Michelle Obama is a very busy lady. When she's not hard at work reminding us about our misplaced priorities, ("All this for a damn flag"), or usurping parent's authority to decide what to feed their children, she's hanging out in Aspen or Hawaii with her Hollywood friends, hosting galas in the White House, or directing her personal staff of over 20 aides, chefs, hairdressers, and vacation coordinators.
With all that going on, she still found the time, on Feb 20, to appear on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where, doing her best Marie Antoinette, she declared that it was "more important than ever for young people to sign up for Obamacare" (using the quaint euphemism "Affordable Care Act").
She said:
“A lot of young people think they’re invincible. But the truth is young people are knuckleheads. They’re the ones who are cooking for the first time and slice their finger open. They’re dancing on the bar stool.”
America owes its very existence to the contributions of young people. Here's a very short list of examples:
The average age of American soldiers in every major conflict since the Revolution has ranged between 19-22 years of age. In WWII alone, 418,000 Americans died in battle. The average age of those killed was between 20-23.
The youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence was Thomas Lynch at age 26. He was commissioned a Company Commander in the South Carolina regiment in 1775, and was elected a Delegate to the Continental Congress shortly after.
Jack Lucas earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in the Feb 1945 assault on Iwo Jima. He was 17 years old. The youngest recipient of the Medal of Honor in history was Willie Johnston, during the Civil War. He was 13.
The average age at which most young people become an MD, PhD or lawyer is anywhere from 26 to 30+ years. To reach that goal requires a young person to make a lifelong commitment at about the age of 18.
Perhaps Michelle, who was once a lawyer until she surrendered her license (for undisclosed reasons), recalls making such a commitment to study law at about that same age.
Young people are the future of this nation. They fight America's wars, and they raise America's children. They have the energy and the drive to pursue long term goals, and they're not afraid to dream. If their idealism leads them to embrace utopian notions put forth by people like the Obamas, their understanding of what is at stake and of their right to direct their own future will lead them to ultimately reject those notions. They have the most to gain, and the most to lose in the outcome. The future of America belongs to them, and they're not knuckleheads.
And why do they dance on bar stools? For the same two very human reasons they will decline to be forced into the servitude that hides in the dark heart of Obama's statism. One: It's a spontaneous way to celebrate because they're smart enough to understand the irreplaceable gift of Freedom. And two: mostly they dance on bar stools for the same reason the rest of us did when we were young: because they can.
Ronald Reagan said this to the graduates at Notre Dame University in 1981:
"We need you. We need your youth, your strength, and your idealism, to help us make right that which is wrong".
Ronald Reagan also said:
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction".
He believed in America's youth. I think he saw the Obama's coming.
AMEN - The youth are the strength and future of America.
ReplyDeleteDavid was 16 or 17 when he defeated Goliath.
ReplyDeleteAlexander the Great conquered most of the known world before he was 30.
By the time Mozart was my age, he'd been dead for ten years,
More recently, Joseph Smith founded an entire church at the age of 24.
Audie Murphy lied about his age and enlisted at 17.
Young people aren't necessarily knuckleheads. Some will just naturally turn stupid, though, and if the "progressives" have their way, many more will be "educated" into ignorance and knucklehead-dom.
Anon: The two of us could spend days listing examples of the achievements of young people. Apparently, in Michelle's opinion, the reason she sees them as knuckleheads is because they are resistant to being forced into Obamacare. That doesn't prove they're knuckleheads, it proves that they're aware that they're sovereign American citizens. That is a fact Michelle must have missed in law school. If Michelle wants to see some knuckleheads, all she needs to do is round up the people who created and voted for Obamacare, starting with her hubby.
DeleteShe could also round up the people who voted those people in, which would include a whole bunch of young people, who are now learning the true cost of their knuckleheadedness. Fortunately, they will be less likely to repeat that stupidity in the future.
DeleteUnfortunately, the only tenable alternative to that stupidity at the moment is the Republican Party, which is intent on being even stupider than the democrats. We really need a third party devoted to more than just legalizing weed.
one correction, sir. i don't know what medal willie johnson was awarded during the revolutionary war, but it wasn't the medal of honor as we know it. that was first awarded march 25, 1863.
ReplyDeleteNice catch JW....I misspoke about Willie Johnston. He fought in the Civil War, not the Revolutionary War. The CMOH was created in 1861, and Willie Johnston was awarded the medal in 1863. The date of issue is listed as 18 Sep, 1863.
Deletei believe that the willie johnson to whom you refer won the medal in the civil war. presented at age 13 for acts performed at age 11. the second medal of honor ever presented on sept. 16, 1863.
Deletei think that this is to whom you refer.
one more correction: willie johnston, as you said, not johnson as i said. it may be over 150 years later, but he earned the right that i get his name correct.
DeleteRe: Update
DeleteAfter jw rightly pointed out the error regarding Willie Johnston's service, I corrected the text to reflect the fact that he served in the Civil War, not the Revolutionary War. Thanks jw.....
Springeraz, that was a beautiful post. Thanks. :)
ReplyDeleteThough I don't agree that "The Greatest Love of All" is loving yourself, this verse of that Whitney Houston song keeps running through my head: "I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be"
However comma it should be noted that in both elections Obama targeted young people, who voted for him in a big way, thus proving that the youth of today are knuckleheads.
ReplyDelete