But The Coffin Sure Is Decorated Pretty

I never cared for Plato. To this day I do not understand why he was ever considered a great mind. Too much of Platonic philosphy is based on a set of assumptions that should be conclusions instead of being taken as foundational truths, e.g. that perfection can be objectively measured, or that all things that change are imperfect.

However, I am deeply enamored with his parable of the prisoners who were kept chained in a cave. Briefly put, a group of prisoners who were chained in a cave knew nothing of the outside world except for the reflections and shadows of that world which showed up on a nearby body of water. The prisoners, not having a basis to understand otherwise, perceived those shadows and reflections as reality. They did not have knowledge that there was something real that generated those images so they took the images to be real. Their illusions were their version of reality.

Plato's analogy was that the bulk of humanity only sees the illusions. They can only  judge appearances. They do not understand what is real and, there for, take their perceptions to be truth. This has likely always been the case but in today's world of public relations, advertising, and rampant materialism I suspect that the gap between what is perceived and what is real has never been greater.

Starting with the simplest of examples, should not the test of the quality of music be whether or not its sound is pleasing? However, in nearly ever form of music their is a great appreciation of sounds that seem to have little appeal to the ear yet are very difficult to perform. The super complex jazz riff, and lightening fast banjo break have something in common. They both look (and are) very difficult to perform, cacophonious Sometimes "sounds good" and "looks hard" seem to receive equal billing in determining the quality of a performance.

Now consider the issue of equine health. Is it more important to most horse owners that a horse be healthy or that it appear healthy? When one considers how many horses are fed horrible diets of sugar and grains and forced to slog through life two hundred pounds over weight, all so they will "look good", one must wonder. When shampoos and detergents are applied regularly to horses' skins leaving them susceptible to skin irritations and infections, one must wonder. When horses are forced to remain in stables because it is too hot, or too cold, or too wet, or too dry for them to be outside, one must wonder. When horses wear shoes until the hoof's natural suspension system is destroyed, one must wonder. When horses are kept isolated from one another instead of living in groups so that none will end up with bite marks, or even scars, one must wonder.

But pretending that a thing is real does not make it so. Dressing a lie up until it is pretty does not make it true. It just makes the lie more palatable. Whether one be buried in an elaborate sarcophagus or a simple pine box, one is still dead.

Unfortunately the established horse world allows itself to remain chained in the cave while agri-business and equi-business make shadow puppets on the lake for them to observe. The equine press reflects the views of their advertiser's (agri-business and equi-business) and their readers (the established horse world).

And it is the horses that pay the price for such economically beneficial ignorance.

My wife is brilliant. In nearly every case, I take her advice on matters in which we disagree. But not every case.

She has advised me to stop writing things that anger the established horse world. She sees no benefit in doing so. I suspect that she is correct.

However, I think back to when I was in high school. Although his cancer diagnosis did not give even a glimmer of hope, it took a long time for Granddaddy Horace to die. One day we were feeding the hogs and he was moving particularly well.

He said, "If I did not know that I was getting ready to die I'd swear that I am getting better." He paused for only a moment and then he said, "But pretending ain't going to change nothing."

He was right.

Maybe if I wrote positive things about the established horse world it would inure to my  advantage. Maybe I could at least keep quiet. It might be possible for me to even pretend that I think that the establsihed horse world is doing a great job of equine stewardship.

But facts are still facts. Up is still up. Down is still down.

And pretending ain't going to change nothing.