Holy smokes but it’s a mean world we’ve created! We’re spoiling for a fight, on edge, threatening and ready to “whup” up on any and all comers ... and this describes parents at a Little League baseball game or Pee Wee football contest.

In the “big” world it’s a thousand times worse with talking heads, political analysts and pundits, retired generals and lawyers-and-preachers-on-TV keeping us on edge and ready to bite the heads off chickens at a moment’s notice. On the world chess board, countries and ideologies are clashing and posturing and, well, just doing a lot of mean things.

Which brings me to the subject of “niceness,” as in warm-hearted, likeability, sympathy and goodness. And it leads me to ask the question: What’s wrong with being a Simpleton?

Now, when I ask that question I’m not referring to those listed in paragraph two above, many or most of which are “simpletons” with a small “s”. There’s no shortage of little “esses” out there responsible for this mean world we’ve created. No, I’m talking about the Simpleton who often appeared in fairy-tales, as in the Brothers Grimm story “The Queen Bee.”

A king had two older sons who went out into the world looking for adventure and fun. You know, Justin Bieber types. Only these two Justins never return home. So their younger brother, Simpleton, goes out to find them and does. Naturally, they mock him because he’s so different from them. They come upon an anthill and the older brothers want to destroy it just for the heck of it. Simpleton stops them. They come upon a pond where ducks are swimming. Naturally, the older brothers want to kill one and roast it. Again, Simpleton stops them. He does the same thing when they come upon a bee’s nest in a tree. The two Justins want to set the tree on fire, smoke out the bees and get the honey.

In time, the three brothers arrive at a castle where everything and everybody is in a deep sleep except for one little fellow who offers them hospitality. The next morning, however, the little fellow informs the brothers that they must perform three tasks in order to lift the spell on the castle. Failure to do so will result in them being turned to stone. Each must gather a thousand pearls scattered across the forest floor; each must retrieve a key to the king’s daughter’s bedchamber from the lake; each must pick the youngest, most captivating princess from among three sleeping princesses who look just alike.

Naturally, the two Justins end up “stoned.” Poor Simpleton just sits down and cries because he knows the tasks are too hard for him. Lo and behold, the ants from the anthill he saved scour the forest floor and bring him the thousand pearls. The ducks he saved from the roasting spit dive down into the pond and retrieve the key to the princess’s bedchamber. And the Queen Bee from the honey tree he saved lights on the lip of the princess Simpleton is to select.

The spell over the castle is broken. Simpleton’s two brothers are saved. Simpleton marries the princess and eventually becomes king.

That’s the kind of Simpleton I want to be ... nice! Seems to me the rewards would be great. You have to admit, it’d be a better world if more of us decided to be a Simpleton rather than listen to those who want to turn us into a bunch of mean little “esses.”

Bob Morgan is a retired, award-winning journalist and an author.