Sometimes a seemingly random series of events somehow combine to reveal insight. Recently comparisons to Monty Python’s Flying Circus have come to my attention, including a suggestion that Michael Palin might have been a better choice than Sarah (unfortunately he is not US born, but then Arnold may change that).
I have been thinking that someone should run a contest to award a prize for the best use of metaphor in describing our current financial woes, e.g. comparing the economy to an athlete who has experienced a heart attack. Unfortunately what comes to mind is the Monty Python sketch Dead Parrot with Michael Palin and John Cleese taking euphemism to excess. So many influential people using metaphor is scary. Now that it appears that metaphor is morphing into euphemism it is even more frightful. A lot of this mess started because too many people took actions without understanding how things work. Wonder if this extensive use of symbolism is even more confusing? Wonder if we should reconsider basing our economy on a system that runs on mass hysteria?
