Topic: Dinner at The White House

[Larryb]

Dinner at The White House , A
Parable ( don't miss the last sentence....)


Once upon a
time, I was invited to the White
House for a private dinner with the
President. I
am a respected businessman, with a factory
that
produces memory chips for computers and
portable electronics. There
was some talk that
my industry was being scrutinized by
the
administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in
a free
country. There's nothing that the
government can do to me if I've
broken
no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an
invitation
to dinner with an American President is an honor.

I checked my
coat, was greeted by the Chief of
Staff, and joined the President in
a yellow
dining room. We sat across from each other at
a table
draped in white linen. The Great Seal
was embossed on the china.
Uniformed staff served our dinner.

The meal was served, and I was
startled when my
waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner
roll off
my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the
kitchen.

"Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very
hungry."

"I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I
looked into
the calm brown eyes across from
me, I felt immediately guilty and
petty. It
was just a dinner roll. "Of course,"
I concluded, and
reached for my gl ass. Before
I could, however, another waiter
reached
forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single
gulp.

"And his brother, Eric, is very thirsty." said the
President.

I didn't say anything. The President is testing
my
compassion, I thought. I will play along. I don't want to seem
unkind.

My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a
bite.

"Eric's children are also quite hungry."

With a lurch, I
crashed to the floor. My chair
had been pulled out from under me. I
stood,
brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried
from the room.

"And their grandmother can't stand for
long."

I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside
feeling
like a fool. Obviously I had been
invited to the White House to be
sport for some
game. I reached for my coat, to find that it
had
been taken. I turned back to the President.

"Their grandfather
doesn't like the cold."

I wanted to shout, "that was my coat!"
But
again, I looked at the placid smiling face of
my host and
decided I was being a poor sport.
I spread my hands helplessly and
chuckled.
Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet
was gone. I
excused myself and walked to a
phone on an elegant side table. I
learned
shortly that my credit cards had been maxed
out, my bank
accounts emptied, my retirement
and equity portfolios had vanished,
and my
wife had been thrown out of our
home. Apparently, the
waiters and their
families were moving in. The President
hadn't
moved or spoken as I learned all this,
but finally I lowered the phone into
its cradle and turned to face him.

"Andrew's whole family has
made bad financial
decisions. They haven't planned for
retirement,
and they need a house. They recently defaulted
on
their subprime mortgage. I told them they
could have your home. They need
it more than you do."

My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I
stumbled
back to the table and knelt on the floor. The
President
cheerfully cut his meat, ate his
steak, and drank his wine. I lowered
my
eyes and stared at the small grey circles on
the tablecloth
that were water drops.

"By the way," He added, "I have just
signed an
Executive Order nationalizing your
factories. I'm
firing you as head of your
business. I'll be operating the
firm now for
the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole
bunch of
Erics and Andrews out there and they
can't come to you for jobs groveling
like beggars."

I looked up. The President dropped his
spoon
into the empty ramekin which had been his
crème Brule. He
drained the last drops of his wine.

As the table was cleared, he lit a
cigarette and
leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I
clung
to the edge of the table as if were a
ledge and I were a man hanging
over an abyss.
I thought of the years behind me, of the life I
had
lived. The life I had earned with a
lifetime of work, risk and
struggle. Why was I
punished? How had I allowed it to be taken?
What
game had I played and lost? I looked across
the table and
noticed with some surprise that
there was no game board between
us.

What had I done wrong?

As if answering the unspoken
thought, the
President suddenly cocked his head, locked his
empty eyes
to mine, and bared a million teeth,
chuckling wryly as he folded his
hands and said ..



"You should have stopped me at the
dinner roll."

[79coyotefrg]

scary but .... HAPPENING NOW

when the waiter reaches for your dinner roll stab his hand with your steak knife and pin it to the table

[BLACKDOG]

scary but .... HAPPENING NOW

when the waiter reaches for your dinner roll stab his hand with your steak knife and pin it to the table

[kneedownnate]

Funny, but true 

[COToy91]

If you are all so afraid of a socialist government then lets get rid of medicare, medicaid, social security, and any other publicly run outlet that many of you will enjoy in your lifetime.

[junya92toy]

What we need to get rid of is US foreign aid. THink of all the billions of dollars spend on countries that dont like the US. I say screw the rest of the world. Before we try to big brother for the rest of the world, lets make OUR country stronger. Feed the children here, give shelter to the homeless, medical aid for the sick. Lets have a 3 strikes and youre out policy. That could include drugs, crime or anything else that would cause you a burden to OUR country. On the 3rd strike, you get put on a leaky boat to the first place outta here. I hope you can bail real fast.

[COToy91]

your conception of international relations and the world order is pretty close minded. The US is the hegemon in the post Cold War world, to keep that status we are the police force and main provider of aid.

I bet you want to get rid of the World Bank, IMF, and WTO too huh?

[junya92toy]

No its not close minded. But I hate seeing money spend in other countries when we wont even take care of our own people.

[COToy91]

No its not close minded. But I hate seeing money spend in other countries when we wont even take care of our own people.

But this parable is about socialism and taking care of our people is socialism......

And we don't want that in America according to most of the people in this thread so far

[junya92toy]

I think the point of the story is, The president wants us to give up things, but he wont give up things as well. Lead by example.

[ROKTOY829]

There is  difference in being your brother's keeper and socialism.

[*FFC*]

There is  difference in being your brother's keeper and socialism.

I think the point of the story is, The president wants us to give up things, but he wont give up things as well. Lead by example.

I couldn't agree more.

[Jan84HJ60]

The second sentence of the 'parable' was already wrong. It should have been..."I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics IN CHINA."

[Trunkz]

If you are all so afraid of a socialist government then lets get rid of medicare, medicaid, social security, and any other publicly run outlet that many of you will enjoy in your lifetime.

alas im all for gettting rid of those as my last statement from social security said that they would  be bankrupt 7 years before i would be eligible for it, yet i still have to pay into it by law
and just so you know im all for getting rid of the un world bank wto and the fed.... all things that our government has no right to be into anyway

[BLACKDOG]

But this parable is about socialism and taking care of our people is socialism......

And we don't want that in America according to most of the people in this thread so far

No, this parable is about a government that controls the people, not the other way around.  Its about the results of allowing a bully to take things by force, without fighting back. 

GIVING our fellow citzens aid is a far cry from socialism. Having the government mandate the type of aid that we are REQUIRED to give is socialism.