Fandango’s Provocative Question # 146

In your opinion, is it better to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond? Or perhaps a big fish in a big pond? Why do you feel that way?

Pondering about big ponds, small and big fish, a quote from Bob Marley flashed through my head.

Bob Marley says, “the biggest man you ever see was once a baby.” So, what does that have to do with ponds and fish.

Well, if you think about it, there is some type of hierarchy wherever you go. Let’s look at the pond they call the family.

The baby is born, the baby is considered a small fry, while the baby’s older sibling will be a small fish. The family’s big fish will be the parents.

When we talk about the head of a household, it doesn’t necessarily mean the breadwinner is the head. It doesn’t mean the male figure either. Rather it’s the parent who is psychologically the strongest. It could be the male or the female.

Yeah, I can hear you say, “but True_George, we are equals in parenting, marriage and making decisions.” Well, True_George says that there is no such thing as equality, and when it comes to relationships there are no equals. Whether its economical, psychological, physical, health-wise or otherwise.

Then you get to the larger family unit, where the cousins are small fish, the aunts and uncles big fishes, but the largest fish will most likely be the grandparents. The family matriarch or patriarch the person that has the most influence and is accepted as the person who has the final word when it comes to disputes or important decisions. That is the biggest fish in the family pool.

But in society if the individual members of a family aren’t rich, hold political influence or are not members of some sort of fraternal organization, or hold a position of influence that has power over people’s lives; are considered small fish.

Then there are social circles, where a small fish can be considered a big fish among their small fish peers.  

In essence we can look at it as this way. In the lives of humans, it is one big ocean, and within those oceans we see each society having their own rivers, and as the hierarchy is broken down, depending on the group, or social circles, the rivers become lakes, the lakes become springs, the springs become streams and the streams become ponds. The fishes become smaller and smaller.