Stories
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As told in the tales of King Arthur, the best version is that un-king Arthur is instructed to get a sword for the black knight, whose sword had been broken in the jousting competition. Arthur rides off to find a sword and sees an old rusty blade stuck in a stone in a weeded church yard . He rides over and removes it, takes it back to the tournament where it is recognized as the king's sword of England and so he is made king.
This is a concept found primarily in mythology, where it may have been believed that leaders should be selected in such a way that the office in some manner comes to innocents and unenthusiastic persons, who are not intoxicated with the desire for wealth and power typified by schemers, gold diggers and vile greedy fascists.
There was a story told by a fellow who had been in the army and they sent him to one of the countries in Central America. "Have you ever had any experience with snakes?" they asked him. "No", he replied. So they made him an instructor on the subject of poisonous snakes, that his military students might encounter in the local landscape. He was told on his first day, that the very live snakes he would be using for class demonstrations, had the venom removed and were harmless. He used these snakes in classes for a year, and on his last day he mentioned to his replacement, who was a biologist and had considerable training with reptiles, that the snakes were not poisonous.
"Oh no" --- said the biologist, "I don't know who told you that, but these snakes are still poisonous and are some of the most dangerous snakes in the world."
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