THE PIPER’S TUNE
Hanns F Skoutajan
It was in the summer of 1970 that my family and I journeyed to Germany to visit my relatives for the first time. Of course it was also an occasion to do some of the touristy things of which there are plenty. Thus it was that on one week end we visited the charming medieval town of Hamelin famous as the setting of the story of the Pied Piper who had cleansed the town of its infestation of rats. Then when the town fathers refused to pay the piper he played a different tune that attracted all the children of the community and led them into a mountain never to be seen again - a rather rough ending but not unfamiliar in German literature even children’s stories.
Each Sunday the burgers of the town reenact the world famous story. Thousands descend upon this community to witness the event. The town square which becomes the stage is crowded by visitors from all over Europe and beyond.
My family and I squeezed into this crowd. We managed to get our son and daughter into the front row where they watched bug-eyed as children of their own age masqueraded as rats scurried about doing all sorts of mischief, chased furiously by housewives with brooms while their husbands discussed the dilemma in council .
As I watched a thought came to mind and I turned to my wife to tell her that I had the feeling that friends of ours from Canada were present. She corroborated my feelings, but when the show was over and the spectators were dissipating down the narrow alleys to their tour buses or other vehicles we did not catch a glimpse of our friends although Jack, the father was a rather tall man with a large head of black hair.
Months later when we encountered them again “back home” we checked our notebooks and lo and behold our two families had been in Hamelin at the same time watching the same reenactment of the famous story. Unusual? Well perhaps not given the huge audience that had gathered for the play.
The event came vividly to mind a few days ago when I received word that our friend Jack, only a couple of years younger than I, had passed away.
We had kept in touch over the years and were saddened by his departure from this life.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin is of course an old morality play. But unlike most such stories which deal with individual responsibility this one is directed at corporate sin. It shows the town fathers’ unwillingness to live up to their fiscal responsibility. They broke their deal with their employee, the piper who had done them such a good service. Their malfeasance had an extremely tragic ending. Their most precious possessions, their progeny, the future of the community, was taken away.
I have often thought about our investment in the future. In my last blog
“ Birthdays” I wrote about this future generation, particularly my own grandchild. I am greatly upset when our leaders, politicians and corporate elite forget about the human investment in favour of bank and stock markets. When the “crash” comes as it did in 2008 the bail out did little for ‘the least of these”, the children of “Hamelin.” while banks and their managers escaped prosecution and indeed prospered.
Undoubtedly this sounds all rather simplistic . I don’t have a masters degree in economics as does our prime minister, mine is in divinity, both rather awesome subjects, but I do believe that our first concern as a nation must be about the many pipers that make up this mighty orchestra of ours. Their welfare is of prime importance if we are to function as a society. Nor can we allow one segment to flourish while the others lag far behind as is the case today, it makes for disharmonious music.
I also wrote about our responsibility toward our environment, as I often do.
It can only be short changed with dire consequences some of which are manifesting themselves already.
The story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin is a simple story which every child on the town square of Hamelin that day could easily comprehend. Its economics takes no postgraduate degree to understand. My own children certainly did. Its moral thrust is simple, why is it so hard to employ it in the larger sphere and indeed throughout the world? The future of civilization depends on it.
SQ 23/02/2015
