An Internet acquaintance sends me a passel of emails on a fairly regular schedule. They are mostly the kinds of things we all get in our box: “CC’d” and “Forwarded” bits of humor, hope, and political ramblings. A recent letter included a modern retelling of the Ant and Grasshopper parable. The updated story imagines the grasshopper calling a press conference, pressing for tax hike legislation on ants, suing his oppressor, and eventually moving into the ant’s government confiscated house. In its telling, the new fable manages to impeach single-parent welfare recipients, a few current senators, and of course, grasshoppers everywhere. But the last line and so-called moral of the story is the real clincher.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008. Be a good American, not a Democrat!
A favorite motto of mine is “Pick your battles”. I chose this one and my reply follows:
Over 4000 good Americans have lost their lives fighting a fraudulent war in Iraq. I’m sure there were Catholics, Protestants, Jews, atheists, homosexuals, Republicans, Independents, and even Democrats among them.
Points of interest: A Republican President and solidly Republican administration beat the drums that accompanied the march to war. The same motley crew have continued the mismanagement of that war to this day. At least they graciously spared some time and personnel to help the good citizens affected by that big ol’ storm in the Gulf. That was mighty nice of them.
As you can see, it’s not enough to be a good American. It’s much better to be an informed American.
At some point we all stumble across something so funny, so true, or so heartbreaking that we’re compelled to share. Election years put a particular strain on the email etiquette gland. We’re all certain this election is the most important one ever… until four years later.
The moral of my post is simple. Think before you hit send.
