The Ant and the Grasshopper: Aesop fable updated.

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Insects who live through the winter actually hibernate during the winter.

Including ants. They do not spend the winter eating their stores of food.

The fairy tale (although Ruveyn's favourite) makes no sense at all, and is even less sensible in the "modern" version.

Not a fairy tale - a fable. Very different.

But in any case, parables, myths, fables, folktales, legends, short stories, novels, and many news articles do not require much grounding in reality or even probability [though much of history and some journalism tries to be grounded]. The points they make lie outside mundane fact.

The fable does tend to support false notions that any amateur entomologist can refute.

Just as the Bible contains false notions that any geologist or biologist can refute. But, many people believe them, no matter what.

Your parallel is skewed and your lines are not straight. A fable does not intend or claim to contain factual matter - it is part of the same communicative system as imperatives and optatives, conveying an admonition, even though its form is close to factual narrative.

The Bible does intend and claim to contain factual matter, in addition to parabolic, poetic, and other genres. Much of the claimed factual matter is obsolete and / or irrelevant. But the prime thrust of the Bible as a whole [as opposed to individual sections] is not to communicate fact, nor to entertain, nor even to point up a principle as in the case of a fable, and only a fool or an ignoramus would compare it to so diffderent a fruit.

As to believing notions which A may refute today and endorse tomorrow, or B endorse today and refute tomorrow, that is the way of the world, you pays your money and you takes your choice.

If someone believes - or disbelieves - a statement of fact because it appears in the Bible, or in a Wikipedia article, or in a fable, or in a paper presented at the Fourth Annual Symposium on Dark Matter - he does so at his own risk. At least the fable and the Bible do not pretend that they are there as factual data.

Grassmen and strawhoppers topic

I understand what the fable means and it is directed as foolish wastrels, not hardworking bugs of various species who try hard, and might still not make it, and need help, and I do not think anyone would deny them a helping hand. the thing is, It is not easy to differentiate between the lazy fools and those who truly fall between the cracks. Socrates would have been wise to teach us how to tell the difference.

The fable is a parable on different types of human people. It was never about insects or chikadae.

ruveyn

I think they realize that, but since they have no legitimate counter argument, they are trying to go off on a wild tangent.

Who are "THEY"? And what argument? The only realistic way to argue agin a parable woulkd be with another parable. Which is pointless sins ruveyn already gave two versions.

Parables are stories that have a moral to them for people to learn something from, what ruveyn is pointing out is that people are saying that a lazy bum is now capable of getting the government to take things from people that work hard, and give them to people that laze around. People on this board have essentially been advocating this (though they will deny it even when it is pointed out right in front of their faces).

Funny, in the one I read it was the ant who died of a preventable disease due to lack of universal health care, that he contracted by living in poverty after losing his house and investments due to lack of adequate regulation of the housing market, while the grasshopper lived comfortably off his trust fund

Truly wise topic

Now, this^^ is Socrates!!

Which is a restatement of my version of the story.

What will it take for you to be able to differentiate reality from the fictitious strawmen planted in your head by the right-wing media? Maybe you need medication.

Given that the hero of these fables is the ant, does that suddenly mean that conservatives think hundreds of thousands of workers should risk their lives and health so one woman can make hundreds of babies? Viva the welfare queen, I guess ...

I didn't think of that.

I'm not the one blaming small business owners and retirees for the world's ills.