A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her > altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse > me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, > but I don't know where I am." > > The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air > balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet > above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and > 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude. > > She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican." > > "I am," replied the man. "How did you know?" > > "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically > correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm > still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me." > > The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Democrat." > > "I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?" > > "Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you're > going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot > air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you > expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you > were in before we met but, somehow, now it's my fault."
I find this story interesting to comment on: The guy in the boat gave a dumb answer. The girl pointed it out, but it wasn't helpful of her to label the guy as a Republican just because he gave a dumb answer... that just got the guy defensive. The guy really was trying to help, he just gave a dumb answer. The girl should have just pointed out how his answer didn't help her, without labeling him, because the guy really would have given her a better answer had the girl not labeled him and got him defensive. As for the guy, he should have realized that his answer was dumb. If he was so proud to be a Republican, he should have given the girl an answer that helped her, but he failed to do so... granted, he was being defensive about being called a Republican just because he gave a dumb answer, but if he truly respected his self-identity as a Republican, he'd have taken the moral high ground, brushed off the girl's negative comment toward Republicans, and responded to her with a helpful, smart answer that proved to her that Republicans are capable of being helpful, smart people. How he failed to do so is bizarre to me, especially when the author of the story is trying to make Republicans look better than Democrats.
Btw, lsutiga, just wanted to let you know I love your contributions on here... they seem to always bring a smile to my face... I love a great sense of humor, and you're really good about bringing that to the impersonal world of internet discussion.
That's my biggest enjoyment about forums and yes, some of us do separate the two- the internet from the real world. To others, unfortunately, it IS their life, they take this stuff way too seriously but to each her own.
The answer was not dumb. It was only perhaps dumb of him to assume that the woman was informed enough to use the information. The Republican isn't the idiot that got lost above a body of water with no directions in a hot air balloon. He came prepared with all the information he needed - a gps.
Man, I don't know whats more flammable politics or religion, damn, think we could get a thread started featuring both. really get the chit hitting the fan then!:grin:
