The Parable of the Three Mechanics

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, where does the Republican Party start to get back on track?”

Josh spoke thus:

A mechanic was working on a broken machine.

“What’s the matter with it?” a fellow mechanic asked.

“If I knew what was wrong with it, I wouldn’t be messing with it,” the mechanic said.

“Sure you would,” the fellow mechanic said, “You can’t help yourself.”

“It’s not working,” the mechanic said, “That’s what’s wrong with it.”

“Let me take a look,” the fellow mechanic said.

“So you can break it more?” the mechanic said, “You probably broke it in the first place.”

“If I’d broken it, I’d have fixed it,” the fellow mechanic said, “I’m a good mechanic.”

“Are you saying I’m not a good mechanic?” the mechanic asked.

“I’m saying it’s broken, that’s all,” the fellow mechanic said.

“Well, if you’re so smart, let’s see what you can do,” the mechanic said.

The fellow mechanic began inspecting the machine.

“It’s broken,” the fellow mechanic said.

“Well you really are a good mechanic, aren’t you?” the mechanic said, “If you hadn’t come along, I never would have figured out it was broken.”

“Do you want me to fix it or not?” the fellow mechanic said.

“What’s wrong with it?” the mechanic asked.

“It’s broken, that’s what’s wrong with it,” the fellow mechanic said, “Do you want me to fix it or not?”

“I suppose I do,” the mechanic said, “Go ahead and fix it.”

The fellow mechanic worked on the machine, but couldn’t fix it.

“I can’t fix it,” the fellow mechanic said, “It’s broken.”

A third mechanic came along.

“What are you two doing with that machine?” the third mechanic said, “That machine’s no good.  It’s broken.”

“What’s wrong with it?” the two mechanics asked the third.

“It’s broken,” the third mechanic said, “It’s been broken for a week.  I’m only keeping it for parts.”

“I told you it was broken,” the fellow mechanic said to the mechanic.

“I knew all along it was broken,” the mechanic said.