A young woman was about to finish her first
year of college. Like so many others her age,
she considered herself to be very liberal, 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 conservative, 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 conservative side of the fence.”
If anyone has a better explanation of the difference
between conservative and liberal or progressive or
neocon, I’m all ears.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit
on, this is a great test!
If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy
one. If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns
outlawed.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products
banned for everyone.
If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to
better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches
channels. Liberals demand that those they don’t like be
shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and
religion silenced. (Unless it’s a foreign religion, of course!)
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes
about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

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February 2, 2011 at 9:35 pm
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