THE QUEST
There once was an ambitious young man
who was looking for an effective
President.
His quest had taken him over many years to the numb reaches of the universe.
He had been in the smallest of bombed-out hamlets and in the graffiti-plastered megalopolises of wealthy nations.
He had spoken with many leaders and had begun to see the entire color wheel of how Presidents could be loved by the very people they annihilated.
He had come across many "honorable" Presidents whose countries seemed to win while their people died by the thousands of hunger, poison, and disease.
As the young man sat in the offices of each of these Presidents, he usually asked: "So what kind of President would you say you are?"
Their answers varied only slightly.
"I am not a crook," or "I can't remember," he was told.
He also met many "space-cadet" Presidents, whose people seemed to be doing okay, while their neighbors died by the thousands of hunger, poison, and disease. As the young man drank white wine and listened to these Presidents answer the same question, he heard this:
"Relax and let go. Just manage your stress. Then everything's under control."
After awhile, it seemed to him that most Presidents were only interested in getting away with as much as they could before they got caught, or appearing as though they were getting away with nothing when they were, in fact, getting away with it all.
Of course, there were some who were trying to pass themselves off as effective Presidents, even going so far as to have extensive cosmetic surgery to correct certain deficiencies in their public image. But they didn't fool anyone. In fact, people enjoyed laughing at these Presidents and just plain liked having them around.
In time, the young man began seriously to doubt he would ever find an effective President. "How can one man," he wondered, "be expected to change his mind every day on both crucial and trivial decisions, confuse the intent, misdirect the purpose and still achieve a maximum of incompetent effectiveness?"
The young man shook his head. "Perhaps," he thought, "I am asking for too much."
Deeply disturbed and disappointed, he considered a life of drug abuse and degradation. And he would have pursued it too, had he not felt a strange, whiny voice within urging him to say "No!" to despair and continue his search for an effective President.
His quest had taken him over many years to the numb reaches of the universe.
He had been in the smallest of bombed-out hamlets and in the graffiti-plastered megalopolises of wealthy nations.
He had spoken with many leaders and had begun to see the entire color wheel of how Presidents could be loved by the very people they annihilated.
He had come across many "honorable" Presidents whose countries seemed to win while their people died by the thousands of hunger, poison, and disease.
As the young man sat in the offices of each of these Presidents, he usually asked: "So what kind of President would you say you are?"
Their answers varied only slightly.
"I am not a crook," or "I can't remember," he was told.
He also met many "space-cadet" Presidents, whose people seemed to be doing okay, while their neighbors died by the thousands of hunger, poison, and disease. As the young man drank white wine and listened to these Presidents answer the same question, he heard this:
"Relax and let go. Just manage your stress. Then everything's under control."
After awhile, it seemed to him that most Presidents were only interested in getting away with as much as they could before they got caught, or appearing as though they were getting away with nothing when they were, in fact, getting away with it all.
Of course, there were some who were trying to pass themselves off as effective Presidents, even going so far as to have extensive cosmetic surgery to correct certain deficiencies in their public image. But they didn't fool anyone. In fact, people enjoyed laughing at these Presidents and just plain liked having them around.
In time, the young man began seriously to doubt he would ever find an effective President. "How can one man," he wondered, "be expected to change his mind every day on both crucial and trivial decisions, confuse the intent, misdirect the purpose and still achieve a maximum of incompetent effectiveness?"
The young man shook his head. "Perhaps," he thought, "I am asking for too much."
Deeply disturbed and disappointed, he considered a life of drug abuse and degradation. And he would have pursued it too, had he not felt a strange, whiny voice within urging him to say "No!" to despair and continue his search for an effective President.
Posted: Wed - March 4, 1987 at 09:01 PM
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