Policy Today

Grim Fairy Tales: The Big Wolf that Went Bad

Once upon a time, in a not-so-far-away land, there lived a wolf. This land was rich and plentiful, so the wolf grew up big and strong, becoming the equal of many older and wiser wolves.

Now, this was no ordinary wolf. He always looked out for and protected those who were weaker than he was. When Riding Hood went to visit Grandma, the big wolf went along to make sure the other wolves didn’t bother her. And, he always stuffed cigarettes and chocolates in her picnic basket—Grandma had a few bad habits. He built a fine den, and welcomed others into it: grey wolves, white wolves, mostly stray wolves that didn’t have a home of their own. Soon, he became leader of the pack: others respected and admired not only his speed and power, but his bravery and generosity.

But, then something changed: the big wolf went bad. No one was quite sure what happened, but they noticed he began to go it alone without consulting his allies. As he increasingly distanced himself from the others, the wolf began to fear that his very friends were now all out to get him. And, this fear grew and consumed him. Instead of relying on the inner wisdom and values that had given him strength in the past, he began spending lots of money on guns, tanks, and missiles. He charted a conspiracy in every bus queue and pounced on every three ounce tube of hand cream.

If he didn’t like the way others acted towards him, he would shout, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow up your house.” And, he did—lots of them. Though he had become the biggest and baddest wolf on the planet, he spent ever larger sums on military hardware, to a point where even his accountants didn’t know how much he was spending.

Friends began noticing other things as well. While, the big, bad wolf was out on the prowl, his own den was falling apart. The roof started to leak, the driveway was full of potholes, and the paint peeling on the walls. And worse still, he no longer helped his kids with their homework or went to PTA meetings. So, they stopped learning and spent their time watching videos and reading celebrity magazines. Since they no longer felt his eagle-eye gaze, the teachers began to slack off as well.

In his absence, a leadership crisis paralyzed the pack. Partisan fighting constantly broke out. Rather than a wealth of ideas, leaders were chosen on the basis of how much money they raised from wealthy friends and the many PACs that promoted special interests

“So, how does it end? Tell me, how it ends!!”

“It hasn’t yet. There’s still time.”