Just these last three or four weeks, I've been in contact with many of my old friends from high school. It's been awesome. It's funny how, in twenty years, people change, and they don't. Everyone is different, but you still kinda know what to expect. Rae is still nuts, but I'm really surprised that Robin is one of those homeschooling moms. Oh, and it appears the guys are mostly still horny teenagers, deep inside. So no real surprises.
So I can really relate to how older Republicans feel these days. Even though I normally have no idea what they could possibly be feeling. I know today. It's nostalgia.
Remember that time radical extremists were bombing things, when they were a threat to our government, and so the president started just listening to their phone conversations, without even telling, much less asking a judge?
Remember when we were involved in a war for no good reason, other than we didn't want to look like losers, and military contractors were making a ton of money?
Remember when lots of people who worked at the White House were crooks, and they started to get caught, and so they ratted out everyone else?
And remember when the economy, by some standards, was looking pretty good, but really, we had more poor people than ever, gas prices were up, and "Made in America" didn't mean anything great anymore?
For me and for most of those who haven't seen a 20th high school reunion yet, we think these are just current events. We don't remember. But anyone who was an adult in 1975 should remember. Because all these things actually happened before, in the early seventies. And those people aren't that old. Not enough to have lost their memories yet. But that group of people, aged 45 to 70, are a group of people who tend to vote republican. So, if they aren't looking at current events with horror, they must be looking with nostalgia. Like some awful high school reunion, where no one changed, everyone looks and acts exactly the same. And if they continue to vote republican, they must think it's just great.
As I look at pictures of my old friends, and get to see how their lives moved along, I can see that people can change radically, and it is a good thing. It would be tragic if we get together for our 20th reunion next year, and nothing good or bad had happened, if we all looked and acted the same. It just wouldn't be any fun. But I guess there are some people who just love the past so much, they actually have to recreate it, instead of just visiting in memories. And those guys suck.
