Print Article
These are difficult times and political uncertainty is running rampant through all of our lives. We have been at war before and came through it, and now we must address the war in Iraq. It is particularly difficult for we older people who have been through a lot of political turmoil in days past but have never seen such intense polarization.
It appears to be be almost a new version of the Civil War with families conceivably torn apart because of divergent political views. Everything in the political arena seems to be magnified a thousand times from prior elections. Concerns about the protections of Social Security have risen to the fore.
Of course, in the presidential race we have never had an Afro-American, Barack Obama, as a front runner, Hillary Clinton, a woman whose husband was a former president as a close-running contender and John McCain, an older Senator who was a decorated war-hero and former POW running on the opposing ticket.
Many of us "old-timers" remember election-times of days gone by when we were able to talk to friends who had other party affiliations and discuss freely the whys and wherefores of the candidates and openly give our points of view. It was good and the dialogues were fresh and satisfying to all sides. Social Security was something we knew we could count on for so many years. Now it has become such an issue and the polarization is so great that we are afraid to an overwhelming degree to voice our opinions for fear of being called either racist, sexist or age-ist. I like that word. We can figure out easily the meanings of all three of those words. Understanding the reasons behind them is a lot more complex. Obama and McCain are both suitable candidates, as Hillary would have been, and make it that much more difficult to choose.
Much of the confusion comes from the complications of our present days. Never before have we had so much "technology" and so called technological advances spin us around in all directions, some directions that we never knew existed. New terminology is around every corner and we trip on the "sidewalks" of our mind when we round a new corner too quickly. And we donīt walk that fast. Add to that the sudden and wonderful interest by the youth of our country to get involved politically and you will begin to see some of the reason for all the confusion. The ordinarily mostly disinterested post-teenager has suddenly developed an awareness that he or she must do something to alleviate the pain and suffering in this country. The word change is bandied about as if it were the be all and the end all of our problems. Luckily, we who have been around a long time realize there is more to righting the wrongs than that simple sounding commentary with tremendous social implications.
My take on the current situation is that in order to protect and safeguard ourselves in the coming months we must learn to do several things. Primarily, we have to call on who we are and what we have successfully done in the past letting our opinions and our conscience guide us. The old saying, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" has never had more meaning than it has today. These are tough times, economic problems such as we, in the past 75 years have not known. These include the cost of our homes, the cost to run our homes, the high price of fuels and the high cost of food, the war in Iraq, and the future of Social Security Costs that have been stabilized over the years, allowing us to budget ourselves have suddenly sky-rocketed, and not just for a few, but, for everyone. Of course, we could invite Hillary Obama and McCain over for dinner to talk things over with us on a one-to-one basis, like about the war in Iraq, but thatīs not likely to happen because they are too busy trying to win or in the case of Hillary trying to help the party. Secondly, we have to learn to conserve and preserve. Donīt buy a new carpet, the old one is good for a few more years, Fix the roof, keep the home secure, but wait with the plan you had for all new landscaping. Do the things that are necessary to secure your investment but donīt go on overload with a lot of nonessential extras. Third, and very important, make a plan to keep track of what you are spending and what you intend to spend. Effectively utilizing these three programs will give your mind the ease and comfort that we used to take for granted.
Actually, we are, as never before, in a "wait and see" situation. Of course we are all hoping that things will get better for all of us. We have an important election coming up but we must be realistic and recognize that no matter who gets elected life as we know it will still be pretty much the same. Effective change is gradual and effective change stabilizes the economy and our lives. The alternative is revolution and we have all seen what that can and will do to society.
So, buckle up, keep a good supply of food and fresh water on hand, have some money in the bank, protect your self at home and while away and hang on tight, this is going to be quite a ride.
Laura Lanfield
Laura Lanfield is the author of BAIL BONDS BABYLON. You can find out more about her by visiting her website: www.LauraLanfield.com
It appears to be be almost a new version of the Civil War with families conceivably torn apart because of divergent political views. Everything in the political arena seems to be magnified a thousand times from prior elections. Concerns about the protections of Social Security have risen to the fore.
Of course, in the presidential race we have never had an Afro-American, Barack Obama, as a front runner, Hillary Clinton, a woman whose husband was a former president as a close-running contender and John McCain, an older Senator who was a decorated war-hero and former POW running on the opposing ticket.
Many of us "old-timers" remember election-times of days gone by when we were able to talk to friends who had other party affiliations and discuss freely the whys and wherefores of the candidates and openly give our points of view. It was good and the dialogues were fresh and satisfying to all sides. Social Security was something we knew we could count on for so many years. Now it has become such an issue and the polarization is so great that we are afraid to an overwhelming degree to voice our opinions for fear of being called either racist, sexist or age-ist. I like that word. We can figure out easily the meanings of all three of those words. Understanding the reasons behind them is a lot more complex. Obama and McCain are both suitable candidates, as Hillary would have been, and make it that much more difficult to choose.
Much of the confusion comes from the complications of our present days. Never before have we had so much "technology" and so called technological advances spin us around in all directions, some directions that we never knew existed. New terminology is around every corner and we trip on the "sidewalks" of our mind when we round a new corner too quickly. And we donīt walk that fast. Add to that the sudden and wonderful interest by the youth of our country to get involved politically and you will begin to see some of the reason for all the confusion. The ordinarily mostly disinterested post-teenager has suddenly developed an awareness that he or she must do something to alleviate the pain and suffering in this country. The word change is bandied about as if it were the be all and the end all of our problems. Luckily, we who have been around a long time realize there is more to righting the wrongs than that simple sounding commentary with tremendous social implications.
My take on the current situation is that in order to protect and safeguard ourselves in the coming months we must learn to do several things. Primarily, we have to call on who we are and what we have successfully done in the past letting our opinions and our conscience guide us. The old saying, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" has never had more meaning than it has today. These are tough times, economic problems such as we, in the past 75 years have not known. These include the cost of our homes, the cost to run our homes, the high price of fuels and the high cost of food, the war in Iraq, and the future of Social Security Costs that have been stabilized over the years, allowing us to budget ourselves have suddenly sky-rocketed, and not just for a few, but, for everyone. Of course, we could invite Hillary Obama and McCain over for dinner to talk things over with us on a one-to-one basis, like about the war in Iraq, but thatīs not likely to happen because they are too busy trying to win or in the case of Hillary trying to help the party. Secondly, we have to learn to conserve and preserve. Donīt buy a new carpet, the old one is good for a few more years, Fix the roof, keep the home secure, but wait with the plan you had for all new landscaping. Do the things that are necessary to secure your investment but donīt go on overload with a lot of nonessential extras. Third, and very important, make a plan to keep track of what you are spending and what you intend to spend. Effectively utilizing these three programs will give your mind the ease and comfort that we used to take for granted.
Actually, we are, as never before, in a "wait and see" situation. Of course we are all hoping that things will get better for all of us. We have an important election coming up but we must be realistic and recognize that no matter who gets elected life as we know it will still be pretty much the same. Effective change is gradual and effective change stabilizes the economy and our lives. The alternative is revolution and we have all seen what that can and will do to society.
So, buckle up, keep a good supply of food and fresh water on hand, have some money in the bank, protect your self at home and while away and hang on tight, this is going to be quite a ride.
Laura Lanfield
Laura Lanfield is the author of BAIL BONDS BABYLON. You can find out more about her by visiting her website: www.LauraLanfield.com
view author's RSS feed
