Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30

When I was young, there was a saying we said, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” We grew up during a time of protest where the young people united against the draft for the Vietnam war. We also learned how to question authority, and to believe in ourselves and not what everyone was telling us to do.

Here in Brazil, the young people are uniting against the Brazilian government. It has been remarkable and inspiring to see. Millions of people have taken to the streets and it has been done without violence. The Brazilian protests are ironic, because the average life of a Brazilian in the last 10 years has vastly improved. On the other hand, the average life of an American is certainly worse than 10 years ago. That said, I hope that the protests make a difference in Brazil and creates a new government that is less corrupt and more responsive to the basic needs of the people.

When I look at the United States, I am fearful. Perhaps the scariest aspect of American life is the 0% interest rates and cheap money promoted by Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke. Zero percent interest rates gives the problems of today priority over the hope of the future. More simply put, our present is more important than the future of our young people. They are robbing our kid’s future to fund a luxurious life style for the ultra wealthy banking elites with the pathetic hope that somehow some of the money will trickle down to the rest of us.

The young people need to become a political movement. Same as in Brazil, they should demand change that will result in a brighter future for them even it places hardship on the older people. It is the truly the only hope for our democracy and the future of the United States.