With apologies to Aesop...
Once upon a time there was a powerful Ruler, who owned many food, drug, vaccine and chemical companies. This Ruler proclaimed that there was a vicious, viral, infectious Epidemic in the land. The Ruler called his Social Marketeers together and had them proclaim to all in his land and every other land that there was an Epidemic spread by touch. There was great fear in the land and quickly the infected took their medicines and vaccines. Laws were passed forbidding the infected to touch the uninfected. Those that broke the law were jailed. Lo and behold the Epidemic never happened as predicted. But many died. Some said they died from their treatment and some said they died from the infectious disease that was not a disease. Some people questioned the truthfulness of the Ruler, particularly as they watched as the Ruler's companies became richer and richer.
Not long afterwards, the Ruler again proclaimed that there was a vicious, viral, infectious Epidemic in the land. And once again the Ruler called his Social Marketeers to let his people know that there was an Epidemic in the land. And once again the infected took their medicine. There was great fear in the land but no one questioned the Epidemic. They took their meds and vaccines. And lo and behold the Epidemic never materialized. And the people became angry. The people wondered why they were being lied to and some even questioned the right of the Ruler to profit from a misfortune that didn't exist.
Then the real epidemic came to the land, all the land. The Ruler called his Social Marketeers and had them proclaim that there was an infectious viral Epidemic in the land. And the people laughed and refused the medicine and the vaccines. And the disease spread throughout the land.
The moral of the story is: The Ruler who lies too many times is no longer believed when he tells the truth.
Copyright 2016 Valerie W. McClain
No comments:
Post a Comment