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Ron Jackson's Perspective
The Sunday Journal
Kankakee, Illinois
September 7, 2008
Battle of the
middle-aged |
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It's a no-win situation if there ever was one
There is a good
reason you don’t discuss politics with someone you really care
about. The real reason is because you may want to continue caring
about that person after the no-win conversation.
Case in point. I was casually thinking out loud about John
McCain’s choice of vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. That
casual process turned into a full-blown unwinnable debate, kind of
like being a guest on the Bill O’Reilly Show.
It was just after the Republican VP hopeful had announced that
her 17-year-old unwed daughter was more than five months pregnant.
That tidbit of news followed the report that Gov. Palin was under
investigation for trying to get her former brother-in-law fired from
his job as an Alaskan State Trooper. And that bit of info preceded
the release that her husband had a DWI arrest back in 1984.
“So, what do you think of her now?” was the question.
Without realizing who I was being baited into this chat with, I
belted out, “There are probably close to a million 17-year-old
pregnant high school girls right now, which means millions of moms
and dads are dealing with this issue. Lots of husbands have DWI or
DUI convictions, and our own Gov. Rod Blagojevich doesn’t care too
much for his father-in-law. All I know about this Palin woman is
that she is a good-looking middle-aged woman, and she makes it
bearable to listen to McCain speak as long as she is standing next
to him.”
“Oh, so you’re saying she is middle-aged? At 44? So you’re
saying I’m middle-aged?” she asked.
“Um, yeah, I guess. You are 44.” I countered. “Although you
don’t look it or middle-age,” I said, stumbling as if I had just
been caught on a hot mike.
She contested. “I don’t consider 44 middle-age.”
“I do. Actually, I think middle age is from the time you are
legally allowed to work until you are forced to quit, or roughly
from age 15-72, unless of course, you are fortunate to retire very
early. Middle age is the period of our life that we are most
independent,” I continued. Thinking misery loves company, I tried
to weasel my way out of this losing proposition by including most of
society into the middle-age category.
Thankfully, silence took over. However, it was not for long.
Although merely attempting to point out that the vice
presidential candidate was living an unprivileged life that seemed
closer to most of America than the other three candidates, that
inference was missed. Somehow, the idea that she was dealing with
everyday problems like teen pregnancy and alcohol-related issues was
lost during the conversation. Even the part about her being a
good-looking woman and comparing her position to the old days when
airline stewardesses were attractive just to hold men’s attention
during the preflight safety advisory escaped her.
“So, you really think 44 is middle age?” she started up again.
“Yes, but it’s on the young side of middle age, dear.” I
begged.
She fired off, “Then when does old age start, Mr. Chauvinist.”
“The day you try to win an argument with a married middle-aged
woman who can’t accept it,” I shot back, tempted to yell Bingo as I
quickly turned the TV to a non-news station. |
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