Over 355,000 Monthly Readers
IN FOCUS FOR PEOPLE Over 50
  • Home
  • Health
  • Money
  • Travel
  • Arts
  • Cover Stories
  • Housing
  • From the Publisher
  • Contact us
  • Silver Pages Dir.
  1. Home
  2. Arts

Arts

SEARCH Arts

Seeing the shades of gray in politics

  • Share
PRINT
By Bob Levey
Posted on December 04, 2020

For better or worse, we will be dissecting the 2020 election results for many months.

So, I’d like to dust off my scalpel and dissect a group of voters. For better or worse, I am very familiar with them.

Older Americans.

We vote more often than any other age group.

We give more money to candidates than any other age group.

We do phone banking and door-knocking as much as, and often more than, any other age group.

If any campaign still needed envelope- or stamp-lickers, I’m sure we oldies would lead the league in that category, too.

But why are we so engaged? Is it because of our own agendas? Or because we are thinking (as we vote, as we give, as we knock) of the world we will leave behind?

Of course, for me and for many of us, it’s both.

In 2020, as I filled out my ballot, I said to myself: “This vote is for my community, my country, my world. But it’s also for my grandson.

“This is for your future, kiddo.”

This is my way of trying to atone for all that I didn’t do — or do well enough — in the last 7.5 decades. To make the world a smidge better for you, Mr. Cutie-who-shares-my-last-name.

Yet many older Americans — understandably doubtful about politics and politicians — vote a certain way because they are worried about themselves.

They vote to retain Medicare and Social Security above all else. They vote for handicapped access, more convenient parking, better lighting in public libraries — a whole raft of items that might seem selfish.

And there’s the rub.

Each of us gets only one vote for each office. As we cast it, can we really hope that the candidate we choose will be that miracle-worker who does it all? Who keeps us hale and hearty, and provides light bulbs in public libraries, too? And at the same time does what’s best for the little cuties in our lives?

Please forgive the stardust in my eyes, but I think the answer is yes.

I think that older voters are damned so often for being selfish, when they are in fact being tactical. Older voters study candidates and vote with their heads as much as their hearts. They tend to see candidates as executives, not vessels for ideology or partisanship.

And older voters understand the system. If they vote, they know they have a voice. If they don’t vote, they can bay at the moon until the next election all they like. But they know, somewhere down deep, that they should really be baying at themselves.

Proving all this can be a fool’s errand, I realize. But accustomed as I am to be being called a fool (and occasionally to being one), I convened a jury of my peers.

These are 70-somethings whom I’ve befriended (and vice versa) for many eons. They are an engaged, accomplished bunch — eager to get out of bed in the morning; not reflexively gloomy about the future.

I laid out the question: Are older voters selfish, selfless or both?

Juror One: “Older voters know that it cannot only be about saving Social Security. You save Social Security by understanding the overall budget. So, I vote for people who fill that bill. That’s not selfish. It’s strategic.”

Juror Two: “I never vote for anyone because of their campaign ads. I’m afraid a lot of people do. I dig into the public record. That’s my experience speaking, not selfishness.”

Juror Three: “When I was young, I tended to vote based on a single issue. You know, end the war in Vietnam, extend civil rights in the South. Big hopes, big aims. Now, I vote based on 51 percent. If a candidate will deliver 51 percent of what I think the world needs, that’s my pick. Far from selfish, I’d say.”

Juror Four: “I’d love to say that I keep my grandchildren in mind as I vote. But honestly, I don’t, because I can’t imagine the world they’ll inhabit. So, I vote for what’s right in front of my nose, and all noses. Attack climate change. Improve infrastructure. More jobs for more people. Better for the old, better for the young. I’m trying to have my cake and eat it, too, huh?”

Indeed, you are, Juror Four. But doesn’t cake taste better when you both have it and eat it?

Let’s all push against those who would pigeon-hole older voters as either selfish, or daffy, or stupidly sentimental on behalf of our grandkids.

We elderlies see nuance, and we see shades of gray. Long may that continue.

Bob Levey is a national award-winning columnist.

Arts 2025

  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June

#Theatre #Bob Levey #Artist #Baltimore #Books

2024
Arts Archive

2025 Seniors' Resource Guide

CLICK HERE

to view the 2025 Montgomery County Seniors' Resource Guide.

Silver PagesDirectory

FIND WHAT YOU NEED, FAST.

This comprehensive, searchable directory covers
housing, homecare, elder law and financial planning

CommunityEvents

A CALENDAR JUST FOR YOU

Find fun, interesting, informative things to do.
Or post your upcoming event!

2025 Beacon 50+Expo

SAVE THE DATES!

Sept. 28th - Silver Spring Civic Building
& Oct. 5th - Springfield Town Center.

Silver PagesDirectory

FIND WHAT YOU NEED, FAST.

This comprehensive, searchable directory covers housing, homecare, elder law and financial planning

Submit PrintClassifieds

ALL PRINT CLASSIFIEDS ARE SUBMITTED ONLINE

Click here to submit your classifieds for one of our upcoming print editions.

CommunityEvents

A CALENDAR JUST FOR YOU

Find fun, interesting, informative things to do. Or post your upcoming event!

About the Beacon

Over 50 or love someone who is? Then consider the Beacon your resource for trustworthy information on health, money, technology and travel topics, as well as entertaining features, arts and events.

The Beacon’s award-winning content covers health, financial, technology, housing, travel and arts topics, as well as local events and feature stories. Readers of our three print editions pick up more than 179,000 copies each month at more than 2,000 distribution sites. We also mail copies to subscribers throughout the United States.

Contact Us

THE BEACON NEWSPAPERS

PO Box 2227  •  Silver Spring, MD 20915

WASHINGTON, DC

TEL: 301-949-9766  •  FAX: 301-949-8966

HOWARD COUNTY & BALTIMORE, MD

TEL: 410-248-9101  •  FAX: 301-949-8966

More on our Website

  • About
  • Advertise with us
  • Staff
  • Resource Guide
  • Awards
  • The 50+Expos
  • Recipes
  • Puzzles
  • Community Events
  • Privacy Policy
Contact us Classified Form Subscription Form