CRUNCH TIME

We're two days away from either elation or crushing despair.  The future hangs in the balance.  We stand on the brink of disaster or the renewal of the promise of America generations have fought for and built.

Joe Biden lays out what is at stake sucinctly and clearly.  Take a few minutes to hear what he has to say:  http://www.barackobama.com/video/id/oBVyZZvdGso?utm_medium=email&utm_source=obama&utm_content=Please+watch+and+pass+it+on&utm_campaign=em12_20121103_jb_sen&source=em12_20121103_jb_sen

I personally don't believe a word that comes out of Romney's or Ryan's mouths.  They will say anything to deceive the public and get their way.  Potential dictators always act that way.  Lies are their stock in trade and the litany of lies has been pointed out before in this blog and to anyone who pays attention and thinks as they listen.

They have promised that they won't touch the benefits seniors are presently receiving.  If you believe that, I have a bridge in New York I'd like to sell you.

Even if that were true, do we not care what awaits every American citizen as they inevitably age?  If it were not for the wisdom of past generations, millions of seniors, including Phyllis and I, would be homeless, destitute and probably long dead.  I know for sure that Phyllis' heart condition, which is under control due to Medicare and four stents, would have taken her long ago.  As it is, we can live, not lavishly, but with a modicum of comfort and dignity.  Do we want less for our children and grandchildren?

For millenia, the human race struggled and most died young, many after intense suffering.  My great grandfather lived to 69 and died in his sleep of a sudden heart attack.  A stroke took my grandfather at 72.  He suffered from high blood pressure.  My dad lived to 95.  Mother to 98.  According to my last checkup, I just might exceed that.  I couldn't have even had that checkup without Medicare. 

I remember how unnecessary and superfluous it looked to pay into Social Security and Medicare back there in my younger years.  When we are young, we feel indestructable and chafe about all that money that we could really use right now going into something that will pay off only if we reach that age that seems so far away.  I face the same mindset in trying to convince people that the ethereal future benefits of Aflac insurance really are worth the present inconvenience of the small premiums that must be paid.

We're no longer hunter gatherers doomed to following the herds and braving the elements to survive for a few harsh years until our teeth decay and break and our physical prowess declines to the point that we can no longer hack it and we have no choice but to lie down and die miserably and youthfully.

We should be progressing, not turning back the clock.  Not returning to the miseries of a few short generations back just so the super rich can lord it over those who are less fortunate and scornfully say, "Let them eat cake" while seated on their posh furniture in their opulent estates.