I was raised by an earlier, more rugged generation that had no qualms about exposing tiny tots to the dubious friendship between a certain little fellow with a nodding head and an older gent with over-developed auditory sensory receptors. I did not question the possible impropriety of Snow White cohabiting with seven vertically-challenged mine-workers while the inter-racial and cross-cultural implications of Beauty's relationship with the Beast simply never occurred to me. It was perhaps a less-complicated era although, judging by the brouhaha these products of the depraved minds of the Brothers Grimm have spawned in recent years, I must suppose that my budding psyche was scarred by reading (and re-reading) these traditional tales. I do confess it was something of a disappointment to discover that, having snagged my Prince Charming and sped off with him into the sunset in our trusty (if somewhat rusty) chariot, the household chores that downtrodden Cinders found so disheartening still dominated my new daily life but I have tried not to let it get me down. And if there are times when my prince's charm gets a tad threadbare,well, I just remind myself that Goldilocks had to cope with three bears so I guess I can put up with one.
The story that really fired my imagination, however, was the one where the protagonist gains possession of an old oil-lamp (it is perhaps better not to probe into just how he got his hands on this promising article) and, when he polishes it up (doubtless with a view to flogging it on Gumtree for a fat profit) a spirit being pops out of the spout and offers him three wishes. This is indeed the stuff of fairy-tales and, now I come to think about it, is probably the inspiration for most modern advertisements. Of course the bloke in question wasn't too bright and, instead of sealing the deal with Wish #1 and demanding that his every wish be granted immediately for the rest of his life, he played by the genial genie's rules - but then I guess there would have been no gripping story to insert between 'once upon a time' and 'happily ever after', which would have impacted negatively on royalties.
As a child this story represented the Utopian ideal (an endless supply of toys and tasty treats on tap) while my adolescent self would have cheerfully sold not only my (dearly-departed) granny but the rest of the family as well for the sake of satisfying my capricious whims. And yes, if I am honest, there are still times when I indulge in a wistful 'what-if'. Surely it would make life 'better, simpler, faster' if I had access to a tame genie to solve all my problems?
Or would it?
It doesn't take more than a cursory glance down the tunnel of time to realise that, if a genie had obediently granted my every wish then, I would be in a sorry pickle now. My hindsight might have improved with age but my future vision is still seriously short-sighted. The humbling truth is that I don't always know what is best for me - let alone others! - and so a genie would be, at best, useless and, more probably, a danger to me and those I love.
All of which makes me wonder why so many of us try to turn GOD, who is not confined by time or place and who consequently does know what is best for us and, moreover, who cares deeply about our well-being, into a tame genie bound to grant every item on our wish-list.
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