Leadership torch should be shared

Jerry Barney

Published Tuesday, September 2, 2008

I don’t watch televised political conventions much, but I do listen to excerpts from them on news radio. And I heard something in connection with one of them that made me scratch my bald head.

I should say first that I’m all in favor of presidential candidacy opportunities being open to people of all races and both genders. And I don’t think a person should have to serve in high office for 1,000 years in order to have his or her candidacy taken seriously.

But speaking as a registered and certified geezer, it bothered me to hear someone (I don’t remember who) talking about “the older generation passing the torch to a new generation.” I’m not sure if those were the exact words, but they were equivalent.

Was this person implying that everyone who qualifies for AARP membership should pack their bags and say to the more fresh-faced generation, “Okay, you kids take over. We’re heading for the golf course.”

If that was the implication, I’ll react like George “Gabby” Hayes, who at one time specialized in portraying old-timers in western movies. “Why, you guldurn young whipper-snappers, us old-timers built this here place and you can’t get by with tellin’ us to go ridin’ off into the sunset! Your durn tootin’, you can‘t!”

Well, apparently there is not big concern about age-based discrimination on either end of the spectrum this year, with 72-year-old John McCain and 65-year-old Joe Biden at the top and second-to-the-top spots on their respective parties’ tickets. On the other end, we have Barack Obama, 47, and Sarah Palin, 44, claiming similar nominations.

(Yes, I know, I know. You “Generation Y” people probably think Obama and Palin are ready to be turned out to pasture, too. But hey, a person has to be around long enough to get at least some experience.)

I won’t even attempt at this point to make a commentary on the issues involved in the November election. However, from a demographics point of view, having a McCain-Palin ticket competing with a Obama-Biden ticket sits pretty well with me.

Once a week two other retired guys and I get together and talk about current events, from a historical perspective. The other two guys personally remember what it was like during the Great Depression and World War II, and can put today’s issues in a perspective from those days. That’s admirable. We need to elect candidates who have judgment and know enough about the past so they’ll try to avoid mistakes of history.

On the other hand, we need candidates whose thoughts are not frozen in the past, who can look at needs from fresh perspectives, and have plenty of physical and intellectual energy and vigor.

No, I don’t think the torch should be “passed” from one generation to another. It should be shared. Government leadership should involve people of all ages.

Jerry Barney is a Fergus Falls resident. He is a former Otter Tail County newspaper editor.