Feeding the Monster
by Ken Carman

  Once there was a land where a tale was told of a monster who stole away freedom, ate it up like other fables told of creatures who ate children, trolls who lived under bridges who did unspeakable things to those who dared to pass over those bridges. One might argue “the monster who stole away freedom” was the lead monster: he who helped all the others commit their horrible acts.
  The people were rightfully afraid of the monster, and were kept so by those who warned others not to hold on too tightly to too many rights or they would not be able to protect them from the monster. They pointed here, there, saying, “See, he’s close, just around the corner, over here, over there. You need to give us enough power to protect you.”
  So they kept giving them their rights so they could be protected. But it seemed the more they gave, the worse the danger became.
  Soon the monster was all too real, and freedom was no more. People who objected disappeared, people the monster didn’t like were not allowed to defend themselves, the innocent were found guilty, the all to convenient guilty weren’t prosecuted, people had no privacy. Tyranny ruled the land.
  As the people suffered, they cried out, “Who gave you the right?”
  The monster smirked and said, “Why, you did,” then ate all those who complained.

                                                    -30-
  Inspection is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 30 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks and into the unseen cracks and crevasses that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
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Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
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