Age and Perspective
An old man walked into a bar and sat down. He turned to the woman on the next barstool and said to her. “Tell me, do I come here often?” Unfortunately, jokes like this serve to reinforce the image of senior citizens as doddering old fools out of touch with the world, and with reality. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
Age provides a very special view of changes in the world around us. It provides a perspective that is impossible to achieve without observations gleaned over time. For instance, 50 years ago, Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev was predicting the downfall of capitalism. He described the progressive states as feudalism, capitalism, socialism, and finally communism. He also stated, “The press is our chief ideological weapon.”
How can a current high school senior be expected to see the irony in predictions made before he (or his parents) were born. He has never seen any media except the current array of socialist spouting government stooges. Without an opportunity to see two views of the world, he is unable to make a comparison between the promises of 1776 (where all the people wanted was to throw off the yoke of an old tyrannical government determined to control every aspect of their lives) and his present world (where a new government is determined to impose a new tyranny so it can control every aspect of his life).
He is the proverbial frog in a pot of water – water which is nearing the boiling point and he has yet to sense the peril he is in. Most likely, by the time he does sense his peril it will be too late. He does not see the danger in 50 million people on food stamps. He does not see the danger when his government lies about the unemployment rate by removing those whose unemployment benefits expire from the ranks of the unemployed. He sees no danger in a Homeland Security Agency with powers rivaling those of Hitler’s SS troops. He has no idea that a NAZI was a member of the National Socialist German Workers Party. He is probably totally unaware that his government is setting in motion procedures that allow them to read his emails, monitor his telephone calls, and track his every movement. Worst of all, he has no foundation upon which to make decisions that will profoundly affect his life in just a few short years.
America has already reached phase 3 of the Khrushchev prediction. Socialism is being thrust upon us at an alarming rate. The peril is very real, for socialism is just another kind of tyranny in which all power is concentrated in the government. In Washington D.C. power is the drug of choice and we are now in the hands of power mad addicts and it would be foolish to expect any more mercy than the world has been granted by its long list of tyrants.
Khrushchev was right about one thing, the media has been socialism’s chief ideological weapon.
* * *