{"id":6403,"date":"2021-12-11T13:51:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-11T21:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rjgeib.com\/?p=6403"},"modified":"2021-12-16T20:00:58","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T04:00:58","slug":"where-have-all-the-grownups-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rjgeib.com\/where-have-all-the-grownups-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Have All the Grown-Ups Gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This week I read four articles which seem to sum up the zeitgeist at the moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walk with me through them and let\u2019s see what we can see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere Have All the Grown-ups Gone?\u201d
<\/strong><\/a>by Paul Krugman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I normally never read anything by columnist Paul Krugman: he is generally a one-dimensional thinker, and you know what his predictable columns will say by just reading the headline. After reading the title, why read the whole article? You know what it is going to say. Krugman\u2019s latest column<\/a> talks about how Bob Dole was an old-school conservative, and now the last 20 years of conservativism is a history of serious moral decline from that \u2013 standard lefty boilerplate one would expect from Paul Krugman, a lefty political pundit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it rings true how Bob Dole did stand for an American ideal which few, on either side of the political aisle, can claim nowadays, in my opinion. Dole was a war hero from Kansas, a disabled combat veteran, a pragmatic lawmaker, and a failed presidential candidate. He was a legislator predisposed to get the often boring work of government done through negotiated compromise in accepting half-measures. He was not a loudmouth blowhard or a grandstanding prima donna; he believed in quiet hard work and the art of the possible in legislating. Bob Dole\u2019s death last week at 98-years of age was a reminder of an America which seemed to work better \u2013 when politicians used to get the business of America done without turning every issue into a raging dumpster fire. After losing the 1996 presidential election Bob Dole was actually friendly<\/a> towards the winner Bill Clinton. Can you imagine that nowadays? Or when John McCain refused to demonize Barack Obama during a political rally<\/a>? Can you see someone doing this now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a posting two weeks ago<\/a>, I was decrying the usual social media prancing by the usual suspects in our polarized, poisonous political world: Donald Trump, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Cori Bush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens when you compare them to Bob Dole?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It puts into stark relief how much our political life has declined \u2013 both Democratic and Republicans the same, it seems to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But maybe the problem is not in the leaders but with the American people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they say, in a democracy the people get the leaders they deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe we deserve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stressed? Worn Down? It\u2019s Time to Be Your Own Life Coach<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/a>\u201cYou can\u2019t always count on friends or family members for support. During tough times, you can learn to coach yourself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You would think a fully grown adult would hardly need to be told these things. That they would have the tools and skills to attend competently to the self. I suspect I was wrong. But I guess there is a need for an article like this to spell out specific \u201cadulting\u201d tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n