Silence is Golden

An older man and his motorized grocery cart came up to the pharmacy window today.  He was simply picking up his prescription, but ultimately he decided to engage in a much deeper matter.  Politics, insurance, healthcare are popular discussions for patients at the pharmacy counter, especially among the 65 and older age range.  According to the older man, everything in the current day is tainted and the people that live in the midst of it are young and naive.  They will follow anyone with charisma and the ability to speak well in public.  The world is deteriorating in front of our eyes.  The government is single-handedly destroying our country, and it'll never be like it was in the 60's and 70's again, when times were good. 

Okay, so I'm not a huge debater.  I'm not the one to look for a fight, but the steam was a-brewin'.  Every bone in my body wanted to combat this extreme pessimism.  I did the hardest thing and just kept my mouth shut.  I listened to the word vomit, bit my tongue, and pretended that his discourse was not affecting me in any way.  In some circumstances, silence is golden; it was not the time nor place for me to spill my thoughts on the matter, but oh man, it was hard.

What I wanted to say: I may be young and naive about the future of our country (I prefer to call it optimism), but it's not like the government system in the 60's and 70's was anything to brag about.  People were outraged about the Vietnam War, burned draft cards, formed anti-war movements; people disapproved of everything the U.S government stood for.  It was the era of strong racism, presidental assassination, Watgergate scandal.  I'm not saying back then was a horrible time, but the government was not a popular friend by any means.  Also, the media was not as well formed and circulated at that time.  If President Obama makes a movement of any magnitude today, the entire country will know in three seconds or less via Twitter.  I wanted to stand up to the old man and tell him that right now may not be the best of times, but it's my time.  It's my time to live, and I plan to do just that.  Please sir do not dog on my time.  It may not be perfect, but it's all I got.