BIRTH. GROWTH. DECLINE. DEATH.
We do not get to design life's stages...
Our society is soaked in the myth of eternal youth— this is an illusion. Our “leaders” spend considerable resources on their appearance. Plastic surgery is in vogue. Makeup is unabashedly applied to the body. Teleprompters and scripts attempt to portray politicos as having things “under control”. Cameras are positioned to obfuscate appearances. Those who support a candidate even position themselves to hide a candidate from the ever-present news media. This is all futile vanity. Recall Ecclesiastes 3:1—There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven…
Speaking for myself, I am blessed with reasonably good health for my age. I tend to do too much in the eyes of my family and sometimes my body lets me know as much. Aging and decline are unsavory realities of living, and my mind frequently refuses to accept it— but doing so is an illusion, I am aging fast, as we all do.
I am no different in my human frailties from anyone else. There is no shame in recognizing the aging process. I chose to retire from industry rather than be pushed out and to do so with enough energy to pursue long neglected activities. A decade later the organization to which I contributed so much still thrives, and I am moving in other directions.
It behooves the nation to select leaders that display integrity, decency, honesty, compassion, tolerance, and mental and physical attributes to competently execute the requirements of public office.
The US Presidency has aged each president considerably. Serving requires mental acuity and physical vigor. No one is indispensable. Our citizens and their families and descendants deserve the most capable candidate selected in an open process. The parties currently vying to control The White House would serve us well by choosing fit candidates for public office. The White House presides over 1/3 of a billion Americans and affects the lives of 8 billion earthlings.
Should we not remember that full retirement age is neither 78 nor 82, but 67?
Thank you for sharing your assessment, Frederick. I think that Biden did well and kept an agenda similar to Project 2025 at bay.
We now need to have a candidate that will prevent the implementation of Project 2025. We must not sleep on yesterday's success but focus on today's landscape, which has shifted. All the cards must be on the table so we can choose appropriately to have a successful outcome in November.
Bravo. Well stated. I am 76 and at dinner the other night one of my daughters said "Dad I love you but I wouldn't vote for you for president as you are too old." I agreed with her. It is unfortunate both candidates nor their parties understand or want to understand the aging process and its inevitability.