聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Politicians seem to be everybody鈥檚 concern these days, with what is happening south of our borders, so I decided to examine the definition of the word politician, and went to two sources: the Internet, 鈥渁 person who is professionally involved in politics, especially as a holder of or a candidate for an elected office,鈥� and Merriam Webster, 鈥渁 person experienced in the art or science of government,聽especially聽one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Then we have the street version definition of a politician. A person borne of an unwed mother, a liar and a cheat that breaks promises.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Most politicians suffer from a feeling of entitlement, and they have a 鈥渄o as I say, not as I do鈥� attitude.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN a while ago. The survey had only one question: 鈥淲ould you please give your honest opinion about possible solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The UN staff members who conducted the survey were very surprised at the result. They found that in Africa people were confused as to what was meant by the word 鈥渇ood.鈥澛� The people surveyed in Eastern Europe didn鈥檛 know what 鈥渉onest鈥� meant, and people surveyed in Western Europe didn鈥檛 have a clue what 鈥渟hortage鈥� meant. The Chinese people didn鈥檛 know what 鈥渙pinion鈥� meant, and the people in the Middle East had the wrong idea of what 鈥渟olution鈥� meant. In 麻豆视频 America, the people didn鈥檛 know the meaning of 鈥減lease,鈥� and the people surveyed in the USA had no concept of the meaning of 鈥渢he rest of the world.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 An American friend and I discussed the election of Donald Trump as President of the US.聽 He told me that for 30 years he鈥檇 been trying to figure out why the election is in November, and this year the answer came to him. He finally figured out that in November there is always a good selection of turkeys.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 He gave me the following example on how Trump is going to make America great again.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Three contractors were bidding to replace a section of broken fence at the White House.聽 The first contractor was a Latino, the second was an African American and the third was a white Anglo Saxon. The top dog of the treasury department invited all of them to come to the White House to examine the damaged section of the fence, and provide a quote.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The African American contractor took out a tape measure, did some measuring, then grabbed his calculator and worked out the cost.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ell,鈥� he said, 鈥渕y calculation shows that the job should run about $900, broken down this way: $400 for the material, $400 for my crew and a $100 profit for me.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Latino contractor also did some measuring, worked with his calculator and when he arrived at the total figure he said, 鈥渕y calculation shows that I need $700 to do this job. That鈥檚 $300 for material, $300 for my men and a $100 profit for me.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The white contractor had not done any measuring, but he observed the other two contractors and listened to their final quotes. He leaned close to the politician and whispered, 鈥淚鈥檒l quote a total of $2,700 for the job!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The politician shook his head in bewilderment and whispered back, 鈥測ou didn鈥檛 even measure like the other two. How did you arrive at such a ridiculously high figure?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ell,鈥� whispered the contractor back, 鈥�$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the Latino contractor to do the repair!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淒one deal!鈥� said the treasury department鈥檚 top dog.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎nd that,鈥� said my American friend, 鈥渋s how Trump will make America great again!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A politician was late for an important caucus meeting. He drove into the parking lot, but could not find any empty parking space. In desperation, he raised his eyes towards the sky and said, 鈥淒ear God, I鈥檓 late for a meeting, if you can find me a parking spot, I promise I鈥檒l attend church every Sunday, and I鈥檒l quit drinking and gambling!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Just as he finished his promise to God, a car pulled out and he had a parking spot. He raised his eyes skyward again and said, 鈥渘ever mind Lord, I don鈥檛 need your help, I found a spot myself.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ole and Lena鈥檚 daughter Kari had just graduated from university. Kari had recently become engaged, and was bringing her fianc茅 home to meet her parents. Her parents opened the front door to greet them, and what started out as a warm welcoming smile soon got replaced with a look of horror and shock.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Kari鈥檚 fianc茅 had an athletic build, chiseled facial features with a picture perfect bright smile. He was immaculately dressed with a silk tie and expensive Italian shoes. He didn鈥檛 have a hair out of place, and spoke with a deep confident voice which was absolutely mesmerizing. His charismatic presence seemed to command respect and admiration, though his demeanour was open and friendly. Both Ole and Lena were visibly shaken, making it quite an awkward moment.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lena almost broke down and cried as she shook the young man鈥檚 firm yet warm and gentle hand. Ole was only able to make partial eye contact while shaking the young man鈥檚 hand, and then with a slight tremble in his voice Ole asked the young man what he did for a living.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚鈥檓 a used car salesman,鈥� answered the young man.聽 Ole and Lena both smiled warmly, and Ole said, 鈥渨e鈥檙e so glad to hear that son, 鈥榗ause just for a moment we thought you might be a politician.鈥�
