Boomers Unite!

This is the best AI could do.

 (6.5-minute read)

Remember when people respected elders?

Remember when people appreciated the experience and wisdom of oldsters?

Was America great then?

Trash talking.

            I forgot to take out the trash on our pickup day.  It happens.  I’m in my 70s.  Should I throw in the towel?  Is it time for my wife to look into assisted living facilities for me?  If so then I should have done so decades ago because this isn’t the first time in my life that I’ve done that. 

            Full confession.  On more than one occasion I have tried to get out of the car with the seatbelt still fastened.  To my credit I have never once forgot and left the toilet seat up in the night except for that one time and possibly another or two.  Years ago when I was much younger, I forgot my brother’s wife’s name while having a conversation with her and she caught me.  In my defense he had been married 3 times.  Sometimes I come back from the grocery store without getting everything on the list.  As rabid as I am about turning lights off behind me sometimes I forget and leave lights on.

It happens.

Oldster Factor.

MAGA is giving oldsters in general a bad name. 

Are you a boomer that is tired of being insulted on a daily basis and having your cognitive abilities questioned?  Read on, Boomer!  Read on!

Up front I feel that I should acknowledge that I am allegedly old (except that I am old). 

We have reached the point where old people in general are guilty of being old and demented until proven innocent.  Being demented is a whole other issue from being old.  At least it should be. We are old right up until we aren’t. 

            In the interests of full disclosure I took a cognition test.  I did it for you so you wouldn’t have to in case you’re an oldster and you’ve been questioning your own sanity in these trying times. 

I passed! 

I didn’t just pass either.  I excelled!  I passed everything. I passed knowing my name.  I passed knowing what day it is.  I passed the pictures. I passed the naming animals section.  I passed making correct change.  (Try that without using a calculator, youngsters.)  I aced the test of knowing how to not only draw a clock with numbers on the dial but show a particular time by drawing the hour and minute hand pointing the right direction!  I passed following instructions and paying attention with flying colors.[i] 

So, it turns out that I too am a very stable genius.  My plans are to now mention that I am a genius in every post that I do from now on just in case somebody doesn’t know that about me.  I might just end every paragraph that way.

I’m a very stable genius.

More transparency

            Media and pundits seem to forget that President Biden beat Trump decisively.  He and Trump were both old in 2020.  Only this time around it’s a bigger deal for MAGA as they try to thread the needle that President Biden is losing it but not the raving lunatic Trump who tells people at every rally that he isn’t as demented as he sounds because he passed a cognitive test and thinks that he’s a genius because he can draw a clock and make change. 

            Here’s a news flash for MAGA.  Cognitive tests are NOT intelligence tests.[ii]  They are tests used to determine if there’s dementia, not a level of intelligence.[iii]  A good way to understand is to download a cognition < test > and you’ll see what I’m talking about and the test Trump is bragging about taking.[iv]  https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/brain-spine-neuro/memory-disorders/sage

You too might be a very stable genius.

Here’s where we’re at.

            We have two old white guys seeking the office of President and both are showing their age.  It happens.  I believe that people’s concerns are legitimate.  Just like a candidate having cancer, heart trouble or being obese are legitimate concerns at any age. 

            MAGA says that Biden is old, forgets things and therefore has dementia.  The problem for MAGA is that Trump is almost as old as Biden.  Trump doesn’t just forget things every once in a while.  Sometimes he just doesn’t remember, not remembering.[v]  (Trump can’t remember < deposition. > E. Jean Carol rape case < deposition. > NYC AG pleading the 5th < deposition. >)  Trump forgets things daily including who he’s running against.[vi]  He confuses Haley with Pelosi and says that he meant to do that.[vii]  He's basically acknowledging his dementia because those 2 women are complete opposites.  Trump is additionally exhibiting other signs of dementia.  Like making up words, not speaking in complete sentences, and rambling incoherently.[viii] 

Trump not remembering, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLMr2Ck9KVo 

CAROL, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqyhDRMp3ME

NYC AG, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p26ZcSAAK3Q

            I believe that psychologist and former professor at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Dr. John Gartner said it best in comparing the two candidates.

This is a tale of two brains. Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing.[ix]

            Now, I used to maintain that I didn’t think that either candidate was showing signs of dementia.  That’s no longer true.  President Biden has a long and lustrous history of making the occasional gaffe.  This behavior isn’t unusual for him. 

Trump however is markedly different in his speeches compared to how he has been in past years.    He used to just lie a lot.  Lying is what Trump excels at.  But lately Trump’s behavior is even more juvenile than it was previously.  I have referred to him as a toddler for a reason.  Trump exhibited childish behavior when he was in the White House. 

Trump threw food against the wall.

Upper hand

            I’m not going to vote for a fascist because President Biden is old. 

            So should Trump drop out of the race for any reason, does any MAGA young person running against Biden get an automatic pass and win?  Would a young Putin be worse than an old Putin?

            Should any younger person running against President Biden automatically be considered to be a better choice?  Hardly.  I’m not going to vote for a young fascist because President Biden is old.

            Throughout the ages the wisdom of elders has been used, appreciated and applied.  Seniors were respected for the knowledge and experience that they had gained in life.  That information proved to be invaluable in decision making from those that knew how to get the job done. 

Until now.

Conundrum

            MAGA maintains that we’re the greatest country in the world and will fight anyone that says otherwise as being unamerican.  MAGA also talks a lot about taking America back.  So, we’re great but not great and need to get back to being great when it was great. 

When was that for MAGA?  The 40s and 50s often come up as being those halcyon years.  Forgetting about the wars and some other stuff, like racism and civil rights.  Perhaps it was the time when Presidents didn’t go around calling names or grabbing women by the pussy or spent their day tweeting,[x] not working,[xi] golfing,[xii] and watching TV[xiii] rather than working at the job of being president. 

            Perhaps MAGA thinks that America was great when people respected the wisdom, experience and work ethic of oldsters like President Biden. 

A bridge too far?

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[i] My wife may disagree with this finding.  Don’t listen to her.

[ii] https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/trump-cognitive-test-what-montreal-cognitive-assessment-exam-n1234762

[iii] https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/health-care-professionals-information/assessing-cognitive-impairment-older-patients

[iv] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/21/donald-trump-cognitive-test-closer-look

[v] The art of remembering, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqyhDRMp3ME

[vi] Trump says Obama is President, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAVeia6FVbw

[vii] Trump confuses Haley with Pelosi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGTJy1Ij4Qk

[viii] https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/dr-john-gartner-on-a-tale-of-two-brains-biden-s-brain-is-aging-trump-s-brain-is-dementing/ar-BB1iKXQ2?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=24f3ae0811eb409cf19fc1f50216e314&ei=26

[ix] Ibid.

[x] https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/18/politics/trump-presidency-by-the-numbers/index.html

[xi] https://www.axios.com/2019/02/03/donald-trump-private-schedules-leak-executive-time

[xii] https://www.statista.com/chart/23464/estimated-number-of-times-president-trump-played-golf/

[xiii] https://www.newsweek.com/trump-leaked-schedule-executive-time-workday-lazy-private-white-house-oval-1316287