The main thing I wanna do nowadays is say something that could help ease the pressure off the Executive. Things seem to be going better in Iraq; the economy is excellent; I’m still thrilled about things like the Mexico City policy and the campaigning he did in the election prior to this last one that brought Republicans into office.
Perhaps the main obstacle to recognizing that the President has done anything right isn’t on the Left or the Right. Conspiracy theory can’t go anywhere, after all, if people don’t believe it. And criticisms of the President don’t have to add up to a complete repudiation of the President’s policies.
Maybe the main obstacle is the composition of Congress. Listening to Senator Biden the other day made me want to throw up. I asserted shortly afterward that he sounded like the sort of blowhard that brags way too much in bars and gets every woman to turn far, far away from him.
Now I’m thinking that he, like the rest of Congress, didn’t just get the idea of “let’s throw lots of facts that may or may not add up at people to show how smart and concerned we are, instead of admitting we’re a bunch of wusses” from nowhere. This particular style of “argument” – bullying people with information that may or may not be true – isn’t just characteristic of idiots at bars.
It’s also the hallmark of dealing with overconfident all-knowing arrogant old people, which Congress represents all too well.
I should make it clear I love the elderly, and find them very engaging and thoughtful for the most part. And I owe people older than me quite a lot, and I’ve seen a number of them age well and I’d be happy if I aged half that well.
It is because of old people I know something. It’s because I owe so much to one segment that I have to rail against this other segment.
I think all of us know exactly what segment of the elderly I’m talking about right now.
This is the segment which only knows how to “geeze” – as Dave Barry said, regarding “how to geeze,” these are people that pick one speed for their car, and keep that speed whether in the driveway or on the interstate.
Instead of term limits, can we get an age restriction on people in Congress? I mean, this is ridiculous – at least the jerk at the bar can be made to shut up if someone bigger than him stares hard at him. But Granny and Grandpa are immune to the threat of confrontation, because they’ve got nothing to lose, and heck, I don’t want to get strangled by a hearing aid cord.
The key difference between Congress, the old people that like to hear themselves talk & bullies, and the older people that mean genuinely well, is that one set of people want to be right just for the sake of being right.
The other group wants to give to others, and wants a legacy of charity.
In a sense, these two groups of older people are symbolic for the value of knowledge: either we want to say we’re right for an ego boost or power only, or we want to be right because there’s far more on the line.
Perhaps the key is that instead of an age restriction, we should go find those who are older that are living their lives well – not just being active or being loud about politics, but instead giving back to their families, doing the best for others who are worse off – and let’s have them run. Let’s get people in politics who want nothing to do with politics, because they know how life is meant to be lived, and understand how difficult it is to do anything well.
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Filed under: Congress, Double Standards, Presidency
