I.R. “The kingdom of man is like a group of friends who went out to dinner to celebrate a special occasion. They were seated at a table of an unloved waitress. She took a long time to get their orders, hardly ever refilled their drinks, and never asked if they wanted dessert. Increasingly throughout the evening they watched her movements, tried to get her attention, and were distracted from what was otherwise a pleasant experience. Though the occasion was joyous, the food excellent, and the conversation stimulating, for years the primary thing the group of friends remembered was how bad the service was.”

*I challenge you to write a parable about the kingdom of man.

Bronco: “The kingdom of man is like an American book club. People gathered to discuss stories, but instead of joyfully sinking and shrinking into the dwarfing power of fiction, the members were peevishly preoccupied with their own “perceptive insights,” political correctness, and their aptitude for hosting. After every meeting people would anxiously disperse asking themselves, “Did I talk too much?” “Did I sound stupid?” “Was that piece of spinach in my teeth the whole time!?” “Why was so-and-so invited?” Then, one day an Iranian man with Asperger’s mysteriously showed up and joyfully imaginatively immersed himself in the story being discussed. And the members of the book club dismissed him as a fool.”