Metaphor

We need not sail by Scylla and loose 6 men to each of its 6 heads to avoid risking total destruction from Charybdis.  We can always turn around and take the long way back west, south, then east around Sicily, but that would require time, and the payoff would be in the distant future as opposed to the near future.
     If we regularly sail from west to east through the Straits of Messina, then it would behoove us to charter a new path as opposed to sacrificing 6 men each new time we pass through.  Yet for some reason regardless of how far away we are from the Straits of Messina some of our crew present the problem as if it is too late to turn back.   We could be just off the coast of Empúries and some of our crew would still yell "LOOK OUT! VEER PORT!"  as if right before us are Scylla and Charybdis as if the entire sea is just the Straits of Messina and the only safe path is that which sails by Scylla. As if those 6 men lost are inevitable.
     Once again, we are at the Straits of Messina. Though I doubt we can convince enough of the crew to throw a mutiny and turn the ship around even though it is absolutely possible. Those of you who see the loss of those 6 men as a terrible crime yet choose Scylla every time. Perhaps this time, afterwards, you can start to chart a new course.