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ILLUSTRATION
Teenager Tries to Call the President
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Topics: Christian practices; Experiencing God; God; God, glory of; God, grace of; God, greatness of; God, omnipotence of; Grace; Human limitations; Intercession; Prayer; Prayer, importance of; Prayer, persistence in; Prayer, power of; Spiritual disciplines
Filters: Free; Stories; Youth & Children
References: Matthew 7:7-12, Luke 11:1-13, Luke 18:1-8, Romans 5:2, Ephesians 2:18, Hebrews 4:14-16
Tone: Neutral/Mixed

Access to the most powerful leader in the world—the President of the United States of America—is granted only to the few who have successfully passed through a series of detailed, cautious checkpoints. A Norway teen created quite a stir in the United States when he challenged the system, boldly dialing a secret phone number for the White House. Sixteen-year-old Vifill Atlason claims he called President George W. Bush out of curiosity. "I just wanted to talk to him—have a chat, invite him to Iceland, and see what he'd say," the teen told ABC News.

In order to get through security, Atlason pretended to be Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the President of Iceland. He was surprised when his initial call didn't pass through a switchboard, but went directly to a higher office to be screened by various security officials. Atlason was asked a series of personal questions in an attempt to verify his identification as President Grímsson, including Grímsson's date of birth, hometown, and even the names of Grímsson's parents.

"It was like passing through checkpoints," Atlason said. The checkpoints proved one too many—the teen never made it through to the president and was later taken from his home for questioning by local police. No charges were filed.

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 related images
CheckpointPrinter view
Photograph of a police checkpoint. Uploaded on flickr on October 20, 2007 by user James & Vilija.

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