Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Politics

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. 'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem.. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'
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'No problem, just let me in,' says the senator.
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'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.
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'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the senator.
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'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.' And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar andchampagne.
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Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises. The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting or him.'Now it's time to visit heaven.'
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So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time, but it's nothing special, and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
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'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now you get to choose your eternity.'
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The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'
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So St Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. Lots of garbage. Really stinky, rotten garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above, sometimeslanding right on top of their heads. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.
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'I don't understand,' stammers the senator. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne,and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?'
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The devil looks at him, smiles and says, 'Ah, you see, yesterday we were campaigning. Today you voted.'

8 comments:

  1. i will never for the life of me understand the pain-blame-shame-game competing parties try to pull on we citizens. not to mention the vicious attacks on eachother, and then on me! we need light, not heat, guys.

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  2. Very witty and how true!

    It is the same the world over - always as been - can we change it?

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  3. True, KJ -- it's disturbing the anger and heat that is being stirred up ... I've pretty much stopped listening to the news, and instead read about the day's events online. I'm counting the days until Nov. 4th!

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  4. miladysa, i keep thinking about dualities. how is it that people with different opinions call eachother names and have such scorn for different beliefs? still, i'm guilty of that too. :(

    melissa, i can't resist the news. turns out i'm a political junkie!

    ziggi, hello! how nice that you've flown in for a visit. no fire? a literary oversight?

    ps: my word verification is POOPNS. that's close enough for me to make a conclusion...

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  5. I'm not 'getting' the impression that the campaigns any different to any other but you're right about voter polarisation but it seems especially obvious in the US. These are hard times and I think people are ready for a change. I have a real problem with Presidential elections because it's all about personality not policy. And for the life of me, how can you campaign for candidacy against someone for example Hilary Clinton, then . . . when you win, put the very person who's been attacking (and vis a vis) in as your running mate and campaign as the perfect couple. Do people really buy that? Weird. Anyway it's a very strange electoral system and I'm enjoying being a fly on the wall!

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