The Running of the Fools

One day Dave started running. He began in his home town and before he knew it he’d covered the whole county, he crossed boarders and ran up mountains and over lakes and streams, through forests and deserts and beyond the oceans.

He saw many beautiful things, all that nature and man had to offer, so much culture and art and great feats of engineering and he marvelled at the strength and complexity of the human spirit.

Eventually it occurred to him; he never quite knew why he was running. So he began to search the reason within himself. At the point of his deepest contemplation he realised that he was not alone.

There were others such as himself, thousands, so many that often he was being carried along by the crowd. These were the best and the brightest, educators and doctors, great men of religion and science, politicians, industrialists and entrepreneurs, all running in the same direction.

So he called out loud to them and asked; what are we running from?

‘Terrorism,’ screamed one.

‘Religious persecution,’ came another.

‘Disease,’ said a third.

‘Racism,’ cried some.

‘Sexism,’ another group.

‘Climate change,’

As such a great cacophony of fear filled the air, and arguments broke out on who’s was worse, each person producing stats and facts that hurt Dave’s brain.

And when all had had their say Dave realised something; it was evident they were all correct, they all made valid points, but the things they were talking about could not be outdone in a race, no matter how fast they ran these things would always be there in close pursuit.

Eventually it came to him, they were running from the people these atrocious things affected most. The poor and the afflicted. People whose crops had failed because of drought or floods, refugees from wars that had lost their homes, victims of persecution from some of the very people he was running with.

In despair he began question himself, Why him? Why could he run? Is it because he had top of the line sneakers, a fancy watch and a phone that told him where to go? 

There were no answers.

Running became fatiguing, his feet began to blister, sweat burnt his eyes and the realisation weighed heavily on him threatening to crush his soul. 

All he had to do was stop, turn around and face his own humanity, but instead he kept on running and so did they all.