The Persistence of Metaphor

The other night I was trying to express a concern; I needed a metaphor, and settled on an ancient one: making bricks without straw. Later I thought of another metaphor I could have chosen: unfunded mandate. And later yet I was, as I am now, comparing the relative effectiveness of the two metaphors. Why do we hunger for metaphor?

If we must use metaphor, certainly the one we choose will color our perception of our situation and reveal our motives and sincerity.

I think Orwell would have preferred bricks without straw.