I received this cute little story by email a few hours ago--and then heard it over a campfire this evening where some neighbors are building a house!
Father/daughter talk...Now, it isn't completely fair. There are some people who are poor through no fault of their own. Sometimes a husband runs off, and leaves Mom with three small children. Some people suffer mental illness or psychological breakdowns. Some people are born with serious mental or physical deficiencies that prevent them from ever being self-sufficient. Some people develop serious drug or alcohol problems--and while they should not have started down that road, once you get going, it is sometimes hard to stop. Some people are victims of horrendous crimes that make it impossible to ever be self-sufficient--like Mary Vincent.
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 a 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 as 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 ev en 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, and 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.'
But there are a lot of people in America who have only themselves to blame for their current situation. The tragedies out there are real, and they aren't one in a million cases. They aren't even particularly rare. But when Democrats screech about poverty and suffering, they are using these tragedies as an excuse to loot those who work to reward those who can work, but choose not to do so. Far more often, they are rewarding people who are simply con men on a big scale--like Franklin Raines.
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