Parable of the Ostrich and the Eagle

An ostrich is a magnificent bird, with many fine qualities, but it cannot fly.  Nothing in this parable is intended to insult or demean the ostrich in any way.

Once there was an ostrich who thought it was terribly unfair that he could not fly like other birds.  Oh, he tried to fly, by running, jumping, flapping his wings, and squawking, but could only get a few feet off the ground for a fraction of a second, not anything that a sensible bird would call flying.  But, the ostrich was quite good at squawking; he could squawk with the best of birds.  And so, the other birds pitied the poor ostrich.  He had tried so hard to fly, and after all, it does seem unfair that most other birds can fly, so why not the ostrich?  Why not just tell the ostrich that, well, yes, all that running, jumping, flapping, and squawking, was actually flying?  After all, there are many other birds  that don't fly so well?  And it would make the ostrich feel better, and maybe stop all that infernal squawking.

But then, the eagle swooped down, and added his two-cents.  He said, "You can't call what the ostrich is doing flying!  All that running and jumping, flapping and squawking!  That's not flying!  That's a mockery of flight!  When the other animals think about flying, they should be thinking about the way we eagles can soar up into the heavens, and swoop back down to the earth.  Not all that squawking, and useless flapping! If you call that flying, you have destroyed what it means to fly.  I know many of you other birds don't fly so well, but when you fly, don't you want to imagine that you can fly like an eagle?  Or, do you want the new image of what it means to fly to be what the ostrich is doing?  I don't want to hurt the ostrich's feelings, but it is not in his nature to fly.  Let him glory instead in his own great gifts.  After all, what bird among us can run so fast as the ostrich?  Let the ostrich be the image of what it means for a bird to run, and leave the flying to the birds that can fly."

Well, since the wise old owls thought it best to stay out of it, in hopes that all the squawking might at last come to a end, and the other birds thought the eagle was just being arrogant and elitist, they passed a law proclaiming that ostriches can fly.  And, some generations later, even the mighty eagle could be found meeting this new standard of flight, squawking, running, jumping, and uselessly flapping.  But he was not nearly so good at it as the ostrich.  And so, it became clear to all the birds, that in all God's great kingdom, no bird could fly quite so well as the ostrich, though he never managed to actually get off the ground.

But after a time, a new predator entered the land, and found most birds who had adopted this new standard of flight easy pickings.  Soon, the only birds left were the ostriches, who could still outrun the predator, and some of the wise old owls who never really bought into the new definition of flight. And with all there fellow birds gone, they wondered if maybe they were not so wise, after all.