Rumpelstiltskin as Policy
There she was–ordered by the King to turn straw into gold within 24 hours…as I recall. Terrified she agreed to give up her first born child to Rumpelstiltskin in return for his promise to do so. But, when the time came she recognized that she couldn’t go through with it… So she cheated and discovered his name–and was free at last.
Now children are neither straw nor gold (see previous blog) but the deal we’re making with the devil bears similar risks–inch by inch the day of Rumpelstiltskin’s final victory gets close and close. But it’s natural to put off looking at the future for survival in the present. It’s even healthy. If…if we use the time to mobilize ourselves intellectually, morally and politically to whebn we can say “no” without all losing our heads to the tyrant Kind.
A bit too whimsical a comparison perhaps—but alas, we have less to lose (no one is threatening us with our lives–just our jobs) and there is no Rumpelstiltskin out there to rescue us until we discover the secret of his name. We have to figure this out ourselves.
But coming back from Boston where I spent time celebrating Eleanor Duckworth with her many fans – talking
