LeBron Slams Inaction on Gun Control & GOP Battle Against Contraception is Just Part of its War on Women
LeBron Slams Inaction on Gun Control & GOP Battle Against Contraception is Just Part of its War on Women
Book Banner Claims a Fictional Kiss Made Her a Porn Addict, Muhammad Ali Makes Us All Wiser, Gov. Newsom Scolds DeSantis for Deliberately Mispronouncing Kamala Harris’ Name, Dolly Parton Sings
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: Muhammad Ali provides one of my favorite quotes on aging and wisdom.
GOP Battle Against Contraception Is Just Part of Its War on Women: Some Republicans insist they are supporting birth control access, but only certain kinds. They continue to spread misinformation, even ones who don’t seem to know how their uterus works.
LeBron James Slams ‘Ridiculous’ Inaction on Guns After UNLV Shooting: In an outburst of frustration and rage, LeBron says what everybody is thinking. Except for the Republicans, who are puppets of the gun lobbyists and gung-ho gun owners.
Book Banner Claims a Fictional Kiss Made Her a Porn Addict: She doesn’t want to ban only the book, but all books from the publisher.
Gov. Newsom Scolds DeSantis for Deliberately Mispronouncing Kamala Harris’ Name: DeSantis knows doing so is racist and misogynist, which is exactly why he does it. Sadly, this is DeSantis at his cleverest.
Kareem’s Video Break: This video reminds you what is precious in life.
Dolly Parton Sings: This song about closing down a brothel has become a Christmas classic. Dolly turns a song about regret into an anthem about resilience.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
Muhammad Ali, The Greatest
Sometimes when I look back on some of the ideas I had when I was twenty, and how arrogantly certain I was of being right, I wish I could hop in a time machine, go back to UCLA, and kick my smug, twenty-year-old ass. But most of the time, I just smile when I think back because I know that being wrong is part of the process of getting it right.
I wasn’t wrong about everything. The Vietnam War was bad. As the Pentagon Papers proved, President Lyndon Johnson lied to the American public as well as to Congress about what was really going on there. I wasn’t wrong about the treatment of Blacks in America and the need for equal treatment and opportunities.
The real issue isn’t which specific ideologies, philosophies, or politics have changed, but whether one’s ability to recognize their own weaknesses in forming opinions and stubbornness in keeping them, despite evidence to the contrary, has grown. With age can come a belief that you are suddenly imbued with supernatural wisdom. For some, that’s just an illusion that allows them to not challenge their opinions—and to rebuff others’ disagreements. There’s a difference between being resolved and being stubborn.
There’s a famous quote: “Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains.” This is variously attributed to Winston Churchill (incorrectly), Benjamin Disraeli, and Victor Hugo. However, a similar quote originated with 18th-century French historian and monarchist François Guizot who said, “Not to be a republican at 20 is proof of want of heart; to be one at 30 is proof of want of head.” His statement was in support of preserving the monarchy rather than forming a republic, an opinion that hasn’t aged well.
As for the liberal versus conservative quote, that’s a self-serving conclusion that justifies people hardening into conservatism as they grow older and more fearful of change. Seniors have a greater stake in the status quo. It’s like Frasier’s dad’s duct-taped easy chair on Frasier, an island of comfy tradition immune to trends and changes. We could just as easily change the quote to: “Any person who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 50, and is not a conservative, has courage and brains.”
As an aside, here’s something you should learn as you grow older: Stop using “man” when referring to humankind (as both Ali’s quote and the other quote do). That’s not being woke, it’s being accurate. Using man is disrespectful and insisting to use it regardless proves you haven’t learned anything in the past 30 years.
Just to piggyback off Ali’s quote, anyone who thinks the same at 70 as they did at 50 hasn’t been paying attention. This is not about changing political sides or taste in music or playing pickleball instead of tennis. It’s being aware that the world is in a constant state of flux. Greek philosopher Heraclitus made this point best: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” (There’s that “man” again.)
Nothing remains the same and so we must approach each new idea or opinion with the same critical eye, intellectual vigor, and humility as we did in our youth. We must be willing to be wrong, yet also willing to be proven wrong. The rocky treacherous path to being right is the one thing that doesn’t change. The willingness to walk that path is what gives our beliefs value.