I'm 63 and I'm Tired

No, I didn't write this...my brother sent it to me...know nothing about the writer, but it is well worth reading...and passing on!

"I'm 63 and I'm Tired"
By Robert A. Hall

I'm 63.  Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a
six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day,
I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I
still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight
years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income,
and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement
in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who
don't have my work ethic.
I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by
force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in
their homes."  Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to
help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our
paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the
left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the
Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their
own money.

I'm tired of being told how bad  America  is by left-wing millionaires
like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in
luxury because of the opportunities  America  offers. In thirty years,
if they get 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 .

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 killing their sisters,
wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over
some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because
they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of
Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims
mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah,
because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial
world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs,
lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming
them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto
culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more
than anyone, and in the appointment of U.S. 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 of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural
expenses were obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, were
wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential
time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control
weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush's military
records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin,
with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but
touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best
president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their 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 Arabia  use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa
Islamic schools to preach hate in  America , while no American group is
allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in  Saudi Arabia
to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being 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 of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must
help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant
germ rush out 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 or
crime. What's next?  Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"?
And, no,  I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's
been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my
religion.  I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic
person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is
self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for
three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.

I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the
uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped
kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their
kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under
life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than
themselves. Do bad things happen in war?  You bet. Do our troops
sometimes misbehave?  Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that
were 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 to all
the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or
Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity 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. British and American soldiers are the only troops in
history that civilians came 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.

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 to see 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.