Barrack Obama was visiting a primary school and he visited one of the
classes. They were in the middle of a discussion related to words and
their meanings. The teacher asked the president if he would like to
lead the discussion on the word 'tragedy'. So our illustrious
president asked the class for an example of a 'tragedy'.
One little boy stood up and offered, "If my best friend, who lives on a
farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs over him and kills
him, that would be a tragedy."
"No," said Obama. "That would be an accident."
A little girl raised her hand. "If a school bus carrying 50 children
drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy."
"I'm afraid not," explained Obama. "That's what we would call a great
loss."
The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Obama searched
the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a
tragedy?"
Finally, at the back of the room, little Johnny raised his hand In a
quiet voice he said, "If the plane carrying you and Mrs. Obama was
struck by a 'friendly fire' missile and blown to smithereens, that
would be a tragedy."
"Fantastic!" exclaimed Obama. "That's right. And can you tell me why
that would be tragedy?"
"Well," says Johnny, "It has to be a tragedy, because it sure as hell
wouldn't be a great loss...and you can bet your ass it's probably not
an accident either!"
classes. They were in the middle of a discussion related to words and
their meanings. The teacher asked the president if he would like to
lead the discussion on the word 'tragedy'. So our illustrious
president asked the class for an example of a 'tragedy'.
One little boy stood up and offered, "If my best friend, who lives on a
farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs over him and kills
him, that would be a tragedy."
"No," said Obama. "That would be an accident."
A little girl raised her hand. "If a school bus carrying 50 children
drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy."
"I'm afraid not," explained Obama. "That's what we would call a great
loss."
The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Obama searched
the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a
tragedy?"
Finally, at the back of the room, little Johnny raised his hand In a
quiet voice he said, "If the plane carrying you and Mrs. Obama was
struck by a 'friendly fire' missile and blown to smithereens, that
would be a tragedy."
"Fantastic!" exclaimed Obama. "That's right. And can you tell me why
that would be tragedy?"
"Well," says Johnny, "It has to be a tragedy, because it sure as hell
wouldn't be a great loss...and you can bet your ass it's probably not
an accident either!"
