War Is Good For One Thing Apparently

(We are doing a class on impromptu speech giving. Each student is called up, given a topic, and has to deliver a two minute speech on the topic after 30 seconds of preparation. One student has been given the topic ‘war.’)

Student: “Okay, so I’m going to talk about war. There have been a lot of wars over the past century. Some have involved several continents, like World War I and II, and others are localized, like the Vietnam War. Wars are fought for a number of reasons, like land, freedom, democracy, and power… um… A lot of people have died, fighting in wars…”

(He glances surreptitiously at his watch.)

Student: “Um… in memory of those people, let us now have a full minute of silence.”

(The class erupts in laughter. The teacher shakes her head, but gives him full marks.)