On Friday, May 23, Senator John McCain's presidential campaign released his medical records since 2000, in an attempt to show that he is healthy enough -- despite his age of 71 -- to successfully campaign and, if elected, execute the job of president of the United States. Good for him. But age is still an issue.
Contrary to what the McCain campaign may want to lead you to believe, age is not simply a question of health and life-expectancy. Age is much more than that. Your age inherently influences the way that you see yourself, the way that you view the world, and the way that the world sees you. I know many people advanced in years who still use the term "colored." I know a World War II veteran who, on occasion, tends to use the term "Japs." Now, this is not to portray these people as racists (which they most definitely are not), but I am attempting to illustrate how age effects your point of view. Older people who use the term "colored" grew up in a different time. The WWII veteran who uses the term "Japs" comes from a different generation that fought a war against Japan. This is something for which we need fundamental understanding for the upcoming presidential election.
John McCain is 71. His presumptive opponent in the general election -- Sen. Barack Obama -- is 45. That's a difference in age of 26 years. 26 years. That's huge. 26 years is longer than I have been alive. 26 years is the difference between Germany breaking the Treaty of Versailles in 1936, and the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. 26 years is the difference of Nat "King" Cole in 1950, and Queen in 1976. 26 years is the beginning of the Vietnam War as we know it in 1965, and the end of the Cold War in 1991. 26 years is the difference of "Ghandi" in 1982, and "No Country For Old Men" in 2008 (no pun intended). 26 years is the age of 236 service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan fight the current "War On Terror."
26 years is everything. Age is an issue.
"...Those Who Show Up" is a political blog from a left-of-center perspective, written by Steve Schultz, which focuses on local, state, and federal politics related to New York State and its communities. Reader feedback and discussion is always encouraged.
About Me
- Steve Schultz
- Steve Schultz is a singer/songwriter originally from New York's Hudson Valley, currently living in Nashville, TN. Think Ben Folds meets Bruce Springsteen. Check him out online at www.StevePlaysMusic.com.
1 comment:
Hello Steve
Read your last post about the age of our candidates. Of course we see life from the prospective our age reflects. Will you concede that your own age lends you to think like a young and less than fully mature person. One that lacks the 40,50,60, years of taxes paid to gov. waste. Or the years needed to recognize that we don't need some one to feel our pain, rather we need some one to simply do the right thing and have the simple ability to understand what that is? I hope you see the reflection your age lends to your words. If you do then you will fair well when you read those same words in 40, 50, 60, years. If not you might find your likeness listed under the dictionary definition of ostrich. In fun my friend DB.
Post a Comment