PolyProse

There is an old Aesop fable about a dog who wandered into a barn. Inside was a trough full of straw. The dog curled into the bed of dry grass, warmed by the sunlight spilling through the windows. While it rested, an ox entered. Unlike the dog, the ox had a rightful place there. He had labored in the fields. In return, he was fed and housed, rewarded with straw. But as he lowered his head toward his supper, he saw the intruder.

The dog woke at the sound of hoofbeats beside him. With bared teeth, it claimed the hay as its own and barked to drive the ox away. The ox retreated to avoid the fight. But while his belly grumbled, he stared at his dinner just out of reach. The ox then said, “Dogs don’t eat hay.” Regardless, they both remained in their positions. The dog guarded a resource it did not need; the ox refused to strike with the horns that might have reclaimed its property. I presume both starved: the dog out of spite and greed, the ox for passivity and inaction.

However, this is not a tale about barnyard animals. It’s a parable about human behavior in crisis. Look, for example, at Maui, the second-largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. At the time I am writing this, a tsunami is coming. Thousands flee with their families towards Keokea, which sits at a higher elevation. In normal conditions, the drive takes 45 minutes. But the roads are currently congested and at a standstill.

But why are they stuck? Is it because Maui lacks an efficient road to higher ground? No, there is a road, one that would make the journey only 10 minutes long. The route begins at the water tank on Kealakapu Road. It ends at Keokea. This one road could easily resolve the harrowing congestion. Why is no one taking it? Well, that’s because, according to recent reports, a dog is guarding the entry, and that dog’s name is Oprah Winfrey.

Winfrey purchased the 23.7-acre stretch of land in 2003. She later paved a private road on the property. The road is hers, and like Aesop’s dog, she has taken claim. Mothers, fathers, and children wait as sirens blare, while the shortest path to survival remains selfishly locked. If these reports are accurate, Oprah has not opened her road to the public. Lives are at risk. Not because Maui lacks a road, but because one lies unused. For some, the next 24 hours could be their last, all because a resource lies hoarded instead of shared. The fable repeats itself: a dog in the manger, snarling over straw it cannot eat, while others starve at its feet.

(The section highlighted in yellow is the path Residents must take. Starting at Wailea then through Keokea to higher ground. The path highlighted in red is Oprah’s private road.)

In this situation, who do we blame? The ox for not using its horns, or the dog guarding a resource it does not need. More importantly, where is the farmer, and why isn’t he responsible for what happens in the barn?