As the contenders for the British Conservative Party throne battle it out, one wonders why they can't muster this kind of energy and venom at a General Election. Who did what, when and with whom seems wholly tangental to the real issue - who can do what, when and how in the future. Meanwhile, our present chancellor gets his portrait in lights - except that is isn't. See here.
In America, maybe there's hope for the next generation yet. This from the post ...
President Bush was visiting a primary school and he visited one of the classes. They were in
the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings. The teacher asked the
President if he would like to lead the discussion on the word "tragedy". So the illustrious leader
asked the class for an example of a "tragedy".
One little boy stood up and offered: "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field
and a tractor runs over him and kills him, that would be a tragedy."
"No," said Bush, "that would be an accident."
A little girl raised her hand: "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing
everyone inside, that would be a tragedy."
"I'm afraid not," explained the president. "That's what we would call a great loss."
The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Bush searched the room. "Isn't there
someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?"
Finally at the back of the room a small boy (Lil Johnny) raised his hand. In a quiet voice he said:
"If Air Force One carrying you and Mrs. Bush was struck by a "friendly fire" missile and blown
to smithereens, that would be a tragedy."
Fantastic!" exclaimed Bush. "That's right. And can you tell me why that would be tragedy?"
"Well," says Lil Johnny, "It has to be a tragedy, because it sure as hell wouldn't be a great loss
and it probably wouldn't be an accident either."
Lastly, plug for another blog here. If you like the blues (music) this is for you, but there's much more too. Go now.
Later.
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