Man cannot live by bread alone. He needs hope of a better life and a better society, free of the sordid ambition of the few. A small minority seize the lead by fair means or foul in most instances, distastefully reaching their personal ends at the expense of the hopes and interests of the many. I cannot speak of the "majority" because it is clear that many people tacitly accept confrontation, lies and misrepresentation and prefer them to reasonable debate on issues, supporting the most feisty and devious people for what they perceive to be their "leadership" qualities . But for some of us our need for elevation of spirit and abandonment of cynicism is intense, a hope for a better, more civilized way of conducting public affairs. It would be good to see someone allowed to try true leadership of the whole country, not a partisan section of it.
Naive? Epicurus might comment, were he alive today, "Well, at least try it. Then you will know." The odds on success? Mmmh. About 45/55 against.
Yesterday I joined 600, (yes 600!), people who turned out to canvass in Falls Church, Virginia for Obama.
Some people just don’t get it. The desire for a real change in the way the country conducts its politics is huge, and the danger of dispiriting this huge crowd of mostly young people dire. Like , the prospect of 8 years of John (bomb ’em) McCain). The Establishment should give way gracefully and pass the torch – – they have had their day and had their chance.
It was the baby-boomers who gave us the “youth culture”. Being young was cool, but if you were (are, actually) over fifty and looking for a job, forget it. I well remember that arrogant attitude back in the 70s and 80s. “Finished at fifty” has been a great under-reported phenomenon for middle aged men for decades and causes all sorts of resentments.
Now, guess what? A guy running for President in his forties “hasn’t enough experience”. This from women of a certain age, who when they were twenty sincerely believed that anyone over 40 was irrelevant and over-the-hill. Not
everyone feels that way. Many are relieved to be free of responsibilities and understand that people in their forties are just the people to be taking on the burden of something like the Presidency. But enough want their generation to hang on at all costs to suggest that the Republicans could be in office for another 8 years.
Who are these people you are talking about? I am in my thirties and don’t think people, over fifty are too old . In fact I need their advice and experience.
It’s been the same for a hundred thousand years. You seem to think it it’s a modern thing. Young people always tell their parents that the future is ours, get out of the way. I think the world is too dangerous and that we need the older, experienced people tom guide us through crises and wars.
Look at the mess these “experienced” people have got us into. Has this been a function of age, generation or party? It’s certainly incompetence. The younger generation at least cannot do worse. I vote for early retirement for the members of the Establishment and a big severance package to give them a warm feeling.
This from the NYT today, talking about Establishments and smoke-filled rooms. Maybe we are going to need an Establishment rather soon::
“And where are the seasoned senior statesmen with the stature and independence to act as honest brokers between party factions? “You don’t have the obvious party elders these days,†said Walter Isaacson, president of the Aspen Institute and co-author, with Evan Thomas, of “The Wise Men,†a study of the post-World War II foreign policy establishment. Bill Clinton abandoned his senior-statesman post to go on the attack against Mr. Obama. Even in the Republican Party, where tradition and hierarchy have always played a greater role in party affairs, there is less deference to elders. The day before 24 states held primaries or caucuses last week, Bob Dole — a pillar of the old pre-Reagan Republican establishment — defended Mr. McCain in a letter to Mr. Limbaugh, the lead tribune of the 1990s-vintage establishment.’
“The American public doesn’t particularly like establishments, especially when the country appears to be off track,†said Robert B. Reich, secretary of labor in the Clinton administration and now a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. “I think we may be witnessing something of a revolt against the establishment in both parties.â€