Guest AuthorBeing a white guy of a certain age, I guess I’m supposed to be angry.
The media are full of white grandpas who seem constantly angry about something or other.
Somehow, I don’t feel the rage. Maybe I’m out of step with my peers, but I’m happy.
Maybe it’s because I am a grandpa. There’s nothing like two gorgeous little granddaughters to make a fellow smile and to feel pretty darn good about life.
There’s also the prospect of qualifying for Medicare in just a few months, when my insurance premiums will drop dramatically and I can simply flash my Medicare card at the pharmacist when I get my cholesterol pills.
I also have a job, which is increasingly rare for men of my age. I’m grateful for the money and the interaction with different people and new ideas, things a lot of angry older men lack.
I even like the pope. This is new, certainly not something I’ve felt as a longtime lapsed Catholic, but Pope Francis exemplifies the Catholic Church I admired when I was an altar boy at St. Joan of Arc Church 55 years ago.
“Who am I to judge?” Francis says, calling for more action to help the poor and the neglected and for less rhetoric about gay people and abortion.
Francis and I may not agree on the issues, but he’s someone to admire. He lives modestly, drives his own car when he can, and seems to actually like people, a refreshing change from his Prada-wearing, red-shoed predecessors. It’s always nice to be able to respect and like someone who doesn’t have your same views.
While the Tea Party members seem so angry, it’s the Tea Party that makes me angry. They’re such a me-me-me! bunch, with all their fear of women, poor people, blacks and gays, and their scare tactics about President Obama, the Affordable Health Care Act and any government action that doesn’t favor them.
Still, one advantage of being an old guy is that I have seen this before, just with the names changed.
Remember the 1970s, when the Democrats self-destructed with Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis, guys who didn’t deal well with changing times? Eventually, however, the Democrats emerged with winning candidates such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
The Republicans are in a similar spot now. This Tea Party rebellion is necessary for them to decide what to be in the future. They will either implode or they will lay the groundwork for their next big hope and change.
I just wish they’d hurry up and decide what it will be. With so many angry old white guys around, I’m having trouble finding people my age to play with.
