Sometimes I wish I were older
Not often. Not a week before my birthday, surely. But reading some of the papers, sometimes I wish I were older.
If I were 20 years older, I would have been born in 1961. Kennedy would have been President, he would be about to announce the Apollo project. The Beatles would be about to hit the scene. Marilyn wouldn't have sung to the President on his birthday yet, and the Vietnam war would not be over.
I would have been 3 years old when Kennedy was assasinated in Texas. I would have been 16 when Fleetwood Mac released Rumors and when Star Wars: A New Hope is released on the big screen. Carter would be President, and prime interest rates would be 7.75%. Carter would be President, the United Kingdom would be guilty of Human Rights violations in Ireland, and 52 US Diplomats were still safe, and not yet in the hands of Iranian terrorists.
I would have been in my twenties when interest rates were in the high teens and twenties, and I would have been through countless economic slow downs and surges.
I would be 47 now, instead of 27. I would look at the Fed taking drastic action to save the US housing marketing entirely differently. The possibility of the most liberal man in the country taking office would not put "United States Bankrupt" before my eyes. Because I would know, that the country had withstood other Presidents who had ideas that were different than my own. And that our system of checks and balances is strong, because not only does one man have power, but he also has to have agreement from 535 mostly middle-aged men. And a bench of the smartest lawyers in the country serve to make sure their decisions are all legal.
I wouldn't be where I am now, if I were older. Because today, watching the stock market struggle and gas prices rise and knowing the dollar is worth far less than it should be ... I can't help but be nervous. I've quoted John Adams before, and I hear phrases like that in my head often. What if this is the end of our democracy? What if this is the end of our stability and economic prosperity? What will it be like to live in a United States that is gloomy, sad, and not the land of plenty I have always known it to be?
Part of me, in even writing that, wants to slap myself silly. I have never wanted for anything my entire life. Even in the 80s, when interest rates were in the double digits, my parents purchased a home and worked. My family has always been healthy, I have always had food, and I recieved a good education at the hands of my generous parents. I have running water and a good, solid roof over my head. Many around the world can not say half as much, and they probably complain far less.
But I can't help but feel apprehension at the state of affairs we are in. The housing market and our entitlement generation has created a "give me more" society. Cell phone, digital cable, Tivo, SUV, designer jeans, iPods, internet access ... even if you can't afford to buy milk afterwards. And there are those in the our government that feel these our are rights. Our right is to have things. Our right is to have more.
I rarely hear work enter the equation. And if it does, it's in the form of "I will create you a job. I will give you a job."
This mentality of entitlement has led to the disaster we now find ourselves in. This idea of more, more, more without doing anything extra or harder, is what will bring us apart. Those that work and earn will pay for those that don't. The wealth will be redistributed, and malaise will fall.
We need another revolution. We need more ingenuity and more American hard work and toil. We need people to stand for common sense and the Constitution. We need a government that is going to live within its means.
If I was 47 now, instead of 27 and just barely starting out and a little bit scared at how it all ends up, I would have a sense of calm. Because I would know that as a country we have survived worse, we have come through, and these down times rebound into times of great invention.
I just can't wait to see what our next great idea is.
If I were 20 years older, I would have been born in 1961. Kennedy would have been President, he would be about to announce the Apollo project. The Beatles would be about to hit the scene. Marilyn wouldn't have sung to the President on his birthday yet, and the Vietnam war would not be over.
I would have been 3 years old when Kennedy was assasinated in Texas. I would have been 16 when Fleetwood Mac released Rumors and when Star Wars: A New Hope is released on the big screen. Carter would be President, and prime interest rates would be 7.75%. Carter would be President, the United Kingdom would be guilty of Human Rights violations in Ireland, and 52 US Diplomats were still safe, and not yet in the hands of Iranian terrorists.
I would have been in my twenties when interest rates were in the high teens and twenties, and I would have been through countless economic slow downs and surges.
I would be 47 now, instead of 27. I would look at the Fed taking drastic action to save the US housing marketing entirely differently. The possibility of the most liberal man in the country taking office would not put "United States Bankrupt" before my eyes. Because I would know, that the country had withstood other Presidents who had ideas that were different than my own. And that our system of checks and balances is strong, because not only does one man have power, but he also has to have agreement from 535 mostly middle-aged men. And a bench of the smartest lawyers in the country serve to make sure their decisions are all legal.
I wouldn't be where I am now, if I were older. Because today, watching the stock market struggle and gas prices rise and knowing the dollar is worth far less than it should be ... I can't help but be nervous. I've quoted John Adams before, and I hear phrases like that in my head often. What if this is the end of our democracy? What if this is the end of our stability and economic prosperity? What will it be like to live in a United States that is gloomy, sad, and not the land of plenty I have always known it to be?
Part of me, in even writing that, wants to slap myself silly. I have never wanted for anything my entire life. Even in the 80s, when interest rates were in the double digits, my parents purchased a home and worked. My family has always been healthy, I have always had food, and I recieved a good education at the hands of my generous parents. I have running water and a good, solid roof over my head. Many around the world can not say half as much, and they probably complain far less.
But I can't help but feel apprehension at the state of affairs we are in. The housing market and our entitlement generation has created a "give me more" society. Cell phone, digital cable, Tivo, SUV, designer jeans, iPods, internet access ... even if you can't afford to buy milk afterwards. And there are those in the our government that feel these our are rights. Our right is to have things. Our right is to have more.
I rarely hear work enter the equation. And if it does, it's in the form of "I will create you a job. I will give you a job."
This mentality of entitlement has led to the disaster we now find ourselves in. This idea of more, more, more without doing anything extra or harder, is what will bring us apart. Those that work and earn will pay for those that don't. The wealth will be redistributed, and malaise will fall.
We need another revolution. We need more ingenuity and more American hard work and toil. We need people to stand for common sense and the Constitution. We need a government that is going to live within its means.
If I was 47 now, instead of 27 and just barely starting out and a little bit scared at how it all ends up, I would have a sense of calm. Because I would know that as a country we have survived worse, we have come through, and these down times rebound into times of great invention.
I just can't wait to see what our next great idea is.
Comments