Sorry for Being 63


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

I'm Â*tiredÂ*of being Â*told that I have to "spread the wealth around" to people` who don't Â*have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take Â*the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too Â*lazy or stupid to earn it.Â*Â*

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

I'm Â*tiredÂ*of being Â*told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, Â*George Soros, and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of Â*the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their Â*way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom Â*of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the Â*tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Â* Venezuela . Won't multiculturalism be beautiful?Â*Â*

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

I Â*believeÂ*"a man Â*should be judged by the content of his character, not by the color of Â*his skin." I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the Â*post-racial world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative Â*action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for Â*minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, Â*tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children Â*that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of US Â*Senators from Illinois.Â*Â*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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