Politicos feed a moldy loaf If we hope to live not just from moment to moment, but in true consciousness of our existence, then our greatest need and most difficult achievement is to find meaning in our lives. . . . Contrary to the ancient myth, wisdom does not burst forth fully developed like Athena out of Zeus’s head; it is built up, small step by small step from most irrational beginnings [and] it is literature that carries such information best (3-4). - Bruno Bettelheim

The children lack 'oral satisfaction' The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, also applies to politics. Those yarns of fantasy are told by the wizards and witches and believed by the children. Make believe is their way of life and substance is a condition to be avoided. Lessons deserving to be taught, no longer fit the mold. In this palace no one lives happily ever after. Only sorcery has sway and the frogs do all the kissing. But they never smooch with a princess, only with a wiccan; and school all the little kids in the practice of hocus pocus. Are you one of those in the same class of the modern day Hansel and Gretel’s? What did they, or you - learn? Like those two children, many of today’s brood are insecure and uncertain. It’s almost like your motherland demands her children be sent away. Fear of being sent into the woods and not know your way home is a regular concern. Once it was clear that leaving a trail of pebbles for the moonlight to shine your way back, was the right way to go. Now, that path is marked with crumbs, from scraps of stale bread. Bettelheim explains this condition accordingly: By implication, the story tells about debilitating consequences of trying to deal with life’s problems by means of regression and denial, which reduces one’s ability to solve problems... Hansel’s first voyage into the woods show accurate intelligence driven by anxiety when he placed pebbles down to form a trail, but having experienced denial and regression upon returning home, his second venture proved a failure with bread crumbs—living near the woods he should have known the birds would eat them—he has lost much of his initiative and ability to think clearly ( Bettelheim 160-1). Distress and worry drives most to look for satisfaction. When the sight of a sweet dwelling made from confections of delight lays before their eyes, most will open the door and walk in. But is it a desert that brings content or will it bring sugar shock? What will you learn from the siblings? Hansel and Gretel saw a little house built of bread. Moreover, it had cake for a roof and pure sugar for windows" (Zipes 61). Promptly the children set to work at devouring the house and seeking the satisfaction of oral pleasure. Hansel, who liked the taste of the roof, tore down a great piece of it, and Gretel pushed out the whole of one round window-pane, sat down, and enjoyed herself with it. When an old woman came in the door she said: "Oh, you dear children, who has brought you here Do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall happen to you." The current wisdom from the obese public is that the abode from where they feed is a public house. The shelter it provides shrinks with each morsel devoured. Like Hansel and Gretel they say: "Nibble, nibble, gnaw, Who is nibbling at my little house?" The children answered: "The wind, the wind, The heaven-born wind," The masses of the mainstream keep feasting, but each additional bite lacks the bliss of the first chew. The house they wandered into was not the candy castle they thought. The old woman had only pretended to be so kind; she was in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built the little house of bread in order to entice them there. When Hansel and Gretel came into her neighborhood, she laughed with malice, and said mockingly: "I have them, they shall not escape me again!" Then she seized Hansel with her shriveled hand, carried him into a little stable, and locked him in behind a grated door. Scream as he might, it would not help him. Then she went to Gretel, shook her till she awoke, and cried: "Get up, lazy thing, fetch some water, and cook something good for your brother, he is in the stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him." Gretel began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain, for she was forced to do what the wicked witch commanded. “It is perhaps this regression and denial that also lead Hansel and Gretel into the clutches of the cannibalistic witch. The witch is symbolic of their stepmother and also their oral fixation personified. However, after their fixation is conquered by fear of being eaten, intelligence returns and Gretel conquers the witch, freeing her brother, and stealing her jewels. Food is no longer the first priority. When the children arrive back home they have become more mature, and find that the evil (the stepmother) has gone, and with the wealth of the witch’s jewels they will live happily with their father.” The lack of food is not the problem for most. But the fear of being gobbled up by unknown foes seems to dominate the majority. The confectionery factory that tempts with shelter from an ill wind that blows, has baked a cake that only makes one sick. The alarm of being devoured and swallowed by wild animals, is not as immanent as being boiled and cooked by the wicked witch. But the multitude continue to be attracted and enter into the gingerbread house. Their regression stems from their lack of courage in admitting and affirming the truth. The allure and promises of the sugar daddy dispensing a fix for every want or need is far too seductive for most to resist. Their denial of the aftermath for accepting the treats avoids the consequences of eating that “free lunch”. The desire for security at any price, ends inevitable in the clutches of demons. The appeal of an enchantress does not exclude the final outcome. The hag will boil you in oil if you escape the ovens. What kind of shelter does this lodge provide? Consuming government ‘goodies’ only weakens and removes the canopy and casements. The natural winds do not blow down shelters built with sound substance. Nevertheless, the wicked witches of administration deceive the many into entering their house. Dancing with the animals and being wild, risks the freedom of individual anxiety. There lies the attraction! Such a Grimm fairy tale that most live . . . SARTRE - March 9, 2003