A couple of weeks ago I attended my 35th high school reunion (Lafayette High School class of 1979). A little bit of math will tell you I am 53 years old. I was born in 1961. Also born in 1961 - Barack Obama. His birthday is in August, while mine is in June, and so for the first time there is a sitting US President born after I was. This makes me feel old.
I thought about those facts a bit and honestly I think 50 is a good age to be the leader of the free world. You have gained enough experience to be able to handle the responsibility, and you still have enough energy to perform a very demanding job. I certainly do not mean to say that someone older or younger could not do just as well or better, just that now that I am “of a certain age” I have some perspective on the issue.
I was somewhat surprised to learn that the average age of our country’s founders on July 4th, 1776 was only 44 years old. Yes, Benjamin Franklin was 70 years old, only surpassed by Samuel Whittemore who was 81. But Thomas Jefferson was only 33. John Jay was 30, as was Dr. Benjamin Rush. James Madison was only 25. Alexander Hamilton was 21, as was Nathan Hale. James Monroe was only 18.
Some were a little older. George Washington was 44. John Adams and Patrick Henry were 40. Thomas Paine and John Hancock were both 39. Perhaps even more surprising is that King George the Third was only 38. Well above the average was Samuel Adams who, like I am now, was 53 years old. Barack will join us in a little over a month.
For youngsters, they did pretty well. I am not sure older men (like me) would have had the fire, passion, and energy to pull off a Revolution and launch a brand new government. These were not only young men, but they were already experienced and educated. They had read the great philosophers and knew their history and they put together an amazing new form of government that we celebrated the birth of this weekend.
In stark contrast to the relative youth of our founders is our current leadership in Washington. Out of 100 US Senators, 24 are older than Benjamin Franklin was (70) at the signing of the Declaration. Diane Feinstein and Chuck Grassley were born in 1933. Orrin Hatch and Carl Levin were born in 1934. John McCain was born in 1936, Thad Cochran in 1937, and Harry Reid, Tom Harkin, and Steny Hoyer in 1939. Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer were born in 1940, and Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell in 1942. In case you were wondering, Hillary Clinton was born in 1947, a year after George W. Bush.
Don’t get me wrong. There are lots of folks who do very well at very advanced age. I am not engaging in age discrimination here, and as you can see this is a bipartisan phenomenon. Ronald Reagan was not exactly young when he took office, and he did a fine job, although one has to wonder about his last couple of years in office. Being president takes a tremendous toll on a person at any age.
But I will wonder aloud whether or not the pendulum may have swung a little too far toward the older end of the scale. Certainly all of us have more energy and vigor when we are younger, balanced by having more experience and wisdom when we are older. People in general are a little sharper and more motivated in their youth and more cautious and settled in their older age. Perhaps had the founders been a little older we would not have had an American Revolution at all.
Last week I had coffee with Alexander McArthy, who is running for State Representative in Missouri’s 103rd district. I have gotten to know Alex over the last couple of years, and we share views on most subjects. He is one of the liberty-minded, limited government Republicans like me who are trying to make a difference in the Republican Party. There are not significant differences in the positions of the three Republican candidates in this primary on the major issues. All are pro-life and pro-second amendment. At a recent debate the major differences were not in terms of the issues but were in knowledge and attitude and style.
After talking with Alex I am convinced that he has the knowledge and maturity to handle the position. He has an impressive resume of accomplishments despite his age. There is nothing wrong with the others candidates in the primary, and they would argue that they bring more life experience to the position, or better connections.
I have thought about it a lot, and what the Republican party needs is not just more typical old white guys like me that have been part of the party apparatus for a couple of decades and have “name recognition” or “executive style hair”. We need passion and energy and a new outlook. We need change. We need to engage the youth and bring in more people to participate. We need a new paradigm. The old big-business-as-usual mindset that has infected leaders on both sides from St. Charles County to Jefferson City to Washington DC needs an overhaul.
Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence, and James Madison was 25 when it was signed. I think we could use a young man like Alex McArthy as we take on the challenge of reforming the Grand Old Party into the party of Liberty once again.
Read more about Alex here: http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/arts-entertainment/PR041314093716656
Or here: https://www.facebook.com/engageLIBERTY
Listen to Alex in the debate: http://youtu.be/d2LAfBhZ5xQ
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