A School Of Fish: A Parable

A School of Fish: A Parable.

Once upon a time, there was a large tank filled with water, where many different types of fish swam. All were brightly colored and shiny, some were big, others were small.

They all spent their days swimming in circles and admiring each other's unique colorations. Their life was simple, but they were provided food, clean water and company, so they didn't complain. The one exception was the oldest fish in the tank. He was much darker in color than the rest of the fish and he didn’t swim in circles or dash up to get food. He always lurked in the shadows of the bottom of the tank and waited until the leftover food sunk down to him.

The only thing that broke the joy of their daily life was when the net came. Every so often, a black circle would be lowered into the tank, and a seemingly invisible force would scoop up a fish, and drag them to the surface. This would terrify the rest of the fish and the tank would explode with activity, but with nowhere to go, they simply darted from one side to the other, or sped around in circles. Eventually, they would calm down, only to find out that one of them, sometimes two, were missing. None of them knew where they were taken, but they knew that they never returned. They would often speculate about the disappearances and what could be done about it.

“I tell you,”  a bright orange fish began, after the net had taken another one of their members, “that the ones taken might be going to a bigger tank!”

“Hardly,” a blue and green striped fish said confidently. “Once, when I was on the surface eating, I saw a whole bunch of other fish, with something running through their gills, and they were being carried away…dead!”

“It's true!” Said a silvery fish with a green head. “Once, I saw a man sitting at a table, eating one of us! It was horrifying!” This fish was lying, he had never seen anything outside of the tank, but it did not matter. The other fish were willing to believe anyone that sounded like an authority.

This sparked a debate amongst the fish about what could be done.
“We should ban nets, I tell you!” was the majority cry. “If we can get rid of the nets, we can’t be scooped out anymore!”

The other fish would counter, “How can we ban the nets? We can’t even see them! What we need to do is better secure the tank, make it impossible for nets to get in!”

An even smaller minority, the ones that were most ridiculed by the other fish suggested; “Those are just the symptoms of the problem, what we need to do is eliminate the man holding the net. If we can do that, the problem is solved!” 

Debate ensued and the fish called each other names and nothing was done, because they could never make a decision, and because they were fish.

Days passed. The net came regularly and took away many fish. Still, the fish did nothing that could stop the onslaught.

Finally, there were only 3 fish left. A somewhat drab colored fish, a bright blue and orange with long fins, and the old fish that never left the shadows at the bottom of the tank, yet he was still completely forgotten by the other two. 

“What can we do?” The blue and orange fish cried out. “One or both of us will be taken next time!”
“I know, I know, but I just can't think of what to do!” Replied the drab fish.

Finally, the day came. The black circle came into the tank. The two fish darted and sped around the tank, but it was no use. The bright blue and orange fish was trapped against the side of the tank and was dragged to the surface, disappearing forever.

Lonely and scared, the drab fish finally darted down to the bottom of the tank. The water was colder down there, but it was darker and he hoped his color would help keep him hidden.

“Oh!” He exclaimed when he saw the old fish, “I thought I was quite alone in here now!”
“I have been here all along,” the old fish replied, “I simply do not venture to the surface for any reason.”
“Why not?” The drab fish asked.

“Because It’s safer down here, the net can’t reach this far down.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this?” The drab fish asked indignantly.

“I’ve tried in the past, but you pretty fish always laughed at me, so eventually I stopped trying. You are the first to speak to me in a long time.”

After a moment, the drab fish replied, “I’m sorry the other fish made fun of you. I was just scared of the net and didn’t know what to say.”

“The net is not the problem.” The old fish said knowingly.

The drab fish responded, “well, the man then or maybe this tank isn’t secure enough?”
“Also, not the problem.” The old fish said.

The drab fish was getting frustrated. Maybe this fish had been here a long time, but he clearly didn’t understand the problems that went on in the tank.
“Well, if you are so smart, tell me what the problem is!”

After a pause, the old fish responded, “The danger, my young fish, is not the net, not the man, not anything else you can point to easily…the problem is this tank.”

Stunned, the drab fish was silent. He knew the old fish was right, but he had never heard the other fish even consider this. The drab fish waited at the bottom of the tank, half expecting to be taken away by the net, but it never came. He waited in the dark shadows, next to the old fish.

Many days later, the drab fish was shocked to see an explosion of color above him. New fish! He darted up to them to warn them of the danger they were in, but they only mocked him and made fun of his drab colors. Disappointed he swam back to the bottom of the tank and the shadows. 

If only they would listen, if only they could see the danger of the tank. But no, they loved the tank and were doomed to repeat the same mistakes of all those who had come before.