Chavez, the UN - the Elephant and the Gnats?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

After hearing the Hugo Chavez speech at the UN (and the applause it elicited) I was reminded of the parable about the Elephant and the gnats:

The Elephant was King of the Jungle. He was the largest and the strongest and he threatened to crush anyone who opposed him. All the other animals lived in misery under his oppression. One day a group of gnats got together. Individually, they were, well, gnats. They saw the Elephant at his usual watering hole. They took turns stinging him. They outraged him. He trumpeted angrily. He called his fellow elephants, but really, they were not very good at swatting the gnats. The Elephant left the watering hole with a swarm of gnats around him. They made him madder and madder and he ran faster and faster. Then they stung his eyes. The elephant, who could not see out of his swollen eyes, stumbled over a log in the path. He fell and broke his legs and could not get up. The other animals of the jungle, angry over the years of tyranny would not assist the Elephant and they let him starve to death.

Now, why the heck was I reminded of that parable?