Thomas and the Chocolate Factory
Translated from the original Persian post. Images, if present, are from that post or thread.
Translated thread in its original order, with the images attached to each part
Thomas and the Chocolate Factory
Read this story so we can better help our king and our national revolution.
Thomas had worked at a chocolate factory for nearly three years.
The factory manager knew the workers reasonably well and was pleased with Thomas.
Long live the Shah.
Another factory had opened nearby not long before. In a short time, it had taken a large share of the market.
The owner was unhappy. Little by little, he came to blame the setback on the workers’ poor performance.
At the suggestion of one of the factory’s advisers, they hired more people to increase production.
But even with more workers, production and sales failed to rise, and working conditions grew harder.
The workers lacked coordination, and the workplace itself was in poor shape.
Thomas loved soccer and played on his neighborhood team in the afternoons. He had an idea. The next day he went to see the factory manager.
After greeting him respectfully, Thomas said, “I love soccer. As you know, it’s a team game. The players can’t each play on their own.”
The manager’s interest was caught. “Go on. What are you trying to say?”
“To tell the truth, the atmosphere down on the factory floor is all wrong. The workers don’t even know one another’s names.
“They barely speak. Everyone is absorbed in their own task.”
“Making chocolate takes several stages, with different groups and people working along the production line. But those people don’t even talk to one another. How can you expect them to help each other?
“You’ve brought in new workers, and that’s good. But...”
“The workers we already have, people who have worked for you for years, still haven’t learned to work together. Everyone is simply working on their own.
“Remember when one of the chocolate lines broke down a while ago and you had to shut it for two days?”
“Yes,” the manager said. “And we lost a lot of money.”
Thomas continued. “That day I told several workers we could divide the work while the machine was being repaired. Maybe if each of us worked an extra half hour a day, we could get through it.
“But nobody agreed.”
“Many of them told me, ‘You’ve only been here two years, kid. Don’t tell us what to do. We each have our own work to get on with.’”
The manager lit a cigarette. “All right. What do you suggest?”
“The workers simply need to coordinate more and do it better. They need to set aside selfishness and listen to one another.
“They need to work together instead of separately.
“If the atmosphere were friendlier, perhaps we wouldn’t even have needed to hire more people.”
“It’s like soccer. The whole team has to work together and keep an eye out for one another.
“I have a suggestion.”
“What is it?” the manager asked.
“Instead of telling them to work longer and harder, organize a gathering, maybe even a dinner. Invite everyone to come and celebrate what they’ve achieved so far.”
“Instead of talking about how disappointed you are that the factory has fallen behind, talk about the future and better days ahead. That’s exactly how we speak to our teammates before a soccer match.
“On my neighborhood team, no one is above anyone else or better than anyone else. We all know that without each of the others, we wouldn’t have a team.”
Doesn’t this story fit what we’re living through today?
We in the monarchist community are working hard and making an effort.
But how much do we really work together? How much do we talk to one another? Do we truly see ourselves as equals?
Do we really accept that if this person or another monarchist were missing, we would no longer be a team? That there would no longer be an “us”?
How are we going to welcome new people who have just broken away from the regime when we have yet to welcome people who already think as we do?
The king has called for unity.
Let’s sit down together for a little celebration and recognize what we’ve achieved so far. Now that we are only a few steps from the final battle and victory, let’s stand together.
Together, our embrace will be warmer and our fist stronger.
Long live Iran.
Long live the Shah.
