A Dog, a Grate, and Our Undying Need for Heroic Narratives
Seriously? Firefighters? For a dog stuck behind a drainage grate? I mean, bless its little cotton socks, the canine was undoubtedly distressed, but did it really require the full force of San Bernardino Countys finest to stage an elaborate rescue operation? It’s not like the world was ending. There wasnt a building collapsing or a family trapped. Just a dog. Behind a grate.
Apparently, we now need highly-trained professionals equipped with specialized equipment to handle minor pet inconveniences. Because clearly, the owner couldnt have wrangled a crowbar or called a slightly less glamorous, yet equally capable, animal control officer? I’m just picturing the budget meeting: We absolutely must divert resources from preventative wildfire measures to rescue Fido from a metal grid. Brilliant planning!
And the press release! Don’t even get me started. The heartwarming photos, the eloquent descriptions of bravery and dedication… Its all so wonderfully manufactured. We are spoon-fed these stories because apparently our collective attention span can only be held by narratives of heroic intervention in the face of utterly mundane situations.
A dog got stuck. A grate exists. Someone freed the dog. Let’s move on. Can we please focus on, I dont know, actual emergencies?
