On one side there is a group of parties and individuals who are called the right elsewhere, and Liars in Butala. They speak, promise, swear and explain everything in turn, but not the truth. On the other side, where they are known everywhere as leftists, there are Naivci in Butala. They listen, nod, believe and finally applaud. And so the Butalas breathe, some exhaling words that others inhale as truth.
Before the elections for the president of the butal assembly, the Liars stood before the Naives and said: “We will never cooperate with the lying upstarts!” The Naives nodded: “Finally principled people!” Then the Naives stood before the Liars and said: “We will never cooperate with you either!” The Liars nodded: “Excellent! That’s exactly what we need.” And they all breathed a sigh of relief because they were finally united, each in their own untruth.
Just before the decisive vote, a whisper was heard in Butala: “Listen! The eavesdroppers are outside!” And indeed, someone hung long strips of paper on the bulletin board in front of Pri Zmedenem Oslu tavern, on which it was written who is stealing from whom, who owes whom, and who has already promised to take something from him, who is lying to whom, and who believes whom. Butalci gathered like flies to honey or to something else, depending on the record. “Look at him, he was stealing from me! Be quiet, it says here that you stole from him! But that was only once! Then it’s not a problem, it says here that he stole from everyone!” Those who were mentioned the most were the most upset. Not because they were ashamed, but because they were not written at the top of the list. And while the Butalians read the wiretaps, turned them over, folded them and, if necessary, corrected them, a voice spread among them: “This is the work of an agent of the Liars!” The naive read and shook their heads: “Look at them, they lie!” The Liars read and shook their heads: “Look at them, they believe!”
And indeed, the Naives, outraged by the lies, went to the polls and voted exactly as the Liars had previously told them not to. When the votes were counted, the result was completely lopsided. He was elected who claimed that he would not cooperate with anyone, and he was elected by those who claimed that they would not cooperate with him. The one who got the most votes was not relevant at all. “Why?” asked the Naives. “Because we didn’t lie about him,” explained the Liars. “And what is not a lie, it cannot succeed in Butala.”
At the first meeting, the new president elected from among the Liars stood up and said: “I will not cooperate with you!” The Naives applauded: “Keep your word!” The Liars added: “Of course, because it was a lie from the beginning.”
And that’s how everything goes smoothly in Butala: Liars lie, Naives believe. The agent of the Liars, however, brings evidence from time to time to make it easier for the Naives to believe that now they really know the truth. But in Butala, an old saying applies: “Truth is the lie that most Naives believe.”
And that’s why the Butalas are solid as a rock, even though they stand on the words themselves.
Tomaž Šumi, Lesce
