Belly up to the bar, Drinks are on me!
Gather round for this is the tale told once by Plato and now retold by me:
The Cave Analogy
Truly imagine youself in the past. Un-remember all you have known and will know. Imagine then that 3 men are taken at birth. These 3 children are taken at pure innocence, not knowing anything about the world. The 3 children are taken to a Cave. A Cave deep inside with a rock facing the back end of the cave. The 3 infants are placed against the rock, forever for the rest of their life to face the back wall of the Cave. Nothing else will these 3 ever see other than the shadows flickering daily upon the back of the Cave.
No perspective will these 3 children have growing up other than the back wall of the cave. Daily they will see shadows moving back and forth, but all around them is darkness and dirt and rock. For years all they have is each other, and the shadows on the back of the cave. But these children are now men and have long since learned ways of communicating with one another.
Daily they discuss the shadows, but never once do they wonder “What more is there?” because for them there is only the Cave. It is *reality*. They have no knowledge of suffering, war, poverty, language, knowledge, science. They only know their Shadows and the back wall of the Cave.
As years passed the men began to grow into old age. They still discussed their shadows and the shadows they saw moving about for awhile only to cease then begin again at a later time in regular intervals.
However one day a Liberator came. This Liberator wordlessly unchained one of the men and left. Confused the man that was released refused to leave the only 2 people he had ever known.
The 2 remaining chained men begged that the 3rd go out and see what else there was to be seen. It may not be much for in their years they had learned all that could be learned about the Shadows and the Cave itself. But there must be more, what’s behind them in the Cave for example? While it might just be the same as their side they still wanted to know.
Reluctantly the Free-Man agreed and would return after a short time with tales of what he had seen.
The Free-Man turned from the rock for the first time in his life and was nearly blinded by a strong orange light. It was flickering and had strange brown and black rocks fueling it. Not being able to communicate he listented, and heard the people call these “logs” and “wood”. Such combinations allowed for things to give off warmth and light. When the Free-Man turned he noticed it was this “fire” that gave power to the Shadows and that the Shadows were nothing more than men like him and his other 2 Chained friends.
As men moved about in their daily activities they created the Shadows on the wall of the Cave. Amazed the Free-Man ran back to his friends only having been away for a few moments.
“Friends! You will never believe what I have found. The Shadows are men like us! They make great things called “Fire” which grant heat and light inside dark areas. And they also create the shadows we see on the wall!”
The 2 chained men stared at their friend as if he had immediatly become a Stranger to them.
“I will return again when I have more to tell!” the Free-Man claimed.
For the first time in his life the Free-Man exited the Cave and before him was God himself. A huge enormous ball of Fire lay in the sky. The Free-Man fell to his knees crying and the marvel of what was before him. In the sky there was creatures chirping and moving about. The Free-Man jumped in the air to imitate them and perhaps join them but could not. Finally a few of the men around explained to him that what he saw were “birds” and “The Sun”. They also explained these things made up only a tiny miniscule part of the big picture. That there were also things like Rivers and Mountains. Countless types of animals, fish and bird.
Realizing that much time had passed and he had only seen a small amount of what was to be seen he returned to the Cave with only one intention on his mind. To free his friends.
As he returned he noticed his 2 friends talking about him in their language. They had grown afraid of him and felt he had somehow been changed for the worse.
Shaken the Free-Man explained what he had seen. The chained-Men stared, infuriated by his lies. How could something like a huge ball of fire exist in the sky yet they never had known of it??? How could flying animals exist in a world that didnt even have a sky??? And how dare he suggest that thousands, even millions of other Men existed. The Cave was their world, their only perspective and this man was demon now.
The Free-Man explained that he need only free them from their chains and they could see it for themselves. The Free-Man explained he spent an entire life with them and only a few moments without them and that once they had seen what he had seen their lives would be open and new.
As the Free-Man began to release his friends, they nodded to each other and rapping their chains around his neck, strangled him.
Years later as the 2 chained men finally died, they died happy men, secure that what they had lived, was truth.
*Barkeep Ill have a Guinny and a shot of Stoli*