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Sunday, October 24, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Why Seniors Can Preserve America's Greatness
Our seniors are our county’s greatest asset. The tragedy is that many young people do not see them for the treasure that they are.
Our older generation is the wisdom of our nation. They have worked, built business, immigrated from other lands, married, had kids, had grand kids and watched the world change around them. There is no greater earthly source of wisdom than experience.
To those who are in their retirement years, let me say: please speak up. We need the stories you tell and the lessons you learned. We need to know what you saw that worked, what did not work, and why. Please take the mantle of the responsibility of sharing your wisdom.
To those in their middle years, show your parents respect and your kids will respect them as well.
And to the younger generation (am I still in that group at 33?), you may think that you know, and your passion is essential for life, but make sure that you ask questions of those who have done it before you. They have learned more than a thing or two. If you don’t have a senior role model in your life, find one: an aunt or uncle, neighbor or friend of the family. We need their voice of experience.
Our seniors are so precious that I cringe at the idea of some on the far, far left that believe that lives have a monetary value, and seniors and babies are at the bottom of that list. Seniors often cost too much to keep alive and babies require many years of investment before they start producing in society. You can read all about the “Complete Lives System” here. It’s scary stuff. First of all, every human life is priceless. Second of all, the idea that a person’s value is based on their productivity is disgusting. But what happens, the authors argue, when there is a shortage of healthcare or funding for healthcare and care has to be rationed? Who do we pick to get the care?
I know, that’s just crazy “death panels” stuff, I am not saying that is what the Democrats want, only some loons.
What’s more disturbing is a college student that I saw interviewed during the education cuts protests here in Los Angeles. The student was asked what the government should cut to pay for education and he responded that the government should cut Medicare or Social Security because the seniors “had their turn” and it is the younger generation’s turn now.
Protect our seniors, they have the most to lose if the economy worsens and severe cuts must be made. We owe them the promises that were made. Younger generation, you may have to make some sacrifices to honor our commitments to our seniors. I am not counting on any of the $80,000 in SSI money I have paid over the years. I must take responsibility for my own retirement. But I can leave my children and my grandchildren a better, more free, more prosperous America, because that’s the sacrifice that the “greatest generation”, the WWII era, did for their kids and grandkids. That is a legacy: something that you leave on to future generations. Our seniors' wisdom is their legacy. Let’s make sure we inherit it.
Our older generation is the wisdom of our nation. They have worked, built business, immigrated from other lands, married, had kids, had grand kids and watched the world change around them. There is no greater earthly source of wisdom than experience.
To those who are in their retirement years, let me say: please speak up. We need the stories you tell and the lessons you learned. We need to know what you saw that worked, what did not work, and why. Please take the mantle of the responsibility of sharing your wisdom.
To those in their middle years, show your parents respect and your kids will respect them as well.
And to the younger generation (am I still in that group at 33?), you may think that you know, and your passion is essential for life, but make sure that you ask questions of those who have done it before you. They have learned more than a thing or two. If you don’t have a senior role model in your life, find one: an aunt or uncle, neighbor or friend of the family. We need their voice of experience.
Our seniors are so precious that I cringe at the idea of some on the far, far left that believe that lives have a monetary value, and seniors and babies are at the bottom of that list. Seniors often cost too much to keep alive and babies require many years of investment before they start producing in society. You can read all about the “Complete Lives System” here. It’s scary stuff. First of all, every human life is priceless. Second of all, the idea that a person’s value is based on their productivity is disgusting. But what happens, the authors argue, when there is a shortage of healthcare or funding for healthcare and care has to be rationed? Who do we pick to get the care?
I know, that’s just crazy “death panels” stuff, I am not saying that is what the Democrats want, only some loons.
What’s more disturbing is a college student that I saw interviewed during the education cuts protests here in Los Angeles. The student was asked what the government should cut to pay for education and he responded that the government should cut Medicare or Social Security because the seniors “had their turn” and it is the younger generation’s turn now.
Protect our seniors, they have the most to lose if the economy worsens and severe cuts must be made. We owe them the promises that were made. Younger generation, you may have to make some sacrifices to honor our commitments to our seniors. I am not counting on any of the $80,000 in SSI money I have paid over the years. I must take responsibility for my own retirement. But I can leave my children and my grandchildren a better, more free, more prosperous America, because that’s the sacrifice that the “greatest generation”, the WWII era, did for their kids and grandkids. That is a legacy: something that you leave on to future generations. Our seniors' wisdom is their legacy. Let’s make sure we inherit it.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
A Passion Born of Necessity
I was talking to a coworker today about the upcoming elections. "I don't really follow politics," he said. "I rarely even vote." Of course my colleague is not alone. Voter turnout is usually around 60% of those eligible to vote, and traditionally below 50% in a midterm election. Compare that to Iraq, where under threat of death, over 90% of eligible voters turned out to vote. Could it be that we don't appreciate our democracy in America?
It is amazing to me that people will follow football with a passion bordering on fanaticism and yet remain uninvolved in their elections. Not that there is anything wrong with a passion for football, fashion, or fishing, but who represents us in the White House and Congress (and, by extension, the judiciary) is the most important thing. We the People get to decide what kind of country we want to be and what kind of government we want to have. The answers to those questions will affect our liberty, our prosperity, our everyday lives and our posterity's future. Our founders embarked on a grand experiment to see if a government could be of, for and by the people. In order for that to happen, the people have to pay attention, and they have to vote.
I am not suggesting compulsory voting. Those who don't want to vote probably shouldn't vote as they are less likely to be informed on the candidates and issues. But why don't people want to vote? Are they cynical about the impact that a citizen can make?
Some of my friends may see me as overly obsessed with politics and issues. It really has become a passion of mine in the last couple years. However, it is a passion born of necessity. I would rather live in a world where I can focus on swing dancing, Ultimate Fighting, or heck, even dating, while having utmost confidence that our elected officials are free of corruption, faithful to our constitution, and looking out for their constituents above all.
The reality however is that power corrupts, our constitution is often subverted or downright scorned, and elected officials are bought and paid for special interests and big business. We the People are the only line of defense against the failure of this grand experiment. Our Declaration of Independence asserts that government gets its just powers from the consent of the governed. Don't we need to know what we are consenting to?
The reality of human history is that freedom is in a constant battle for its existence against the forces of despotism, the quest for power, and the tendency of that power to centralize. Our founders believed that all powers not expressly given to the federal government should reside with the states and the people. But they were not unaware of the challenge of maintaining that decentralized power:
"How prone all human institutions have been to decay; how subject the best-formed and most wisely organized governments have been to lose their check and totally dissolve; how difficult it has been for mankind, in all ages and countries, to preserve their dearest rights and best privileges, impelled as it were by an irresistible fate of despotism."
- James Monroe, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 10, 1788
It is not just our right to preserve liberty and the "last, best hope of the world" that is America, it is our duty.
Right after the ratification of the US Constitution a lady asked Dr. Benjamin Franklin, "Well Doctor, what have we got a republic or a monarchy" — "A republic," replied the Franklin, "if you can keep it."
- Anonymous, from Farrand's Records of the Federal Convention of 1787
It is amazing to me that people will follow football with a passion bordering on fanaticism and yet remain uninvolved in their elections. Not that there is anything wrong with a passion for football, fashion, or fishing, but who represents us in the White House and Congress (and, by extension, the judiciary) is the most important thing. We the People get to decide what kind of country we want to be and what kind of government we want to have. The answers to those questions will affect our liberty, our prosperity, our everyday lives and our posterity's future. Our founders embarked on a grand experiment to see if a government could be of, for and by the people. In order for that to happen, the people have to pay attention, and they have to vote.
I am not suggesting compulsory voting. Those who don't want to vote probably shouldn't vote as they are less likely to be informed on the candidates and issues. But why don't people want to vote? Are they cynical about the impact that a citizen can make?
Some of my friends may see me as overly obsessed with politics and issues. It really has become a passion of mine in the last couple years. However, it is a passion born of necessity. I would rather live in a world where I can focus on swing dancing, Ultimate Fighting, or heck, even dating, while having utmost confidence that our elected officials are free of corruption, faithful to our constitution, and looking out for their constituents above all.
The reality however is that power corrupts, our constitution is often subverted or downright scorned, and elected officials are bought and paid for special interests and big business. We the People are the only line of defense against the failure of this grand experiment. Our Declaration of Independence asserts that government gets its just powers from the consent of the governed. Don't we need to know what we are consenting to?
The reality of human history is that freedom is in a constant battle for its existence against the forces of despotism, the quest for power, and the tendency of that power to centralize. Our founders believed that all powers not expressly given to the federal government should reside with the states and the people. But they were not unaware of the challenge of maintaining that decentralized power:
"How prone all human institutions have been to decay; how subject the best-formed and most wisely organized governments have been to lose their check and totally dissolve; how difficult it has been for mankind, in all ages and countries, to preserve their dearest rights and best privileges, impelled as it were by an irresistible fate of despotism."
- James Monroe, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 10, 1788
It is not just our right to preserve liberty and the "last, best hope of the world" that is America, it is our duty.
Right after the ratification of the US Constitution a lady asked Dr. Benjamin Franklin, "Well Doctor, what have we got a republic or a monarchy" — "A republic," replied the Franklin, "if you can keep it."
- Anonymous, from Farrand's Records of the Federal Convention of 1787
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