- Sep 22, 2013
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This is a democracy-parable inspired by Coming to America, which I wrote to make myself feel more optimistic about the otherwise gloomy notion that rulers are almost always...disattached!
Signing off,
====
A royal Indian prince named Amlan was about to wed a beautiful royal Indian princess named Shina. Amlan and Shina were considered the perfect royal couple, and on their wedding night, they confirmed the wishes of the kingdom that someday true love would reach the arms of the otherwise boring government. However, on their wedding night, Amlan and Shina made a strange wager. They wanted to see which of them could render a more 'honest' child-like stick-figure rendition of a popular/iconic Western (or American) comic book character/avatar. Amlan resolved to draw the Marvel Comics super-villain Hobgoblin, and Shina resolved to draw the Marvel Comics super-heroine Squirrel-Girl.
A hobgoblin is a general forest-dwelling imp or troll-like creature, but Marvel Comics' Hobgoblin is a jet-glider soaring mutant and pumpkin-bomb throwing urban menace/terrorist. Amlan therefore drew a stick-figure rendition of Marvel's Hobgoblin as an impish and mischievous pumpkin-bomb wielding 'shadow-creature' complete with distinctive orange and blue colors. Amlan gave Hobgoblin's jet-glider a nifty yellow-flame jet-glider burst so it'd look like it was in the middle of a great and terrible terrorist flight! Amlan was so pleased with his simple child-like doodle that he admired it every night before bed.
Amlan became so darn obsessed with his Hobgoblin doodle and convinced he had outshined his wife Shina, that the Devil himself took notice of Amlan's juvenile obsession and sent the dark and demonic spirit of the real Hobgoblin to spook and haunt Amlan's royal palace! Hobgoblin soared around Amlan's palace and threw fireworks right outside Amlan's bedroom window! Amlan was terrified and realized that his drawing had somehow 'come to life.' Amlan wondered what he should do and wondered if he should tell Shina that his doodle had come to life.
As Amlan worried, Shina drew her own doodle, of Marvel's Squirrel-Girl, a nature-loving heroine. Since Squirrel-Girl was affable, cute, daring, and precocious, Shina drew a simple/basic stick-figure doodle made to cast Squirrel-Girl as an imaginative 'friend' to humanity --- innocent and chic. Shina was very pleased with her Squirrel-Girl doodle and decided she had won the wager with her husband Amlan. She wondered when would be the right time to declare her victory. She resolved to tell Amlan in the morning.
As Shina slept, God realized that the Devil had sent Hobgoblin to torment Amlan, so he sent his archangels Michael and Gabriel to send the goodly spirit of the real Squirrel-Girl to protect and watch over Amlan and Shina's royal palace. Sure enough, Squirrel-Girl showed up and immediately noticed Hobgoblin creating trouble outside Amlan's palace window. Squirrel-Girl started throwing sand into Hobgoblin's eyes so he'd lose his hand-eye coordination and fall of his jet-glider. Squirrel-Girl was actually thrilled with Shina's child-like stick-figure rendition of her and wanted her to know she thought Shina had won the wager (officially)!
As all this was going on and Hobgoblin was about to retreat back into Hell, the angel-gods of heaven convened to discuss the spiritual impact of this royal 'doodle-wager' and how it would affect the monarchy in India and what people would say about the consequences of 'spiritually dabbling' with art purely for the sake of argument/dialogue. The angel-god Shiva decided to debate with the fiery and monotonous angel-god Vishnu about what Amlan and Shina's doodles actually symbolized.
SHIVA: I like what Amlan and Shina drew.
VISHNU: I prefer Amlan's Hobgoblin...
SHIVA: That's odd; I prefer Shina's Squirrel-Girl.
VISHNU: You fear Hobgoblin's mischief?
SHIVA: No, I prefer Squirrel-Girls wits!
VISHNU: Why dabble in pedestrian art?
SHIVA: Because monarchs are curious about pedestrian life.
VISHNU: Really? It seems they're disattached by luxury.
SHIVA: The value of praising democracy is in recognizing public forums.
VISHNU: There's a difference between dialogue and mob chatter!
SHIVA: Well, Amlan and Shina were curious about comic book characters.
VISHNU: I concede comic book avatars symbolize pedestrian imagination.
SHIVA: Let's tell the people that Amlan and Shina's deed revealed 'energy.'
VISHNU: We should also tell them that spirits/demons were released by the wager.
SHIVA: Well, let's declare that Shina won the wager, so there will be more 'charm.'
VISHNU: Yes, the princess/queen winning is always more 'charming' for storytellers.
SHIVA: Who knows? Maybe Shina is more wise than Prince/King Amlan...
VISHNU: Let's also convince Amlan to invest in Wall Street and democracy.
SHIVA: Why?
VISHNU: That way, their interest in 'pedestrian life' will be reported by journalists.
SHIVA: That sounds promising; it could catalyse some nice political passions.
After Shiva and Vishnu spread their advice and Amlan began investing in Wall Street, America was hurled into a devastating nuclear war with incendiary nation North Korea. After the devastation, humanity began rebuilding their worlds and Shina declared that Earth needed the guiding face of Squirrel-Girl to remind them of the value of humility and friendship (and heroism!). The Devil realized Hogboblin was forever sent back to Hell by the spirit of Squirrel-Girl, but he also smirked at the notion that Amlan's sudden interest in 'pedestrian life' would not convince the masses that governments in modern times cared about citizenry. Would art save the day?
Amlan and Shina wrote a series of speeches about the importance of monarchs and governors taking a more active role in understanding the daydreams and thoughts of the people they ruled. Their writings were collected as a series of 'letters' in a book titled Royal Letters: Indian Democracy. A Yale anthropology student named Derek Law read this book while studying Indian history and modern industrialization in Asia. Derek realized Amlan and Shina's special comic book stick-figure 'doodle-wager' would inspire much dialogue about new age political passion. How would the DNP (Democratic National Party) in America (the more 'liberal political party') respond to the modern criticism that governments simply seem unconcerned with the lives of everyday people? Derek now had a topic for his senior thesis!
GOD: I'm glad Hobgoblin is back in the underworld.
SATAN: Yes, Squirrel-Girl rescued Amlan and Shina!
GOD: It seems Shina has won the wager...
SATAN: It also seems that Derek is a promising civilization-scholar.
GOD: Should monarchs 'doodle' about the lives of pedestrians/citizenry?
SATAN: The appeal of comic book art is that it speaks to everyday life.
GOD: Yes, comic book art is very simple, straightforward, and even graphic.
SATAN: Americans love these 'blunt vigilante/crusaders' such as Squirrel-Girl.
GOD: At least youngsters will say, "The Indian palace saw fantastic spirits!"
SATAN: Will Derek's senior thesis (about developing political culture) be important?
GOD: Governance is a hairy issue in the modern age of commerce-gauged customs.
SATAN: The Democratic National Party in America is expected to be more...attentive.
GOD: Yes, Democrats are more pedestrian-sympathetic.
SATAN: Maybe Republican Donald Trump will have to consider the wisdom of mob psychology!
GOD: Trump hates mob psychology because of all the media-criticisms and protests.
SATAN: Did you actually like Shina's doodle more than Amlan's?
GOD: Yes, well, I prefer Squirrel-Girl to Hobgoblin!
SATAN: Naturally...perhaps Amlan's Wall Street investments will create 'peaceful chatter.'
GOD: Let's forget about the horrors of WWII, 9/11, and the USA-Korea Nuclear War.
====
Signing off,
====
A royal Indian prince named Amlan was about to wed a beautiful royal Indian princess named Shina. Amlan and Shina were considered the perfect royal couple, and on their wedding night, they confirmed the wishes of the kingdom that someday true love would reach the arms of the otherwise boring government. However, on their wedding night, Amlan and Shina made a strange wager. They wanted to see which of them could render a more 'honest' child-like stick-figure rendition of a popular/iconic Western (or American) comic book character/avatar. Amlan resolved to draw the Marvel Comics super-villain Hobgoblin, and Shina resolved to draw the Marvel Comics super-heroine Squirrel-Girl.
A hobgoblin is a general forest-dwelling imp or troll-like creature, but Marvel Comics' Hobgoblin is a jet-glider soaring mutant and pumpkin-bomb throwing urban menace/terrorist. Amlan therefore drew a stick-figure rendition of Marvel's Hobgoblin as an impish and mischievous pumpkin-bomb wielding 'shadow-creature' complete with distinctive orange and blue colors. Amlan gave Hobgoblin's jet-glider a nifty yellow-flame jet-glider burst so it'd look like it was in the middle of a great and terrible terrorist flight! Amlan was so pleased with his simple child-like doodle that he admired it every night before bed.
Amlan became so darn obsessed with his Hobgoblin doodle and convinced he had outshined his wife Shina, that the Devil himself took notice of Amlan's juvenile obsession and sent the dark and demonic spirit of the real Hobgoblin to spook and haunt Amlan's royal palace! Hobgoblin soared around Amlan's palace and threw fireworks right outside Amlan's bedroom window! Amlan was terrified and realized that his drawing had somehow 'come to life.' Amlan wondered what he should do and wondered if he should tell Shina that his doodle had come to life.
As Amlan worried, Shina drew her own doodle, of Marvel's Squirrel-Girl, a nature-loving heroine. Since Squirrel-Girl was affable, cute, daring, and precocious, Shina drew a simple/basic stick-figure doodle made to cast Squirrel-Girl as an imaginative 'friend' to humanity --- innocent and chic. Shina was very pleased with her Squirrel-Girl doodle and decided she had won the wager with her husband Amlan. She wondered when would be the right time to declare her victory. She resolved to tell Amlan in the morning.
As Shina slept, God realized that the Devil had sent Hobgoblin to torment Amlan, so he sent his archangels Michael and Gabriel to send the goodly spirit of the real Squirrel-Girl to protect and watch over Amlan and Shina's royal palace. Sure enough, Squirrel-Girl showed up and immediately noticed Hobgoblin creating trouble outside Amlan's palace window. Squirrel-Girl started throwing sand into Hobgoblin's eyes so he'd lose his hand-eye coordination and fall of his jet-glider. Squirrel-Girl was actually thrilled with Shina's child-like stick-figure rendition of her and wanted her to know she thought Shina had won the wager (officially)!
As all this was going on and Hobgoblin was about to retreat back into Hell, the angel-gods of heaven convened to discuss the spiritual impact of this royal 'doodle-wager' and how it would affect the monarchy in India and what people would say about the consequences of 'spiritually dabbling' with art purely for the sake of argument/dialogue. The angel-god Shiva decided to debate with the fiery and monotonous angel-god Vishnu about what Amlan and Shina's doodles actually symbolized.
SHIVA: I like what Amlan and Shina drew.
VISHNU: I prefer Amlan's Hobgoblin...
SHIVA: That's odd; I prefer Shina's Squirrel-Girl.
VISHNU: You fear Hobgoblin's mischief?
SHIVA: No, I prefer Squirrel-Girls wits!
VISHNU: Why dabble in pedestrian art?
SHIVA: Because monarchs are curious about pedestrian life.
VISHNU: Really? It seems they're disattached by luxury.
SHIVA: The value of praising democracy is in recognizing public forums.
VISHNU: There's a difference between dialogue and mob chatter!
SHIVA: Well, Amlan and Shina were curious about comic book characters.
VISHNU: I concede comic book avatars symbolize pedestrian imagination.
SHIVA: Let's tell the people that Amlan and Shina's deed revealed 'energy.'
VISHNU: We should also tell them that spirits/demons were released by the wager.
SHIVA: Well, let's declare that Shina won the wager, so there will be more 'charm.'
VISHNU: Yes, the princess/queen winning is always more 'charming' for storytellers.
SHIVA: Who knows? Maybe Shina is more wise than Prince/King Amlan...
VISHNU: Let's also convince Amlan to invest in Wall Street and democracy.
SHIVA: Why?
VISHNU: That way, their interest in 'pedestrian life' will be reported by journalists.
SHIVA: That sounds promising; it could catalyse some nice political passions.
After Shiva and Vishnu spread their advice and Amlan began investing in Wall Street, America was hurled into a devastating nuclear war with incendiary nation North Korea. After the devastation, humanity began rebuilding their worlds and Shina declared that Earth needed the guiding face of Squirrel-Girl to remind them of the value of humility and friendship (and heroism!). The Devil realized Hogboblin was forever sent back to Hell by the spirit of Squirrel-Girl, but he also smirked at the notion that Amlan's sudden interest in 'pedestrian life' would not convince the masses that governments in modern times cared about citizenry. Would art save the day?
Amlan and Shina wrote a series of speeches about the importance of monarchs and governors taking a more active role in understanding the daydreams and thoughts of the people they ruled. Their writings were collected as a series of 'letters' in a book titled Royal Letters: Indian Democracy. A Yale anthropology student named Derek Law read this book while studying Indian history and modern industrialization in Asia. Derek realized Amlan and Shina's special comic book stick-figure 'doodle-wager' would inspire much dialogue about new age political passion. How would the DNP (Democratic National Party) in America (the more 'liberal political party') respond to the modern criticism that governments simply seem unconcerned with the lives of everyday people? Derek now had a topic for his senior thesis!
GOD: I'm glad Hobgoblin is back in the underworld.
SATAN: Yes, Squirrel-Girl rescued Amlan and Shina!
GOD: It seems Shina has won the wager...
SATAN: It also seems that Derek is a promising civilization-scholar.
GOD: Should monarchs 'doodle' about the lives of pedestrians/citizenry?
SATAN: The appeal of comic book art is that it speaks to everyday life.
GOD: Yes, comic book art is very simple, straightforward, and even graphic.
SATAN: Americans love these 'blunt vigilante/crusaders' such as Squirrel-Girl.
GOD: At least youngsters will say, "The Indian palace saw fantastic spirits!"
SATAN: Will Derek's senior thesis (about developing political culture) be important?
GOD: Governance is a hairy issue in the modern age of commerce-gauged customs.
SATAN: The Democratic National Party in America is expected to be more...attentive.
GOD: Yes, Democrats are more pedestrian-sympathetic.
SATAN: Maybe Republican Donald Trump will have to consider the wisdom of mob psychology!
GOD: Trump hates mob psychology because of all the media-criticisms and protests.
SATAN: Did you actually like Shina's doodle more than Amlan's?
GOD: Yes, well, I prefer Squirrel-Girl to Hobgoblin!
SATAN: Naturally...perhaps Amlan's Wall Street investments will create 'peaceful chatter.'
GOD: Let's forget about the horrors of WWII, 9/11, and the USA-Korea Nuclear War.
====
