Mario’s children were cruel to Maciek’s children. They used to steal their property, and after leaving Maciek’s children penniless and broken, they would throw papers at them, condemning them to death.
Mario’s children thought they were very powerful of course. Mario’s far off uncle was a king you see. He had lands and money. He wrote tomes of laws and made grand declarations, requiring that people believe things no one had ever believed. Mario’s children liked that. They believed in their great uncle’s power, in his laws, and truly loved his declarations, especially when he made those declarations from his special chair.
Eventually Maciek’s children found a way to protect their property. They rejected the declarations of the far away uncle. He had no say over them. They had their own uncles. Even so, Mario’s children would still take occasion to beat Maciek’s children, call them cruel names, and spit at their houses. Those were bad times.
Many years passed and, eventually, Mario and Maciek realized that they had a greater responsibility. They had to meet, to talk, to work things out.
Maciek and Mario met, and began to discuss all they have in common. Things went swimmingly for a while. They talked, and found much to agree on. Each seemed to like the other. Each took a risk or two to accommodate the other. Marciek made dinner for Mario and Mario made dinner for Maciek. They ate from the same table. Maciek and Mario even wrote letters — telling all their children, relatives, and friends about their advances in trust and harmony. Mario even started to step-in when some of his unruly children beat-up on Maciek’s children. They seemed to like one another — this is going somewhere.
Maciek was wary, but happy and positive. He wanted to explore more areas of agreement and commonality. He thought — maybe — brotherhood and accord are not unreachable. Mario is trustworthy and open. He’s keeping his naughty children in line. Maybe we can go forward building trust upon trust. One day Maciek said, ‘Mario, let’s go further down this road. Let’s explore more of the things that bind us as brothers. Let’s make life better for our children.’
Mario suddenly stopped. He forgot the things he shared with Maciek. Mario sat there incredulous and said — ‘Look, I no longer wish to explore the things we share, or might share. Rather, I want to focus on me. I want to talk about Mario, and only about Mario. Let’s start.’