Don't Work for Gratitude
Story★★★★Former Chief Justice Vinson of the United States Supreme Court, once a successful Kentucky politician who carefully looked after his constituents, is alleged to have told this story on himself. He had stopped to solicit a vote of a Kentuckian who was lounging on the court house steps. “Nope,” said the man, “I ain’t going to vote for you this time.” “Why not?” asked Vinson. “Didn’t I send you free seeds last spring? Didn’t I get that pension for your mother-in-law? Didn’t I get your bootleg brother out of trouble? Didn’t I get your daughter a job at the postoffice?” “Yep, yep, yep, yep,” said the man, “but you ain’t done nothing for me lately.”
The point
A political leader boasts to a constituent of his past favors, only to be met with: You haven't done anything for me lately—a lesson in the futility of earning gratitude.