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A long time ago, in a land not so far away, a traveller entered a town called Comptent.
On entering the outskirts of the town the man was bemused by a large pile of brightly coloured boxes in a field on the right of the path. The boxes were beautiful and decorated in many bright and vibrant colours and the man wondered what such beautiful boxes were simply discarded at the side of the road.
As the man entered the town he was struck by another strange sight. All of the villagers in Comptent seemed to be walking oddly, some with difficulty, and some walking as though they were in pain and discomfort. Confused by what he had seen on arriving in Comptent he stopped for a while at a café so that he could ponder on his thoughts while watching and observing further. What struck him was that he suddenly realised that the reason the villagers in Comptent were walking oddly was because all of the in Comptent villagers seemed to be wearing the same shoes. What was even more absurd was that the shoes were all the same colour and seemed to be the same size. He saw large people whose toes were sticking out of the end of shoes that had been cut open to make room for their large feet, and small people whose feet had been bandaged to stop the shoes from falling off their small feet. He saw thin people who were wearing extra socks so that their ankles fitted the shoe better and fat people wearing the same shoes who has had the rim of the shoe cut open further to allow them to get the shoe on.
As the waiter arrived at his table with the bill he noticed that the waiter too was wearing the same shoes as everyone else. In his case the toes of his shoes had been cut open to allow his larger sized feet to fit in the shoe this allowing him to wear them.
Fascinated by what he was observing he decided to see if he could find some answers from the waiter.
“May I ask you something?” said the traveller.
“Certainly” replied the waiter.
“I can’t help but notice that everyone in Comptent wears the same shoes, and that it seems to me that all of the shoes are the same size. I was wondering why, in an age where variety in all aspects of life is freely available, the villagers don’t simply wear different sized shoes that would fit their own feet?” asked the traveller.
“That’s easy,” replied the waiter, The in Comptent shoemaker has decreed that all shoes must be the same size.”
“But why?” asked the traveller.
“Because he is the shoemaker” replied the waiter in a terse tone, “He knows what’s best for us.”
“But wouldn’t you rather wear shoes that fit you properly” said the traveller.
“Why should I, no-one else does and if I was to wear different shoes I would stand out in the crowd, I’d be different. At least this way I can be the same as everyone else.”
“But your shoes are ill-fitting and must surely make it harder for you to do you job” said the traveller.
“That’s true” said the waiter, “but it’s the same for everyone so at least I can gain comfort in knowing that others are experiencing the same limitations as I do, and safe in that knowledge it makes wearing my shoes bearable.”
Intrigued and puzzled by what the waiter had told him the traveller decided to find the shoemaker so that he may quiz him on this strange phenomenon that he was observing, so he asked the waiter to direct him to where he could find the shoemaker in Comptent, and set off on his way.
As he walked through the village he passed a doctors surgery and he noticed the old doctor sat outside enjoying the fresh air.
“Good morning” said the traveller.
“Good morning” replied the doctor.
“I’m on my way to find the in Comptent shoemaker and I was wondering if I may sit a while and rest with you?” asked the traveller.
“Of course”, said the doctor and the traveller sat and rested a while.
“Forgive me for asking,” said the traveller addressing the doctor, “but I have noticed that all of the villagers in Comptent seem to be wearing the same size shoes.”
“That’s correct.” Replied the doctor.
“Having noticed how difficult many of the villagers find walking in their shoes, and noticing how many of the villagers have had to adapt their feet and / or the shoes to make them fit, I was wondering whether many of them come to you with ailments or sore feet as a result of the shoes not fitting properly” said the traveller.
“Sometimes the odd one or two will come to me complaining that their feet hurt but that has nothing to do with me, it’s because they have the wrong type of feet” replied the in Comptent Doctor.
Amazed at what he heard the traveller asked the doctor to explain further.
“You see,” said the doctor, “there is nothing wrong with the shoes. They are made by the shoemaker. Therefore, the shoes must be the right size. I mean, why would a shoemaker intentionally make shoes the wrong size?”
The traveller thanked the doctor in Comptent for his time and went on his way. After a while he came upon the shoemakers shop. On entering the shop he was greeted by a man who said: “Welcome, welcome, I am the in Comptent shoemaker. Come in and please sit so I may measure your feet to gain your shoe size.”
The traveller sat and the shoemaker took off the shoes he was wearing and began to measure his feet.
“Excellent. Size 8. Brilliant” said the shoemaker, “I have a size 9 that will fit you just fine.” As the shoemaker scurried away to get the shoes he noticed that the shoemaker was moving with ease and speed in contrast to the other villagers who had to shuffle and hobble due to the shoes they wore. As the traveller looked closer he noticed that the master shoemaker was wearing training shoes.
As he was scurrying about the shoemaker said: “What style shoe box would you like? We have many different styles and many different colours and patterns, please feel free to choose the shoe box that fits your need.”
As the traveller looked around he noticed the many beautifully coloured and designed boxes on the shelves around the shop. They were exactly the same as the ones he had seen discarded on his way in Comptent.
On his return the shoemaker presented the traveller with a pair of shoes that were exactly the same as everyone else in the village was wearing. Everyone else that is, apart from the master shoemaker himself. As the traveller tried the shoes on he said: “These are a bit too big. Do you have a smaller size?”
The shoemaker looked at him puzzled and said: “Smaller size, smaller size. Never. All of my shoes are the right size. It is you sir who are the wrong size. You have the wrong sized feet.”
Not wishing to offend the shoemaker the traveller apologised but explained that where he comes from it was normal to buy shoes that fit each person, hence why he had asked the question.
The shoemaker accepted the traveller’s apology and asked to know more about where the traveller had come from and the strange customs in his land. The traveller agreed in return for some information from the shoemaker himself.
After the traveller had spoken of his homeland he asked the shoemaker why all of the in Comptent people have to have the same shoe and why was only one size available.
The shoemaker looked at him with a look of mild curiosity with a tinge of disbelief as to why someone would ask such a question when the answer was seemingly obvious, the proceeded to give the following explanation:
“If people had too much choice how would they know what was best for them? I am the in Comptent shoemaker and as such I am expected to know best, therefore, I do. So I bild in Comptent shoes for the villagers based on what I know the villagers need – not what they may think they want. Otherwise we could end up with the villagers knowing more than what is required. In addition, if the shoes were made to fit each individual person’s feet and we were to offer different styles of shoe, in different colours, then we would have to broaden our knowledge to learn how to do that. Furthermore, we would possibly have to consult the villagers to see what they wanted, what would be most functional for them and what styles they would be likely to buy otherwise we could end up with stock that we couldn’t sell.
In short if we made shoes to fit the villagers they would have choice and choice leads to freedom and freedom leads to liberty and if the villagers had freedom and liberty they may leave the village and then I would have no customers, the King would have no subjects and the village would die.
Giving people choice is bad. The shoes I bild serve a higher purpose. They ensure that the Kingdom survives and that everyone knows their place.”
“So what purpose do the beautifully coloured boxes serve?” asked the traveller.
“Simple,” said the shoemaker, “the different coloured boxes make the people feel that their shoes are special, and they always come back when they need a new box but they can’t get a box without buying a new pair of shoes.”
“So really, what you do is re-package the same old product that you continue to bild in the same old way?” said the traveller.
“Correct,” said the shoemaker, “but because the box is new the shoe seems new so I always get a repeat sale and the customers are never dissatisfied as they always know what they are getting, even if it doesn’t fit properly or suit their needs fully or allow them to do their jobs properly.”
“Why is it that you wear well-fitting trainers?” asked the traveller.
“Simple,” said the shoemaker, “I need to wear comfortable shoes to enable me to get about more efficiently and effectively around the village ensuring that everyone is wearing the same shoes, and is punished if they don’t. Therefore, I can’t afford to not be able to do that. If I had ill-fitting shoes my feet may get damaged I wouldn’t be able to make sure that everyone else was wearing what they should be.”
“Where do you get your trainers from?” asked the traveller.
“I make them” said the master shoemaker.
“Does it take a lot more time and effort to make such well-fitting trainers” said the traveller.
“No, not at all” said the master shoemaker. “In fact, it takes less time and is more enjoyable.”
“So have you never considered making training shoes like yours available for the in Comptent villagers?” said the traveller.
“I have” said the shoemaker, “but they are now so used to using ill-fitting shoes, and so used to the inconvenience it causes and the limitations it places on them in carrying out their jobs, they wouldn’t possibly appreciate a good pair of shoes. Therefore, it is possibly best just to give them what they expect, limitations and all.”
“Don’t they ever question your authority?” asked the traveller.
“Never!” Said the shoemaker. “By making them believe that I, a shoemaker, could never be wrong, simply because I am a shoemaker, and by making them believe that it is their feet that are the problem, because they are lesser than I, they accept that it cannot be the shoes that are the problem, but that the limitations they experience is in the fact they have the wrong sized feet. That way it is easy to keep them in their place.”
“So no-one has ever questioned this situation – ever?” asked the traveller again.
“Well there was once someone, a young man much like yourself, who, many years ago, began to ask a few awkward questions which I would have found difficult to answer and justify had it not been for the other in Comptent villagers. You see, the other in Comptent villagers, not wishing to look stupid themselves, made fun of the person asking the questions. Every time he asked a question the other in Comptent villagers would laugh, and point at him and eventually he was made to feel as if there was something wrong with him. It’s a great system you know, it’s even self-policing as the in Comptent villagers have become what they believe they are. No-one wants to look stupid or feel like they don’t belong, so they stay quiet and put up with the limitations imposed on them, discomfort and pain in all, for the sake of conformity. In the end they just became complacent to avoid confrontation or isolation.”
Where do you live?? The story continues………………………………………………………
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