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 Republican and Democrat I'm all ears.
[Click on the title above, or date stamp below, to see the full post.]
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Father-Daughter talk
5 comments:
We reserve the right to delete comments, but the failure to delete any particular comment should not be interpreted as an endorsement thereof.
In general, we expect comments to be relevant to the story, or to a prior comment that is relevant; and we expect some minimal level of civility. Defining that line is inherently subjective, so try to stay clear of insulting remarks. If you respond to a comment that is later deleted, we may take your response with it. Deleting your comment isn't a personal knock on you, so don't take it as such.
We allow a variety of ways for commenters to identify themselves; those who choose not to do so should take extra care. Absent any prior context in which they may be understood, ironic comments may be misinterpreted. Once you've earned a reputation for contributing to a conversation, we are likely to be more tolerant in those gray areas, as we'll understand where you're coming from.
Just wondering if the father pointed out to the daughter that the only reason she is able to attend college at all is because of the father's evil selfish ways?
ReplyDeleteShe only became a conservative (not necessarily a Republican) if after this story she said, "Gee Daddy, I never thought of it like that before. You're right!" Unfortunately, it would be much more likely that she'd launch into some diatribe against her father for disrespecting her poor unindustrious friend and how he needs to be more tolerant of the needs of such people. Liberals never seem able to connect the dots...
ReplyDeleteOh do I know this story.
ReplyDeleteFirst, we live in California. Need I say more.
Yes, I shall.
Her first job out of college was with Planned Parenthood where she learned first hand that many women who came to abortion clinics came back multiple times despite all the available information of how not to get pregnant. She soon placed the responsibility for additional pregnancies right where it belonged, on the individual.
Eight years later, our daughter is now a nurse practitioner, in (ahem) Seattle, working in a clinic which deals exclusively with persons from every country in the world, rescued by the US and relocated here.
While her deep belief that medical care should be afforded to every human who needs it has not changed - her world education has continued as she matured and has come face to face with being responsible for herself, taking time, despite twelve hour work days, to learn what is going on in the real world.
It is no secret that children are influenced first by parents, then by outside sources as they make their way to independence, but if we as parents have done our job, have challenged them to challenge the world, including us, in other words think for themselves, there is hope.
So your question D - "...a better explanation of the difference between Republican and Democrat I'm all ears." - no, I have no better explanation. Maturity is an ongoing process, but a more simple statement might be - conservatives "think", liberals "blink". You can just see the wheels slowly turning behind their eyes and without the ability to "think" no change occurs - blink, blink, blink.
DougL - we are much, much closer to "Gee Daddy, I never thought of it like that before. You're right!" than we were in the early years. Whew!
It is amazing how much smarter our parents become as we get older.
ReplyDeleteHere's an accurate way to portray the difference between Republicans and Democrats:
ReplyDeleteDemocrats do not think that CEO's of companies have their positions, because they "work harder" than garbage collectors. Republicans do.