The Tiger Is Killing Us

There is a tiger on the outskirts of town and he is eating us, one by one. Each night we hear the screams of another victim, a neighbor, a friend, but always a faceless someone. They are quick to clean up the “mess” lest any panic ensue. But we all know what is happening.

The tiger is killing us, one by one.

After each attack the mayor appears and he urges calm. “We are not certain it is a tiger. Let us not cast fear upon the tiger population.” (Does this man live in the same town? Does he not hear the same screams? See the same blood stains? Notice our decreasing numbers?)

“But tigers are a wonderful species. We must celebrate them for their tiger-ness.” And then, the kicker, he announced, “ We will be bringing in tiger cubs to all the neighborhoods and they shall live among us and we can all get along then. And you shall all see that tigers are a good species, even if there is one bad one here or there.”

Jones and the local hunters gathered at the town square and formed a posse, of sorts. “We must stop this madness. Come with us to hunt the tiger.” As it headed to the forest, the hunting party was met with force by the local militia and disbanded.

“To show our tiger friends that we mean them no harm, the authorities will go house to house to collect all guns.” After they took our shotgun and pistols, the sheriff and his men were heading down the street to the next home when we heard that sound again. As we looked up to hear the gurgling from the woods line, a deputy reached down to scratch behind the ears of a little frolicking cub. “Cute little guy,” he said.

The tiger is killing us, one by one.

“We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be.”

Winston Churchill