The Great Boodooboo-A Very Short Story

Imagine you're an explorer who happens upon a primitive tribe living in a remote part of the Amazon jungle. They're a friendly people who invite you to live with them in their village for as long as you'd like. You jump at the chance to be the first outsider to learn about these people and their way of life.

Its not long before you observe very peculiar behavior. Every single member of the tribe, at sunrise, lies prostrate on the ground facing towards a distant volcano and chants a strange chant. At midday, a small group of tribesmen carries off a large container of food and valuables. You are told they are on their way to the foot of the volcano. There they will make their offering to appease the Great Boodooboo, their god who lives within the volcano.

You make yourself comfortable in your new surroundings. One day, while working in the community garden, a young man approaches and boldly asks why you are not praying or contributing to the sacrificial offerings for Boodooboo. "Don't you know its best not to upset him? Why do you not at least engage in our rituals, that way you may live in peace forever and never know pain?"

How would you reply?

Days later, you are invited to the elder medicine man's hut. The medicine man wants to discuss your on-going rebellion against the Great Boodooboo. He allows you to speak first. You try to explain to this wise old man the science of geology, about the inner workings of volcanoes, about the source of their volatility and the reasons they erupt. The medicine man looks at you and shakes his head. "This is just a theory he says, which is nothing more than faith. We too have evidence that there is an angry god within the volcano. Just look, it is rumbling and smoking now! As a tribe, we have experienced first hand the results of disobeying Boodooboo. And we have also many times been blessed by his goodness."

How would you respond to the medicine man's charge that your atheism towards Boodooboo, and your use of science to support your disbelief, is no more justified than his own belief? It is faith, all the same, he says.

Time drags on and you begin to tire of life in the village. You prepare to leave but a group of warriors come with spears to stop you. "You cannot leave now that you've discovered us!" they say, "no one in the outside world can know we exist". Frightened and angry, you pull out your trusty revolver, the weapon you keep only for emergencies. Pointing in the air above the warriors heads, you fire a shot. "Stay back!" you scream. The group shrieks in fright and scatters in all directions. The medicine man, who observed the event from his hut, cooly walks out and bows before you. "Oh Great (your name), please forgive us for our transgressions! We did not know you were a God. Your will is now our command!" All the other villagers then emerge from the darkness and assume the reverent position.

"No, no!" you say, "Don't be ridiculous, I'm no God!"

"But Great (your name), you hold in your hand a mighty weapon of supernatural power."

"Su..su..supernatural?!" you sputter. "This is just a revolver-a machine. Its really not that complicated."

"But to us it is complicated, Great (your name)" "We cannot fathom how it works and how you came to be in possession of it...it is proof you are a God!"

How would you respond to this charge, that the inability to understand something complex was evidence of a supernatural power.

Somehow you are able to convince the elder and villagers that you are not a God. They agree to let you go. As you're walking away, an old lady cries out your name. "Don't go! You're life will be empty and meaningless without the love and protection of Boodooboo. You need him, you need us!"

You keep walking because you know your life is not empty or meaningless. You still love your friends and family. You still look forward to future adventures. You still revel in the unknown. You walk on, a brave explorer, happy and free, the Great Boodooboo a distant fading memory.