In my several years on this earth I have learned a lot and I have forgotten a lot. I think that's pretty normal. One should expect a person in their eighties to possess some wisdom. I can only use myself as an example. I know a lot more today than I knew in my thirties or forties. But I also know that physically I have slowed down considerably.
I bring this up because we are facing our next election with the possibility of having to choose between two octogenarians. No doubt through their years they have acquired wisdom and knowledge but, how have they fared physically?
Today I think Trump is in better physical shape than Biden, don't you? I understand people age in different ways. I have known some very elderly people who could run rings around me and others of my age. As I think about it, that wouldn't take very much.
All that having been said, I want someone who can sit down face to face with some very bad actors and not blink. It does us no good to have the best military in the world if we are afraid to use them. I want other countries in the world to consider that before they fire rockets at our soldiers or our ships. Today we have a bunch of goat herders attacking the most powerful nation on earth and getting away with it. That's just ridiculous.
I don't believe this is because of Biden's age. I think it is more just being overly weak and cautious and to a fault. I don't believe these attacks would be happening with Trump or someone like him in the White House.
I'm not advocating war. We just need to flex our muscles on occasion. If our enemies don't fear us, they are emboldened to try us. They need to fear retaliation.
This column is about aging, not war, but tired old men should be sitting in front of their fireplaces, not contemplating the defense of a country.
Where are the young, ambitious politicians who can fill the boots of Ronald Reagan? We need patriots who love America. We need people who see us as a city on a hill. We don't need people who want us to be like Europeans. We are free people and we will choose leaders who understand that.
I don't know about you but I have had a belly full of "progressive" politics. Besides, there's nothing progressive about it.
Ron Scarbro
February 28, 2024