San Francisco Mortgage News

A Switch From The Norm With An Improtant Message

I do not get political on this blog but felt this was a very appropriate message:

“I’m 63 and I’m Tired”
by Robert A. Hall

I’m 63. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a
six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I’ve
worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in
50-hour weeks, and haven’t called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a
good salary, but I didn’t inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get
where I am. Given the economy, there’s no retirement in sight, and I’m
tired. Very tired.

I’m tired of being told that I have to “spread the wealth” to people who
don’t have my work ethic. I’m tired of being told the government will take
the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to
earn it.

I’m tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to “keep people in
their homes.” Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I’m willing to
help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our
paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing
Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community
Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.

I’m tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like
Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in luxury
because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get
their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the
freedom of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the
tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of
Venezuela .

I’m tired of being told that Islam is a “Religion of Peace,” when every day
I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and
daughters for their family “honor”; of Muslims rioting over some slight
offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren’t
“believers”; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning
teenage rape victims to death for “adultery”; of Muslims mutilating the
genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur’an and
Shari’a law tells them to.

I’m tired of being told that “race doesn’t matter” in the post-racial world
of Obama, when it’s all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower
college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the
most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of
violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and
in the appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois.

I think it’s very cool that we have a black president and that a black child
is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation
Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who
believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an
all-knowing government.

I’m tired of a news media that thinks Bush’s fundraising and inaugural
expenses were obscene, but that think Obama’s, at triple the cost, were
wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential
time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control
weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush’s military records,
but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two
years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with
three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why
people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a
clue. I didn’t vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to
his camp in 2004.

I’m tired of being told that out of “tolerance for other cultures” we must
let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic
schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to
fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love
and tolerance.

I’m tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global
warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a
two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also
own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our
carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore’s, and if you’re greener than Gore,
you’re green enough.

I’m tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help
support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ
rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses
while they tried to fight it off? I don’t think Gay people choose to be Gay,
but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I’m tired of
harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I
never tried marijuana.

I’m tired of illegal aliens being called “undocumented workers,” especially
the ones who aren’t working, but are living on welfare or crime. What’s
next? Calling drug dealers, “Undocumented Pharmacists”? And, no, I’m not
against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it’s been a few hundred
years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I’m willing to
fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English,
doesn’t have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on
welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military…. Those
are the citizens we need.

I’m tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the
uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped
kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids
can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and
death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad
things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure.
Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies
for the last fifty years and still are? Not even close. So here’s the
deal. I’ll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was
heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let
themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded
Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine
Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the
blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the
Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls
were Christian. Then we’ll compare notes. British and American soldiers are
the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts,
instead of hiding from in fear.

I’m tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and
the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are
bipartisan. And I’m tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I
live in Illinois , where the “Illinois Combine” of Democrats has worked to
loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama’s cabinet.

I’m tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both
parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful
mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught.
I’m tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

Speaking of poor, I’m tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes,
color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn’t have
that in 1970, but we didn’t know we were “poor.” The poverty pimps have to
keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I’m real tired of people who don’t take responsibility for their lives and
actions. I’m tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination
or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I’m damn tired. But I’m also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I’m not
going to have to see the world these people are making. I’m just sorry for
my granddaughter.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the
Massachusetts State Senate.