An Analogy
About Analogies, And Then An Application
Geopolitical Strategy and Tactics
I have an analogy about analogies. Analogies are like training wheels on a bicycle. They serve to give a kid an idea of what riding a bike looks and feels like. But training wheels should only be left on for a couple of days. Sooner or later you have to take them off, or the kid never learns how to ride.
Analogies, when used properly, are like training wheels. They introduce a concept to someone by use of an explanatory bridge. Analogies serve to help someone get a look and feel for an idea that may not be clear to them. As soon as the analogy has done that job, it should be discarded, so that the actual concept can be discussed. When an analogy is pushed to the point it fails, and it will ultimately fail because it is not an identity, you have stayed with it too long.
By way of example, I have a 5 panel cartoon analogy in three parts. First:
The man wants to remove a hornet’s nest. He whacks it with a stick, and the hornets attack back. He expects his neighbors to help, but they’re all like, “Why’d you hit it with a stick?” They are not interested in messing with the hornet’s nest.
So, he decides to up the ante:
The neighbors get upset, not at the man for putting the children in harm’s way, but because the hornets stung the children. “That nest is dangerous!” one person says, “We have to eradicate them,” says another.
The only thing left to do is nominate Hamas for the Nobel Peace Prize.
