When Wisdom Hisses Back

My friend Glenn recently shared one of those moral lessons online. You know the type. simple, wise, and meant to make us all nod and say, “Hmm, so true.” His point was that anger only hurts the one who clings to it.

Solid advice, but of course, being the smart aleck I am, I couldn’t just leave it alone. No, I had to wander into myth and medicine with a Caduceus in hand.

See, Glenn’s story was about a mighty snake that decided to wrap itself around a sharp sword. Naturally, it cut itself.

Instead of letting go, the snake got mad. Really mad.

So it squeezed tighter, slicing itself into neat little snake confetti. Moral achieved–anger hurts you more than it hurts the sword.

But then I thought of the snake’s twin siblings, you know, the ones entwined on the Caduceus, the symbol of medicine. Unlike their sword-hugging brother, they coiled politely around an olive branch.

All nice and peaceful at first, until, in true sibling fashion, they managed to strangle the very branch holding them up. And just like that, the whole healthcare system has been gasping for air ever since.

And just when you think three snakes are enough, along slithers a fourth, the one from the Garden of Eden. You remember him.

Smooth talker, shiny scales, big on fruit. He didn’t wrap himself around a sword or a branch.

He just whispered, “Go on, take a bite, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Next thing you know, humanity’s running around in fig leaves and arguing about whose fault it was.

So there you have it, the Trifecta of Trouble. One snake bleeds itself dry, another strangles the system, and the third gets us kicked out of paradise. And somehow, we humans looked at all that and said, “Yep, let’s use snakes as a symbol for healing.”

Brilliant.

So Glenn’s right, anger will cut you down, but I’d argue his story needs an appendix. Sometimes, even when you think you’re choosing peace, teamwork, and healing, or healthy eating, you can still end up choking the life out of the very thing you were trying to support.

Either way, snakes make lousy role models.