Welcome to Buster's Blog

Irregular commentary on whatever's on my mind -- politics, sports, current events, and life in general. After twenty years of writing business and community newsletters, fifteen years of fantasy baseball newsletters, and two years of email "columns", this is, I suppose, the inevitable result: the awful conceit that someone might actually care to read what I have to say. Posts may be added often, rarely, or never again. As always, my mood and motivation are unpredictable.

Buster Gammons















Sunday, May 6, 2012

The Confusion Of Youth


Had a nice day yesterday. Went to the Obama-Rama campaign kickoff at OSU with my D buddies Tom and Jerry. (Actual people, not cartoons.) It was impressive and fun.

Watched the Kentucky Derby. (A horse won. I had a couple mint juleps, so I won too.)






After that, we went to a party at a neighbor's house. As is typical at such affairs these days, the lovely Mrs. Gammons and I were the oldest people in attendance (by far).

Some folks we knew, some we didn't. Made the acquaintance of a friendly young man named John. At one point, we were talking one-on-one about something (his home-brewed beer, perhaps, which was very good) and for some reason, unbidden I swear, he trotted out the old standby that he was a "financial conservative, but social liberal", who considered himself a Republican. He then reeled off a list of progressive opinions covering Wall Street, taxes, abortion, drugs, military spending, gay rights and god-knows-what-all.

John checked the quizzical expression on my face and said, "Hell, I don't know what I am." I told him that, with all respect, "fiscal conservative/social liberal" is pretty much bullshit -- on a personal level, everyone is trying to be as financially responsible as they can. So if you're socially liberal, you're . . . well, liberal.

"For instance, John," I said, warming to the topic, "I happen to believe Mitt Romney is a plastic billionaire robot trying to buy the Presidency. Whadya think of Romney? You like him?"

"Oh man," replied John, "I could never vote for Romney!"

With that, I gave him a hearty handshake and told him he was the most peculiar Republican I'd ever met, seeing as he was a Democrat.

The question is, why would such a young man self-identify as a Republican? Call it the Confusion of Youth.

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