Someone gave me a book once entitled, The Second Book of Insults. Evidently the first book was so successful the publisher thought it deserved a sequel. I will confess that I enjoyed reading the book. It is in the grand tradition of a certain kind of comedy called the "put-down." We love to see the pretentious slip on a banana peel. It is that kind of humor.

There is a similar tradition in sports. We love to see the underdog beat the top dog. Which is why we look forward to the Padres meeting the Yankees in the World Series.

There is even a tradition of put-down in the Bible, probably because the Bible was written by Jews, who spent most of their history being shoved around by great empires. There are songs in the Bible, like the Magnificat, which Mary sings at the time of the annunciation to her by the angel, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. He has knocked the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree." That's a put-down.

The English are the masters of the put-down. Many of the entries into that anthology of insults came from England. Like the story of George Bernard Shaw, who was invited to a woman's house for tea. She was one of those people who liked to "collect" celebrities so that she, herself, might be considered a celebrity. She sent Shaw her card, which read, "Lady So-and-So will be at home Thursday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m." Shaw wrote a note on the card and sent it back, and said, "Mr. George Bernard Shaw likewise."

Winston Churchill was equally adept at the put-down. There is a famous exchange between Winston Churchill and Lady Astor. Lady Astor did not like Winston Churchill, so one day she said to him, "If I were your wife, I'd put poison in your tea." Churchill said, "If I were your husband, I'd drink it."

They are masters of the put-down, George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill. So when you have an anecdote in which they battle each other, it is a collector's item. Here it is. Bernard Shaw sent two tickets to his latest play opening in London to Churchill with this note, "Here are two tickets for the opening night of my new play, one for you and one for a friend, if you have one." Churchill sent them back with this note, "I cannot attend opening night. Send me two tickets for the next night, if there is one."

I suppose wherever you go, wherever there are hierarchical institutions, or any institutions for that matter, you will have concern about status, some people in upper echelons of power and others below them. The people below are probably telling these put-downs, stories about the people they hope to replace someday. Every group arranges itself according to status. People ask, "Where do I fit in in this group?" Or, "Can I make a contribution?" "Will it not be received?" "Can I be myself, or will I be put down?"