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BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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We have received hundreds of e-mail messages dealing with the presidential election. This is far and away the best exchange we have had. This is the message we received from Alice, and our reply.
We need more people like Alice!
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Alice - On 10/25, you wrote, "I absolutely love your website. I hope to continue to enjoy it. I am a Democrat. I love this country. I support our troops, and it really bothers me sometimes that it seems that those of us who do not support this war are considered undemocratic and unpatriotic. The problem is that I didn't want our troops there in the first place. I grew up during the Vietnam War. I never had to fight, but I had two wonderful friends who died fighting in the war, and who were absolutely sure that they were fighting for a war that was just and necessary. As far as I am concerned, we later found out that it was not. I abhor those who actually showed hate for those wonderful and brave soldiers who returned from that war alive and tried to get on with their lives. I am a Christian. I have studied the bible a great deal. I do not believe that George Bush has the power to bring peace to the Middle East, though I believe that he believes he does. This will happen in God's time and not in George Bush's. In my opinion, this man is the most egotistical and vain person that I personally believe has ever lived on this earth. I believe he considers himself a Christian, but as I have already stated, I read and study he Bible and I pray, and I will not judge him, as I believe God will do this in his own time, but there are a lot Biblical texts, that I think would apply. One is that, and I can't quote it exactly without referring to my Bible, but basically it says, that in the last days, many will come forth saying they are coming in My Name, and we should be very careful because they are false prophets. This is they way I look at George Bush. I do not like George Bush. In the past, I have voted for Republicans, when I believed they were the best person for the job for which they were running. This has been primarily in local elections, when I have known the person in question. George Bush has shown that he is not the best person to fulfill the office of President of the United States. I wish that I were more eloquent. I am not. I have continued to listen to news casts, those who lean toward both parties, and no one has been able to convince me that my instincts have been wrong concerning this man. He and his Vice President are most concerned about those in this country who are wealthy and who have the most influence. Actually, I guess this statement has, over the years, convinced me that I need to be a Democrat. I am not a Liberal. Just ask my daughter. There are so many things that I am opposed to. I wish we could go back to censorship in movies. I would like to do away with music videos and video games. I am not stupid. I am going to be a grandmother, and I saw my little baby grandson, when he was 22 weeks in the womb, and I can't imagine how someone could abort a child. However, you and I both know that outlawing abortions again will only create more problems. It will never be stopped, and no matter how much George Bush wants to put an end to homosexuality, this also will never happen. I, personally was married for 34 years before I lost my husband to heart disease. We both had homosexual friends. Some of these people I grew up with, and several I watched dry up and die of aids. It was so heartbreaking. There was one couple that I wish could have been married, so that the families could have been comforted and known that the survivor would have been taken care of. You know when we all get to heaven, there are going to be a lot of us who are going to be surprised at who makes it!! Gay people can get married in a church and have it sanctified by God, no matter what anyone else says. The only thing they can't have is government sanction. Too bad!!. One of these days everyone is going to realize that Jesus loves everyone, not just those that we want Him to love. I hope it is not too late for all of us."
 And our reply: Thanks for your reasoned and measured comments. One of the many, many philosophy-related quotes I remember from my high school years, before political correctness was ever heard of, is that "reasonable men may differ." I am so glad that you can enjoy BBHQ without allowing our political differences to get in the way. At the risk of sounding defensive, as I point out in our "Talking Dirty in D.C." essay, I could find no example of a ranking Republican claiming that "those... who do not support this war are considered undemocratic and unpatriotic." The essay does document, however, examples of Democrats claiming that George Bush and Dick Cheney are cowards, chicken hawks, unpatriotic, and brain-dead.... among other things. Earlier this year, Al Gore claimed that George Bush "betrayed our country! He played on our fears!" If you consider yourself picked upon, you should see it from the other side! I am not a Republican, but a week does not go by that I do not get called, stupid, blind, bigoted, insensitive, and a bunch of other things I would not repeat to you. I have no desire to debate the Vietnam War with you, but I am not ready to concede that the lives of those who died there were wasted. I believe that there are positive things that have and will come from those awful years. However, the Vietnam experience should not cloud our vision. You could use the deaths there as an argument against any military engagement. There is a very strong case to be made that if the former president had not treated the terrorist attacks in the 90s as a law enforcement issue, 3,000 completely innocent people may not have died on September 11, 2001. The tens of thousands of their loved ones may, in somber moments, contemplate that. George Bush contemplates it every day. John Kerry is too concerned about saying the right things to get himself elected to contemplate much of anything serious. There is a profound essay by Charles Krauthammer about the price Israel may pay if John Kerry has his way. You can read it here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53015-2004Oct21.html Here are the last 3 paragraphs of that essay:
As a strong proponent of both Israel and Israel's spirit, it is Mr. Krauthammer's analysis that scares me most about a Kerry victory. On the other hand, it you don't give a damn about Israel's security.... Kerry's your man! God created man to deal with the problems in the Middle East. He is not going to wave a magic wand and fix it Himself. You know that, Alice. I have about 12 essays at BBHQ dealing with the election. Please read them all.... with careful and mature deliberation. Then tell me why you are convinced that John Kerry is right for both the United States and the world. Tell me; I'll listen. I'm sorry... but the notion that President Bush's economic policies support only the wealthy reeks of ignorance. They said the same thing about Ronald Reagan. His policies brought the longest period of economic growth in the 20th century, which helped every American. The tax and spend policies of the left, and 4 trillion dollars of welfare over 40 years have moved the poverty rate barely a notch. No rational person wants people to die of AIDS. I have endless sorrow for people like tennis star Arthur Ashe, who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. How could he possibly have prevented that himself? THAT is the purpose of government: to protect us against those harmful forces which we, as individuals, cannot. But never before in history has we fretted so much and spent so much money, time and effort trying to propagate an institutional solution to a problem which can be eliminated at no taxpayer cost simply by the exercise of responsible personal behavior. Why should taxpayer money be spent trying to cure a disease over which individuals themselves have total control? AIDS is not like, for example, pancreatic cancer, for which we know no cause and have no effective cure. What if the tens of billions of dollars spent fighting AIDS had been spent working on a prevention or cure for pancreatic cancer, Alice? I suggest that, if it had been, pancreatic cancer would be something your grandson would read about in a history book, rather than something which might take his life. I disagree with your contention that President Bush wants to "put an end to homosexuality." To make that accusation demonstrates that you have a serious misunderstanding of the president. He has never said anything like that, Alice. That notion is simply not true. No president can or will try to outlaw abortions, if for no other reason than it would be politically untenable. I know you are not stupid, Alice. But that contention is also born of ignorance. Most people believe that if the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe. vs. Wade, abortions would be outlawed. That is nonsense. It would merely turn the abortion issue over to the individual states. And yes, perhaps Mississippi lawmakers (as an example) might outlaw abortions in that state. But, can you imagine what might happen if it did? First, the lawmakers would be voted out of office. But before that happened, abortion rights advocates would set up free round-trip bus trips to the surrounding states to offer low-cost, safe abortions... which is probably a good thing. But why is it not also a good thing for abortion advocates to urge pregnant women who do not want the joy of motherhood to offer their precious babies up for adoption rather than poke a hole in its skull and drag the dying body out of their womb in what is antiseptically called a "late-term abortion"? Why do we not advocate adoption with all the fervor that we demand flu vaccine? Could you sleep soundly if you knew that your grandson's life had been aborted six weeks before delivery in such a violent manner? Please, Alice; be honest.... at least with yourself. You cannot convince me, and I suspect you cannot convince yourself, that the people who do that will be among those who end up in Heaven.
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Exploring My Roots: A Chicowitz History
Membership details here.
Terrific boomer memorabilia!!
Remember this?
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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