Commentary, Opinion

Three cows please

April 24, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

I used to work with a guy who came from a certain European country.

In fact, there were several guys at this place of business from that same country. That country in particular had a good work ethic. Generally, the culture thought you should work for a living to support your family.

The guys were all friendly and fun to work with.

The reason I won’t mention the country is because there is a joke here, and as we all know, you can no longer tell a joke about a particular person, nationality, group, ethnicity, hair colour, religious belief, political status, weight, gender, shoe size, or eyebrows without someone getting offended.

So I’ll just refer to this guy as coming from Country ‘C’.

He would tell me about his homeland from time to time, and in the course of discussion, he said his country would never rise to a top nation status – even though that particular country is doing well.

He told me there is a national joke they have about themselves and their attitude, and why they will never outperform their neighbours.

The joke is:

A guy and his two friends, all from different countries, found a magic lamp. Yes, it had a Genie who granted them all one wish.

The man from Country A, said ‘I only have one cow. My neighbour has three cows. I want to have three cows like my neighbour.”

“Granted,” said the Genie.

The man from Country B, said, “I only have one cow. My neighbour has three cows. I want three cows like my neighbour.”

“Your wish is granted,” said the Genie, and the guy got his three cows.

“What is your wish?” the Genie asked the guy from Country C.

The man from Country C replied, “I only have one cow. My neighbour has three cows. I want him to have only one cow, like me.”

Some people just do not like it when someone else achieves success.

This happens on a small scale all the time, and I’m sure you have seen it yourself. You have a friend or family member who does something remarkable, and there is always the one person who makes a derogatory comment about that achievement.

Recently, there has been a growing resentment about billionaires. People really hate it when a person becomes extremely successful.

There are posts going around social media claiming that billionaires are the real problem in society and are the ones causing the ills of the nation.

Maybe the people who have steady employment in a company owned by a billionaire would disagree.

Not a lot of people have the ability to achieve great wealth. If it were easy, we would all do it.

However, the opportunity is there. Nothing is stopping you from trying to be a success in life.

Several years ago, a poverty group in Toronto decided to hold a protest. They chose to march through the Forest Hill area of the city and condemn the ‘rich’ people who lived there, for being wealthy.

They marched through the streets with signs and chants saying that the rich people who lived in nice homes were the reason other people lived in poverty.

The protest fell flat. They did not achieve the support they thought they would receive.

Most people realize you can’t blame a rich guy because another person lives in poverty. In fact, the people living in these fancy houses employed a lot of people. If the people in the poverty group apply for a job with one of these companies, they may be able to work their way out of a bad situation.

One homeowner in that neighbourhood was interviewed and asked what he thought about a poverty protest in front of his house.

He replied by saying he and his neighbours had all worked hard for years to build their businesses and there was nothing stopping the people in the poverty group from working hard to achieve success themselves.

There’s an old saying: Money can’t buy happiness.

Well, yes, it can. I’ve never heard anyone say, “Financial stability is horrible.”

The same people who always say you can’t point at a certain group and blame them for a problem in society are the first to do the very same thing and point out high achievers as the reason for someone else’s problems.

We’re not all going to become rich, but there’s nothing stopping you from trying. 

Readers Comments (0)