"I'm Tired" by Robert A. Hall"
![cid:011379F0881142F4A50402CE4A5E38EA@tyler]()
I'll be 63 soon.Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce,` and asix-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day,I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, Istill put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven oreight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or myincome, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's noretirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.
I'm tired ofbeing told that I have to "spread the wealth around" to people` whodon't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government willtake the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to peopletoo lazy or stupid to earn it.
I'm tired ofbeing told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in theirhomes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing tohelp. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of ourpaid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and theCommunity Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.
I'm tired ofbeing told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like MichaelMoore, George Soros, and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxurybecause of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if theyget their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela . Won't multiculturalism be beautiful?
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace,"when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killingtheir sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; ofMuslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murderingChristian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burningschools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to deathfor "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls;all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tellsthem to.
I believe "aman should be judged by the content of his character, not by the colorof his skin." I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" inthe post-racial world of Obama,when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower collegeadmission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them themost), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghettoculture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities morethan anyone, and in the appointment of US Senators from Illinois.
I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the emancipation proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.
I'm tired ofa news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenseswere obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, werewonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste ofpresidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for thepublic to control weight and stress; that picked over every line ofBush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his;that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being tooinexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator aspotentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are droppingtheir subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.
I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabiause our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools topreach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund achurch, synagogue, or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.
I'm tired ofbeing told I must lower my living standard to fight global` warming,which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.
I'm tired ofbeing told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help supportand treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rushout of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.
I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers,"especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare orcrime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"?And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, andit's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for myreligion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanicperson, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and whois self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorablyfor three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.
I'm tired oflatte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the` uniform ofthe Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kidsnear a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kidscan sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions underlife and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people thanthemselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troopssometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities thatwere the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are?Not even close. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected toall the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at AbuGhraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject tocaptivity by the Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia,because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. Britishand American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilianscame to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.
I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois , where the " Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet as well.
I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers, and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.
Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.
I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.
Yes, I'm damn tired.But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have tosee the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.
I'll be 63 soon.Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce,` and asix-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day,I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, Istill put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven oreight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or myincome, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's noretirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.
I'm tired ofbeing told that I have to "spread the wealth around" to people` whodon't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government willtake the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to peopletoo lazy or stupid to earn it.
I'm tired ofbeing told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in theirhomes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing tohelp. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of ourpaid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and theCommunity Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.
I'm tired ofbeing told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like MichaelMoore, George Soros, and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxurybecause of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if theyget their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China , the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela . Won't multiculturalism be beautiful?
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace,"when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killingtheir sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; ofMuslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murderingChristian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burningschools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to deathfor "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls;all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tellsthem to.
I believe "aman should be judged by the content of his character, not by the colorof his skin." I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" inthe post-racial world of Obama,when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower collegeadmission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them themost), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghettoculture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities morethan anyone, and in the appointment of US Senators from Illinois.
I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the emancipation proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.
I'm tired ofa news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenseswere obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, werewonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste ofpresidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for thepublic to control weight and stress; that picked over every line ofBush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his;that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being tooinexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator aspotentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are droppingtheir subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.
I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabiause our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools topreach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund achurch, synagogue, or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.
I'm tired ofbeing told I must lower my living standard to fight global` warming,which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.
I'm tired ofbeing told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help supportand treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rushout of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.
I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers,"especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare orcrime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"?And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, andit's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for myreligion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanicperson, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and whois self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorablyfor three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.
I'm tired oflatte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the` uniform ofthe Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kidsnear a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kidscan sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions underlife and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people thanthemselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troopssometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities thatwere the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are?Not even close. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected toall the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at AbuGhraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject tocaptivity by the Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia,because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. Britishand American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilianscame to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.
I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois , where the " Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet as well.
I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers, and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.
Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.
I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.
Yes, I'm damn tired.But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have tosee the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.
