"Dinner with Obama"

[Teresa Heilevang]

CONTEMPLATE




 I don't know the author, but I see the dark and foreboding truth in this brilliant parable.


 
"Dinner with Obama" 
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 glass. 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 a 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 creme brulee. 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.
"You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said.

[runstowin]

This all started a long time ago, Obama is merely a sign that the program to grab all of our hard earned wealth is accelerating.

[tombogan03884]

This all started a long time ago, Obama is merely a sign that the program to grab all of our hard earned wealth is accelerating.

FDR if not Coolidge, the first admitted socialist.

[tt11758]

The difference is that now they're not even TRYING to be subtle about it.

[Kid Shelleen]

Accurate and horrifying analogy.

[Sponsor]

[JC5123]

"You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said. [/b]

Isn't that EXACTLY what the tea parties on tax day were about??? I mean after the porkulis bill was passed, and in the manner that it was handled, hundreds of thousands of AMERICANS took to the streets and demanded accountability for the money that we were just robbed of. If that is not trying to stop him at the dinner roll than what is?

I agree with Tom most of the time, though I think he's a little crankier than I am. But I have to admit, public hangings of politicians who rake us over the coals is starting to sound VERY appealing. Especially the ones who demand titles!

Oh sorry SENATOR!!!

[tombogan03884]

Isn't that EXACTLY what the tea parties on tax day were about??? I mean after the porkulis bill was passed, and in the manner that it was handled, hundreds of thousands of AMERICANS took to the streets and demanded accountability for the money that we were just robbed of. If that is not trying to stop him at the dinner roll than what is?

I agree with Tom most of the time, though I think he's a little crankier than I am. But I have to admit, public hangings of politicians who rake us over the coals is starting to sound VERY appealing. Especially the ones who demand titles!

Oh sorry SENATOR!!!

It's not that I'm cranky at all, just that all the history I read has led me to conclude that just defeating them is not enough, You have to kill them to stop them. Look at Hitler, imprisoned and deprived of the German citizenship he was granted for serving in WWI after the "Beer hall Putsch" but he found a way to regain German citizenship and made every one regret it. Had he been hung for treason in 1923 it might be a different world today.
Of course things might have worked out different if Germany had a "Natural Born" clause as well, thats why it is so important to MAKE BO prove his citizenship or remove him.

[JC5123]

It's not that I'm cranky at all, just that all the history I read has led me to conclude that just defeating them is not enough, You have to kill them to stop them. Look at Hitler, imprisoned and deprived of the German citizenship he was granted for serving in WWI after the "Beer hall Putsch" but he found a way to regain German citizenship and made every one regret it. Had he been hung for treason in 1923 it might be a different world today.
Of course things might have worked out different if Germany had a "Natural Born" clause as well, thats why it is so important to MAKE BO prove his citizenship or remove him.

Kinda like cockroaches that way aren't they.

[tombogan03884]

Kinda like cockroaches that way aren't they.

They even scurry for shelter when you turn the light on them.