We carry a joke of sad irony in our family …about elections that took place in the Soviet states during the time of Communism. My father’s large family who farmed in a remote part of Hungary, was over-run by propagandists who claimed Hungary had totally free elections, but in fact, everyone in the little village of 46 families, knew the higher ups bullied, deceived, thieved and took by force, by rifle and tank, whatever they wished… and polluted the rest.
My dad József Pínkola, was a horseman as a young child, one of the Schwabian tribe that had come down out of the Black Forest 150 years prior. Given the nearly constant invasions of Hungary by various warlords, the murdering and conscripting, and the shifting of boundaries from war settlements that made one a citizen of one’s home country one day, and a citizen suddenly of a completely foreign country another… as in the rise and fall of the Austria-Hungarian empire… Dad often said of the dark side of human nature, he had ‘seen it… and seen it… and seen it… and seen it all over again… and again.’ Dad taught the story path of this joke goes this way….
The Soviet Premier was running for office again, and the election had just been held. The Premier’s aide rushed to him, telling him he had the election results and it was very good news.
“Premier! In the final vote, your opponent got 57% of the vote!”
“What?!” shouted the Premier. “My opponent got 57% of the vote, and you fool, you consider that good news!?? You idiot!”
“No no, Premier, it really is good news, because in the final vote… you got 68%!!!”
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from Dr.E via internet