The Rich Man, Poor Man, & The Little Lamb

[chuck freeman]

“The Lord sent Prophet Nathan to King David. When he came to him, he said, 'There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.'"

King David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.’

Then Prophet Nathan said to King David, 'You are the man!'"

President Obama spoke at the annual Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner on June 19th. Here are a couple of his timely quips.

“Nick at Nite has a new take on an old classic, “Leave it to Uigurs. I thought that was pretty good.”

“But I have to say, as I traveled to all these countries, I saw firsthand how much people truly have in common with one another. Because no matter where I went, there's one thing I heard over and over again from every world leader:
“No thanks, but have you considered Palau?”

Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor are two of my stylistic and rhetorical gurus. I am given to satirical and politically incorrect humor. Yet, something about my President’s jokes on these matters, at this time in our history, sounds off key. This scene reminds me of the Prophet Nathan’s cunning parable that indicted King David. It is one thing for Leno, Letterman, or Stewart to satirize the Uighurs plight, but for the President who holds their destiny in his hands to do so seems indecent.

The 17 Chinese Muslim ethnic Uighurs in Obama’s joke have been held at the Guantanamo Bay Prison for more than seven years without charge. They were cleared for release from Guantanamo four years ago after US officials ruled there was no evidence to hold them as "enemy combatants.”

Last year a Federal judge ordered the men released into the United States, but an appeals court halted the order, and they have been in legal limbo ever since.
The US state department has said the Uighurs cannot be returned to China because of fears they will face persecution and possible execution.

Officials in Palau, a U.S. administered territory until 1994, have agreed to temporarily take in the 17 Uighurs for humanitarian reasons. The island is heavily dependent on U.S. aid. Plus, Palau maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, not China. Ironically, Palau and the United States are discussing the possibility of a $200-million aid package.

Here’s what gets my little lamb, I mean, goat.

From my back porch, Obama’s cavalier joking is part of a larger American soul affliction. We live such comfy, entitled lives that wise cracks about locking up marginalized Chinese guys for years on end without cause, is like watching a movie. Admitting they are completely innocent, yet holding them in prison for their own “protection” is like playing a video game.

Dealing them for money to a helpless former island territory is like the Washington Redskins trading a football player. Reporters, known in days of yore as political watchdogs, making jolly with the President about our human rights abuses is like attending a farcical play.

Maybe I got up today on the self - righteous side of the bed. But, Prophet Nathan’s confrontational exclamation seems on the money.

America, “You are the man!”

[Steve Hollingsworth]

I don't really hear what Obama said as an attempt at ha-ha humor. Rather a recognition of the absurdities of the grim political realities that he faces daily, I think.

[Vicky Dill]

I think "soul affliction" is right on target. We are a relatively insensitive, un-humbled, and arrogant nation practically incapable of true remorse, mourning for our grievous mistakes, or paying public acknowledgment and making reconciliation for injustices we have perpetrated. Our youth have, many of them, spent remarkably little time learning skills like trust, apology, empathy, thanking, and attunement. That is why this issue is critical: our president should be showing another way. No man or woman -- Neda, Biko, native American, Uighur, or anyone is intrinsically more important any anyone else. I think, after a long and heartfelt apology, we should set these men up for business in some highrise (real or metaphorical) where they would be honored and where we would show we don't have a need to disperse the innocents.

[Pat Hallander]

Yes, I agree these 2 "jokes" were questionable, and, if I recall correctly, did not evoke much response from the audience.