A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age who had grown up without ever having a worry in the world, she considered herself to be a Conservative Republican. She thought that government should mainly be for weatlthy people because they pay the taxes - she was proud to call herself a dittohead. She felt deeply ashamed that her father, though a wealthy novelist, was a bleeding heart liberal, who thought that everyone should be treated equally.
One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs that the people that make the money should pay the taxes and that a government as wealthy as hours should provide health care for the old and helpless. She didn't really have any ideas of her own, but was very proficient at repeating the rhetoric that she learned from Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. In the middle of her regurgitation, he stopped her and asked her point blank how she was doing in school.
She answered rather reluctantly that she had a 2.0 GPA, then began to complain that her professors were partial to African Americans and Jews - that "white people" were discriminated against. She also complained that she didn't think it was fair the her professors insisted that she learn everything in the curriculum even though her biology teacher said that evolution had happened and her history teacher was saying things like Joe McCarthy was a bad guy, for heavens sake. She said she just couldn't learn that nonsense in good conscience.
Her father tried to hide his disgust...then asked, "How is your friend Mary?"
She looked irritated. "Mary is doing ok, I think she has a 4.0 gpa - but she works like 30 hours per week so she doesn't take as many classes as I do." Her faces squinched up in a big frown. "But Mary isn't even in a sorority - she dates this scummy hippy guy that is here on a science scholarship and doesn't even have a car! She doesn't go to any of the parties where the popular kids go. Of course, <those kinds of people have more time to study!"
Her father shook his head slowing in dismay and silence for a few moments, then said: "Well I know the Dean personally. I'm sure I could offer to make a donation to his favorite charity," he winked slyly.
The father was hoping that his disengenuous suggestion would prompt the daughter to see that she didn't deserve a good grade simply because whe was born to get good grades or simply because she could afford to buy them. He was hoping that she would realize that buying the grades would not be fair. She was taking time to consider his suggestion and he was hopeful that she was realizing that her answer was to work harder, not to use privelage and money to manipulate the system.
"Could you?" She asked sheepishly.
The father slowly smiled and said, "You really are a Republican, aren't you?"
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Pituophis posted this on the FOOL |
