yeah, one must wonder at people who get upset at Dr Seuss. Those would be people who also hate women and want their children to die for Allah, I'm thinking.

But enough of that.

I'm going to think about coloured hot air balloons taking us all as far as far is and how far we will go!

 
At 7:43 PM, Blogger Caz said...

I've never come across The Rainbow Fish story, and try as I might, I do not see the "Christian" message. I can't think of anything Jesus did that would be analogous, nor is there anything in the top ten sin list that would suggest the story has a particularly Christian message.

Don't covet thy neighbours possessions, hey? But that's not what the story says, is it.

The story smacks of the beiging of everyone; that is, everyone has to be equally dull, or equally sub-optimal.

The story seems to be all about not being better than others, and if you are it's something shameful and you must atone in some way for being so blessed. Yep, the rainbow fish is beautiful, more beautiful than the other fish, and we just can't have that can we.

It seems to say more about the consequences of envy than anything else. Envy resulted in there being no beautiful rainbow fish, not a one.

 
At 8:09 PM, Blogger Nilk said...

It's painting everybody mediocre, and that is wrong.

I'm with Dag and thinking about Schlopp, schlopp, beautiful schlopp. Beautiful schlopp with a cherry on top.

That's much more fun.

 
At 4:43 PM, Blogger Dag said...

Yeah!

I'm getting old, and I hurt, and I'm ugly now and getting fat. I don't care. I want to dance with girls and celebrate being alive right up till they plant my self. And then carry on without me.

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” Dr Seuss.

 

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