Smoked Whitefish

A wee parable dawned on me while I was getting a masters degree in education, that explained how we get into such messes as our deleterious educational situation.  It goes like this:

A customer walks up to a grocery store meat counter and orders one pound of smoked whitefish.  Butcher says "very good..." and proceeds to open a four ounce can of Alpo, and drop the contents onto a piece of butcher paper, wraps it up and hands it over.  "$1,000, please..."

Now the customer is a little astonished, this must be a joke.  "Aaaa... this is not smoked whitefish..."

The butcher replies annoyed, "You think I don't know what smoked whitefish is?  This is smoked whitefish..."

The customer shoots back "I saw you open a can of Alpo..."

The butcher "Don't come in here and try to start trouble..."

The customer tries another tack, "Well, $1,000 for smoked whitefish...!?"

The butcher, "Don't you want the best for your family?"

In desperation the customer notes it is not a pound as ordered, but only 4 ounces, what is in a can of Alpo, to which the butcher replies "Are you calling me a liar?"

"Well, forget it..." says the customer, "I don't want it now..."

To which the Butcher replies, too late, you ordered it, I delivered it, and now you will pay, and the customers credit card is taken and charged.

Defeated, the customer goes home and feeds the family on 4 ounces of Alpo, and the family asks "what is it?"

"Smoked whitefish."  No one in the family likes smoked whitefish after that.

A big reason we are bust is education is not education, food is not food, insurance is not insurance, health care is not health care, it is all something else merely named as such.  And we take pride in our education, food, insurance, health care, etc.  Sigh.

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