Yesterday

Ahh…to be 20 again, right?  And do all that crazy shit that people in their 20s do?

Remember all the things that you thought were true back then?

“Adults” didn’t “get it”.  They weren’t hip.  The new generation was gonna change, ’cause everything was changin’.

And then you kinda grew up.

I know, I did it.  I used to be that long haired hippie dude with the ear-ring.  I used to go down to Mexico and build homes for immigrants trying to cross the border.  I used to support legalizing pot.

Wait.

I still am all those things.  Huh, that didn’t work out.

But, check out who DID grow up:

John Lennon was a closet Reagan Republican claims former assistant

John Lennon, the long-haired British peacenik who was investigated by the FBI in 1972 after he allegedly contributed $75,000 to a group suspected of planning to disrupt the Republican National Convention later was a closet conservative.

Imagine that.

Indeed.

3 responses to “Yesterday

  1. Well, it’s hard to know what to make of one statement about Lennon. He certainly did smoke pot and have anti-establishment views until the end. I was not a hippie though. At age 19 I was state secretary of the South Dakota College Republicans. I was in Detroit at the 1980 GOP convention that nominated Ronald Reagan. I was on the floor of the convention when he gave his acceptance speech. I worked for a Republican Senator in Washington DC in my early twenties. Then as I learned about European politics, studied political economy, and made comparisons, I moved towards the left. As my posts and comments show, I’m not a stereotypical left winger. I’m skeptical of big government, see a need to cut spending, and agree with Republicans on a lot of issues on judicial philosophy (though I recently have seen judicial activism on the right, which is as bad as it is from the left). I do think health care should be a right, I think the rich pay taxes that are too low, which has hurt the economy because it’s allowed the debt to go out of control, I like President Obama, and so far the only Republican I could imagine supporting against him is Jon Huntsman. I do support my two Republican Senators, however. So I started as a conservative Republican and have “grown up” to see that the economy and social relations are more complex than I thought when I was convinced the market could do everything best. I think I understand both sides and see positives and negatives on each.

    • At age 19 I was state secretary of the South Dakota College Republicans. I was in Detroit at the 1980 GOP convention that nominated Ronald Reagan. I was on the floor of the convention when he gave his acceptance speech. I worked for a Republican Senator in Washington DC in my early twenties.

      Fascinating story; virtual reversal.

      I’m not a stereotypical left winger.

      You are quite right. I really value your insight.

  2. Scott,

    ” (though I recently have seen judicial activism on the right, ”

    Could you give an example ?

    ” I think the rich pay taxes that are too low, which has hurt the economy because it’s allowed the debt to go out of control, ”

    Which do you think contributes more to the national debt, tax cuts for the rich or entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare ?
    The rich already pay a higher rate than you do . Do you believe that if they pay more, then that will fix the budget gap ? Now who is rich ? What about a guy or woman making, say $ 2,00, 000 running a restaurant ? Should he or she pay more ? Will taxing the ‘ rich ‘ small businessman or businesswoman more cause them to enlarge or shrink their business?

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