Maybe because I'm not that far away from being a middle aged guy with a minimum wage job, I'm still pretty liberal. I can still remember what it's like to work hard but still struggle. I can remember when it would have taken 40% of my income to have health insurance.
I hope when I'm 80, I don't turn into Clint Eastwood, who has gone are screwy and rogue and all. Kinda sad.
I was told for years that I would resent property taxes when I owned my own house, but it hasn't really made any difference in my attitude. As a small business owner I'm supposed to resent government intrusion, but I'll be damned if I know what that intrusion is supposed to be -- requiring I have two exits? Requiring I have a fire extinguisher?
I mean, I'm like everyone else -- I don't much like taxes. But I understand why they are needed.
I watched Obama get blocked every chance the Republicans could -- how could other guys my age, who should have heads on their shoulders and eyes in their heads -- have seen it any differently?
Hey, I understand the cranky. "Get off my lawn, you damn kids!"
I get the "Things were better when I was younger."
But as an 'old' guy, shouldn't I have some perspective? Sure that may be my knee-jerk reaction, but I know from history it isn't really true. I don't really think kids are all that different than 30 years ago when I first started interacting with them. Even the reading thing -- when I'm being fair, I can remember being a kid who read when most kids my age didn't really seem to want to.
I'm very careful not to talk politics in my store, especially to guys who look like me -- not unless we feel each other out and can be sure that we already reasonably agree.
Because what I seem to be hearing from cranky old white guys, especially wealthy cranky old white guys, sounds an awful lot like -- I've got mine.
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I have a theory that our personalities don't change as we get older -- our personality traits just get amplified. Cranky people get crankier; selfish people get more selfish. I suspect the cranky old selfish bastards started out as cranky young selfish bastards.
I attribute the biggest change in my personality not to aging, but to having a kid. Kids are a 24x7 test of willpower and patience. You personality must change if you want to survive.
One way you change is in the extent to which you care whether you're going to upset someone. With a kid, you're constantly upsetting them and you develop a pretty thick skin about it. This invariably carries over to your other interactions. I used to go to great lengths to avoid ruffling feathers. That's much less the case these days. I just don't have time to deal with people's bullshit. If you're doing something stupid that makes life harder for me, I will very quickly, and not too politely, let you know it.
For similar reasons, I think I'm actually way better at dealing with irrational people. The other day there was a drunk guy in the park, probably late 20's, who was making some trouble for a couple tourists. Without even really thinking about it I walked over to him and calmly told him I wasn't gonna put up with it. It didn't occur to either of us to wonder what would happen if he refused. Looking back on it, the parent in me just recognized that this guy was behaving like a frustrated little boy, and knew exactly how to deal with him. It was weird; a part of me I'd not seen before.
Anyhow... not sure if that's directly relevant to the topic here, but it's where I'm coming from these days.
I think you're talking about maturity.
I'm talking grumpy old white guys. Which is the step beyond.
My guess is that 30 years from now, people will remember President Clinton's speech and Clint Eastwood's "empty chair" ramble as the two singular highlights from this year's conventions. Quite a contrast in style, I'd say.
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