Stock Aesops

Stock Aesops are the morals that the writers and producers of TV most often love to explore. They sometimes contradict each other, but it's a clumsy writer indeed who sticks two contradictory Aesops into the same script. It happens, though.

Many are Older Than Feudalism. And some, indeed, come straight from the original Aesop's Fables.


 * The Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have done unto you.
 * All That Glitters is not gold.
 * Heart Over Mind
 * It Takes A Village
 * Book Dumb, TV Genius, Dumb Is Good - Intelligence Is Overrated
 * One Man's Trash Is Another's Treasure
 * Pride - Don't Play God (how often has the opportunity to play God come up in your life?)
 * Pygmalion Snapback - Accept People For Who They Are
 * Wanting Is Better Than Having
 * Be careful where you get your power, your validation and the justification for your actions.
 * On Agreement:
 * Great Minds Think Alike.
 * The Foolish Seldom Differ.
 * Agree to Disagree
 * On Ambition:
 * Follow Your Dreams - Aspire To Greater Things
 * A Man's Reach Should Exceed His Grasp. Reach For The Stars.
 * Ambition Is Evil - Unfortunately, that also makes you evil.
 * It's Lonely at the Top
 * The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side - Learn To Appreciate What You Have
 * A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush.
 * On Appearance:
 * Clothes Make the Man. Cleanliness is Next To Godliness.
 * Never Judge a Book By Its Cover.
 * Beware the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.
 * On Authority:
 * Democracy Is Bad
 * Trust Authority
 * TV Never Lies - Question Authority
 * Disobey This Message - We're Telling You, Think For Yourself
 * On Beauty:
 * Beauty Equals Goodness
 * Beauty Is Bad
 * True Beauty Is on the Inside
 * Take Pride In Your Appearance
 * Don't Be Vain
 * On Belief:
 * Faith will move mountains.
 * Doubt is the beginning of wisdom.
 * On Caution:
 * Never Draw To An Inside Straight (Don't Take Risks)
 * Live Dangerously and Throw Caution To The Wind
 * On Change:
 * Change Is Bad
 * Change Is Good
 * On Conformity:
 * Be Yourself
 * Conform to Expectations.
 * Crying Wolf is a bad idea
 * The Complainer Is Always Wrong but Peer Pressure Makes You Evil
 * Blithe Spirit - Convert everyone else to your views
 * On Curiosity:
 * Curiosity Killed the Cast - Curiosity killed the cat.
 * Curiosity saved the cat.
 * Curiosity Is a Crapshoot
 * On Destiny:
 * Because Destiny Says So - Accept Your Destiny
 * Screw Destiny - Shape Your Own Destiny
 * There Are No Coincidences—Nothing Happens By Chance; Everything Is Destined
 * On Differences
 * Your differences are minuscule, get along already!
 * On Effort:
 * If something is worth doing at all, it's worth doing well.
 * Failing Is Better Than Doing Nothing
 * Cheaters Never Prosper
 * On Entertainment:
 * Old Media Are Evil
 * TV Rots Your Brain
 * New Media Are Evil
 * Tropes Will Ruin Your Life
 * Digital Piracy Is Evil
 * "Reading Is Cool" Aesop - Reading can be really fun and useful.
 * On Experimentation:
 * Keep An Open Mind and Be Willing To Try New Things (like Green Eggs and Ham) - maybe you'll like them!
 * Drugs Are Bad, mmmkay?
 * On Family:
 * Family Is Everything - Your Relatives Are Your Best Friends
 * Family Is A Hindrance - Show The Other Generation What You're Really Worth
 * On Women:
 * Treat Girls Nice
 * Treat Girls The Same As Guys
 * You Go, Girl! - Women are just as good as men.
 * Closer to Earth - Women are totally awesome and possess unique wisdom men don't have.
 * Recognize People's Differences
 * On Force:
 * Forgiveness - You should forgive those who wrong you. Unless you shouldn't.
 * Turn the Other Cheek - Break The Cycle of Revenge
 * Right Makes Might
 * Violence Really Is the Answer
 * Violence Is the Only Option
 * On Friendship:
 * The Power of Friendship conquers all.
 * Poisonous Friend - Well, maybe they weren't really your friends.
 * Loners Are Freaks - And if you don't have friends, you're a freak.
 * In the End You Are on Your Own - However, even if you have friends they won't always be there, and there's some things you have to do yourself.
 * Be a friend to everyone.
 * A friend to all is a friend to none.
 * On Honesty:
 * Don't Be Completely Honest (The Truth Hurts, and Little White Lies Are Comforting And Convenient. And of course, you must protect your Secret Identity.)
 * They're Called "Personal Issues" for a Reason
 * Honest Axe - Honesty Is The Best Policy (And Will Totally Get You The Infinity+1 Sword)
 * On Individuality:
 * The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease.
 * The Nail That Stands Out Gets Hammered Flat.
 * On Initiative
 * Leeroy Jenkins - Fools rush in.
 * Missed the Call - He who hesitates is lost.
 * On Intuition:
 * Don't Think, Feel - Don't Second-Guess Yourself
 * First Impressions Are Misleading - You'd Better Second-Guess Yourself
 * On Justice:
 * Freudian Excuse: Cut your arch enemy some slack—he had a rough childhood.
 * Justice Will Prevail
 * On Kinship:
 * Blood Is Thicker Than Water
 * Never Trust a Trope: Don't be racist; they can't all be that bad, despite their relatives all being evil.
 * On Love:
 * Cupid Hates Odd Couples - Friendship Is More Important Than Love
 * The Power of Love conquers all.
 * Wrong Guy First - Be careful who you give your heart to.
 * Love At First Sight - You'll just know when your true love shows up, what with the golden lights and floating hearts and all.
 * Love At First Punch - You'll hate each other at first, though.
 * On Money:
 * You Get What You Pay For
 * Grail in the Garbage
 * On Patience:
 * All Good Things Come To He Who Waits.
 * Time and Tide Wait For No Man.
 * On Perseverance:
 * Determinator - Never give up
 * Know When to Fold'Em - sometimes you have to give up
 * On Planning:
 * Look Before You Leap.
 * He Who Hesitates Is Lost. Strike While The Iron is Hot.
 * An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure.
 * The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men aft Gang Aglee.
 * On Principle
 * You Have To Be Willing To Compromise
 * Stick To Your Guns
 * On Relationships:
 * Birds of a Feather Flock Together.
 * Opposites Attract.
 * On Sex:
 * Death by Sex - Just Don't Do It
 * But We Used a Condom: "Condoms are effective, not perfect." Though this is often warped to "Condoms don't help at all, so don't bother with them."
 * Sex Equals Love (even when it's rape)
 * Love Is Not Sex (it's better when you Please Put Some Clothes On)
 * Can't Have Sex Ever - Love is more important than sex
 * Virginity Makes You Stupid, Sex as Rite-Of-Passage -You aren't an adult until you've had sex.
 * On Specialization
 * Master of None - You can do everything, but you can't do everything THAT well if you can't be the Jack of All Trades
 * Crippling Overspecialization - You do one thing very well, but you can't do anything else straight.
 * On Spontaneity:
 * Don't Be Shy
 * Don't Get In Over Your Head
 * On Teamwork:
 * Two heads are better than one. Many hands make light work.
 * Too Many Cooks Spoil the Soup
 * On Time
 * Have Fun Like You Were Dying
 * Work Now To Enjoy A Great Future
 * On Tradition:
 * Respect Tradition - Great-Grandmother Knows Best
 * Change Tradition - Be Your Own Person
 * Christmas Special - It's better to give than to receive.
 * On Trust
 * The Power of Trust - Trust makes people stronger
 * Betrayal Tropes - Some people should not be trusted
 * On (un) Kindness:
 * Kids Are Cruel
 * Androcles' Lion - Kindness is returned in kind.
 * Laser-Guided Karma - Cruelty is returned in kind.
 * The Farmer and the Viper Don't be kind to evil.
 * Misery Builds Character - A little suffering is good for the soul.
 * The best REAL magic is being kind and good to others!
 * On Literature:
 * Actions Speak Louder Than Words.
 * The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword.
 * On War
 * War Is Hell
 * War Is Glorious
 * ...and the reason for all the contradictions is the Golden Mean: Nothing In Excess
 * Everything In Moderation. Everything. No Exceptions.
 * Keep Moderation In Moderation Too - Cut Loose Once In A While
 * ... but Don't Sit On The Fence
 * ... because If You're Not With Us, You're Against Us
 * Give a Man a Fish... and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

O god, so many contradictions... D: