Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Not Everyone Affirms Seasoned Citizens

Over the past few years the Holy Spirit has been directing me to emphasize facilitating the healthy lives and work of Seasoned Citizens. I admit that it was a bit of a shock to read the "Letters to the Editor" section of the New York Times and discover that some folks think we who have lived for five or more decades should just shut up and die.

Take a look at the views of one Times' reader's attitude toward what he thinks of Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corps, the group that just bought Dow Jones.

July 31st,20074:42 am Murdoch may be “clever” in the business sense, but as a human being he’s both mentally deficient and morally deficient. He’s in the closing years of his life.

What on earth is the point of wasting precious time & energy grabbing more & more? After all, we’ll all be in the next world in the blink of an eye. What a waste, when he could be appreciating the magic of this extraordinary existence we’ve been given, Why, he could even be doing something that makes him feel like a human being, creating better conditions for those less fortunate.

By my book he’s really stupid, really thick. What a waste of an incarnation.— Posted by David Lewiston

Obviously Mr. Lewiston does not consider running a company that employs thousands of people and delivers the news to billions is not a worthy life nor is providing a salary and benefits to people really a good thing.

I do not know this gentleman, of course, but he seems to advocate a kind of socialist point of view that says only giving hand outs is doing something for the "less fortunate". I, on the other hand, am in awe of men and women whose creative minds and instincts are able to produce great institutions and organizations.

I strongly disagree with the notion that when one passes forty he or she should quit thinking and creating and quietly run off to a corner and die. Perhaps in the near future I will run a series on great things that people have done after what is generally considered their "prime".

No comments: