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STORY SUMMARY: How do you find common ground with those that believe in a vast, intricate, media conspiracy to hide the truth? In this work of philosophical short story of fiction, the narrator drives out to his parent’s house to visit them for the holidays. Much to his surprise, when his parents open the door, they are only two feet tall! He is concerned that his parents, like many in the world, have shrunk to half their size. His parents, however, are equally concerned about their son because they believe he, and others in the world, have doubled in size. The son tries to explain to his parents that they have shrunk, that is why their house, and all their belongings, seem so large. However, his parents believe he, like many others, have an altered idea of what reality is, and that they have been lied to by the media and local officials. The son continues to come year after year to visit his tiny parents, who continue to refuse that they have changed, not the world around them.
DISCUSSION: Story brings up some great questions. When do you argue with people, and when do you simply write them off and let them have wrong beliefs? Does the closeness of the person matter? Would you argue with your parents if they held an idea you thought was clearly wrong, but let a distant Uncle simply keep having their wrong belief system? And what if you turn out to be the the wrong one? How do you know who is wrong? Is it just a matter of who has the larger number of people in their belief camp? And to what extent does media coverage determine the size of the people sharing that belief?
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