Parable of the Drowning Man
An Environmental Protection Agency that no longer protects the environment. A secretary of labor who is against the interests of working people. A secretary of education who is opposed to public schools. And a secretary of housing and urban development who has a moral objection to federally subsidized housing.
People lose heart when they feel dependent on others, says Ben Carson, and therefore, in the act of trying to help them, we rob them of their dignity and sense of self-worth.
Such is the Republican philosophy of life. At first, it seems to make some cockeyed sort of sense, but think about it for a moment and you will begin to understand what he is saying.
Imagine you are walking down a country road one day in the middle of summer. You come upon a small lake, and in the middle of the water you see a man struggling and splashing around in a panic, clearly on the point of drowning. "Help me!" he calls out. "I don't know how to swim!"
You approach the edge of the lake, look down at your feet, and lo and behold, there is a coil of rope lying at your feet. All you have to do is toss out one end to him. Once he catches hold of it, you can pull him in and save his life. But just as you are about to pick up the rope, you hesitate. If you give him the rope, you tell yourself, he will become dependent on the rope, and he will hate himself for that. And you, as the person who gave him the rope, will be responsible for depriving him of his dignity and sense of self-worth.
And so, rather than do the obvious thing, you decide to do nothing and continue on your way. Too bad for the man who will drown, of course, but it's really for his own good.
Paul Auster is the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Winter Journal, Sunset Park, Invisible, The Book of Illusions, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. He has been awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature, the Prix Médicis Étranger, the Independent Spirit Award, and the Premio Napoli. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.