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You know, folks, I’ve been a little hard on the cadre that comprises the US electorate, especially the twenty-and-thirty-somethings. I’ve accused them of focusing on pop culture, of not doing their own thinking, of having a very narrow focus relative to their worldly environment; of taking their freedom for granted. I’ve also said that the Europeans look at how uncouth and ignorant we are as a people, and shake their heads in wonderment. I’ve had them tell me so. Maybe, just maybe, I’ve been a little too critical. After all wasn’t my generation pretty much the same? Didn’t we droolingly chase the opposite sex, drink too much, fire-up doobies, and pursue the “good life”? I have to admit we did, and we invented the phrase: Never trust anyone over thirty. Remember that? However, for our numerous faults, we were a very well-read group (books and newspapers rather than the Internet), were up-to-date relative to current events, and had a good sense of history. The latter was because of the education we received in school and at home. With that in mind, I decided to lighten-up, mellow-out, be less fault-finding, and give the Y-generation a break. It seemed like a good idea to hit the refresh button. Before actually interviewing anybody, I reviewed some old television clips, which (when originally viewed) helped form my negative perceptions. In the first, one of Howard Stern’s goofballs went into the intercity of New York to chat with some potential voters about the (then) upcoming Obama versus McCain election. I don’t know how many people were interviewed, but the clip featured about a dozen most in the age category specified above. The question was: Aren’t you voting for Obama just because he is black? To a person, the interviewees said: Absolutely not. We like what the man stands for. The interviewer then listed Obama’s platform (which he flipped; i.e., it was actually McCain’s), and the folks indicated that’s exactly what they wanted. When asked about Obama’s running mate, Sarah Palin, the answer was she was a great choice. On the other end of the economic scale, a late night television host asked a graduate from a prestigious university, still in her cap-and-gown, “Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.?” The young lady, a political science major, didn’t have a clue. However, when asked who lived in a pineapple under the sea, she replied brightly, “I know that one! It’s Spongebob Squarepants!” Okay, so I decided to erase both as anomalies, and strike out on my own. The first person I came across was a young lady who is a junior at a nearby college. We attend the same gym and frequently converse about various fitness pursuits. I had not intended to use her as a part of this process because, being a procrastinator of the first degree, I anticipated putting off this article until I “felt like it”. My half-assed timeline was a month or two before the autumn election. Just to make innocent conversation I asked her, “So, are you planning to celebrate Independence Day tomorrow?” She screwed up her face. “Uh, no… I’m going to my parents to celebrate the Fourth of July?” “That’s Independence Day as well.” She brightened. “That’s so cool! Two holidays on the same day!” I let that pass. “What’s your favorite part of the day?” “Barbequing, drinking, swimming… Just having a blast with my family.” “Do you ever think about winning our independence from Great Britain?” “Wha…! The English are our friends! Why would we ever want to be independent of them?” She looked annoyed. “Well, what do you think the day is about?” “I dunno… Maybe about Lincoln setting the slaves free or bombing Japan—something important like that.” Nuff said. After that I talked with a number of the forty to sixty age group. They have a much better grasp of history and current events, but are incredibly rigid in their opinions—most coming from tribal knowledge—and are almost as polarized as the younger group. Neither younger nor older has a great degree of intellectual honesty. They’re like South American football (soccer) fans; that is, anything is all right if our side wins. Is it any wonder we elect the corrupt politicians we do? Some prevailing opinions across-the-board were that Democrats are socialists with a desire to drive America into third world status, and Republicans hate minorities. One fellow said he hated Rush Limbaugh, but had never heard him. Said he got his opinion from an op-ed guy on MSNBC. I heard the same stuff about Chris Matthews from the other side. It seems many have no opinion unless someone else gives it to them. The end result of all this is that we elect dishonest, morally corrupt individuals and send them to Washington for as many terms as they can get. They insist on being called “honorable”. Are there any honest, uncorrupted people in that town? I just read about one who was there back in the day... This guy never graduated from college, retired with only his military pension, refused to burden tax payers with the expense of a secret service detail after he retired. He was plain spoken. Called those who deserved it sons of bitches, threatened to a punch out a reporter who criticized his daughter… He detested Republicans, but looked after Herbert Hoover when the latter got old. Said he felt a bit sorry for the way they treated Hoover; said they blamed all the ills of the country on Hoover four elections after he was voted out of office. He made tough decisions, like dropping nukes, and took responsibility for them. He fired the most popular general in the Army for not following orders. The motto on his desk in the oval office was, “The Buck Stops Here”. He took names and kicked ass. People used to shout out, “Give ‘em hell, Harry!” He’d reply, “If you’ll shut up and quit interrupting that’s exactly what I’m going to do!” A friend of mine passed by Harry’s place in Independence, Missouri when he left military service heading for New York. He stopped, parked his car, and walked up to the fence. A gardener asked if he’d like to see the President. My friend said no, no, he just wanted to see the home while passing through. The gardener went into the house, and when he returned Harry was with him. They chatted for a while, and later Harry’s wife, Bess, brought out sandwiches and milk. Does that sound like any politician of today? Come back, Harry, we need you to give this whole country hell. Copyright by Gene Myers, author of AFTER HOURS: ADVENTURES OF AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSMAN (2009), Strategic Publishing Group, New York, NY – a hilarious account of the author’s overseas travels; and SONGS FROM LATTYS GROVE (2010), PublishAmerica, Fredericksburg, MD - a mildly sinister, but amusing work of fiction. Both are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and available in Amazon Kindle and Nook formats. Visit www.myersamazon.com
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electorate, history, Obama, McCain, Give 'em hell, Harry,
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