Tale of the Centrist
There was once a centrist who wanted to be equidistant from both extremes. So he built his home at a spot that was 10 kilometers from the sea on the right and 10 kilometers from the edge of the forest on the left. He was thus satisfied that he was the same distance from both sides.
Time passed and the climate changed. Water levels rose, and the sea came closer. Deforestation caused the forest to recede.
But the centrist kept telling everyone proudly that he was equidistant from both sides.
Time continued to pass. Eventually, there came a day when the forest had receded so far away that it wasn't even visible from the centrist's house. And the sea had come so close to the house that it was practically beachfront property.
But the centrist continued to say that he did not take sides and that he was happy to occupy the space in the middle. That he was neither on the side of the sea nor the forest.
Towards the end of his life, the centrist was wading in knee-deep waters inside his house, laughing at those who said he was being consumed by the sea in a world where trees no longer existed. He called it forest propaganda.
