Sunday, October 19, 2008

A Father-Daughter Talk

I've always made it a policy never to or maybe I should say rarely discuss politics on my blog. Mainly, I don't like to get into politics because you know you're never going to change anyone's mind, and sometimes things get said that are hurtful or insulting, etc. Everyone has their own opinion, for whatever reason, and that is how it should be. But I just couldn't keep from passing this little ditty on. I hope you will all take it in the spirit in which it's meant. But I must admit, it does make a good point. So here goes:

The Father/daughter talk

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth. She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.

He responded by asking how she was doing in school. Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Audrey doing?' She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.'

Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.'The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!'

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to the Republican party.'

If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between Republicans and Democrats I'm all ears.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love it! That is such a great description of my beliefs. I rarely discuss politics because it seems I'm always the only Republican in the room. My entire family are Democrats. Montana is a Democrat state. It's kind of like being the only Christian at a Bar Mitzvah.

harrietv said...

I wonder how she'd feel if she were the one with the 2.0 average and she knew that the girl with the 4.0 had cheated.

It happens. Makes me think of "Perfidia."