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 was very
much in favor of the redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican,
a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures in
which she had
participated 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 addition
of more government
welfare 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 father then asked her, "Why
don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 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 wouldn't be
fair!
I have 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 just played while I worked
my tail off!"
The father slowly smiled, winked, and said gently, "Welcome
to the
Republican party."