Everyone loves to ponder a good question so try these on for size.
First, when you think of people you admire, what kind of qualities do they possess?
A Yankelovich Partners poll for Master Card International suggests that "being there for you through thick and thin" is the top quality that comes to mind. Other highly rated qualities were being willing to do the right thing, putting family ahead of work and knowing how to keep a secret.
How are your ethics? Two ethical questions (also known as trick questions) submitted by an e-mail friend:
Question 1: If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had eight kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis; would you recommend that she have an abortion?
Question 2: It is time to elect the world leader, and yours is the deciding vote. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:
Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He has had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks eight to 10 martinis a day.
Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.
Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs. Which of these candidates would be your choice? You should feel set up.
Now, which of the following statements are politically correct about men?
- He does not have a beer gut; he has developed a liquid grain storage facility.
- He does not get lost all the time; he investigates alternative destinations.
- He is not balding; he is in follicle regression.
Now the answer to the so-called ethical questions. I'm not sure of the truth of these answers. But I trust my friend did the research. Looking at question two first regarding which politician to elect: Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt; Candidate B is Winston Churchill; Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.
As for Question No. 1 regarding the abortion: If you said yes, you just killed Beethoven.
Terry Horne is publisher of The Exponent and the Telegram. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Exponent-Telegram. He can be reached by phone at 626-1453 or by e-mail at thorne1@earthlink.net.
