CITIZENS Barbara's Column Away out West, they call the wind Mariah. This is what they call my granddaughter too. And my grandson
is Aidan, whose name is Celtic for fire. The twins were born out West last month, on the first day of
spring. In my first photo, wind and fire are snuggled up together in the same bassinet like little spoons. They seem
content. I, however, am not. Now I have to save the world again. Not that I saved it before. But that seemed to be the goal
for most of my life: be a small part of the great save the world movement. Everyone get out there and do his or her part
for freedom, world peace, the environment, the economy, or whatever small section of these categories one happens to
encounter. At first it was all about me. I was born an Aquarian; freedom was my middle name. My first
conscious thought was "don't tell me what to do." Didn't do me a lot of good to protest, though, for a long
time. Everyone was bigger than I was. But eventually I was big enough to do pretty much whatever I wanted. I was in college at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
Jupiter aligned with Mars, the god of war, who entered Vietnam. It didn't do a lot of good to protest, though, for a long time;
the government was bigger than the protesters. But eventually they prevailed. Long before that happened, I had become part of it, a Navy
wife who could only argue against the military draft with the professional military who were my spouse and friends. It was no
longer about me, though. I had a son, and it was easy back then to imagine that the war would still be going on when
he was draft age. Vietnam wasn't the only problem. We were in the middle of
the cold war with the Russians. When I was pregnant with Lance, the "Red Chinese" got the bomb. Doomsday was imminent. Somehow, between his infancy and adulthood, I had to save
the world. Rather than start with the Soviet Union and China, which
were awfully big, I got involved in local, then state politics. Government at all levels was bigger than I was, and had to be
brought down to size, except for the part that might have to fight the Soviet Union and China. President Ronald Reagan grew the U.S. defense budget enough
to overwhelm at least one of them, ending the cold war with Russia. Lance grew up and entered law enforcement, doing his
part to keep peace in his own little corner of the world out west. An environmentalist who somehow picked up a
bizarre belief that Republicans live to pollute, he voted for Bill Clinton and Al Gore. I was just glad he
was too old to be drafted if the Democrats got the country into another war and
re-instituted involuntary servitude. Guess I also figured that I would leave saving the world to
him from now on if he was so smart. But then he and his wife made me a grandmother. They are going to be wonderful parents. Mary plans to be a
full-time mom. They aren't materialistic, don't have television, already have hiking gear for the kids. They will
take care of keeping my grandchildren happy, healthy and well-read. I will keep an eye on the world, starting with a letter to
President Bush. "Dear Mr. President: Thank you for winning the election.
Please defend the American Dream for all our grandchildren. "Thank you for fighting for your tax cuts. I can use my
share of the income tax reduction for plane tickets to visit my grandkids. Don't have enough of an estate to qualify for your
death tax cut, but I don't begrudge the savings for other grandparents who want to leave their hard-earned wealth to
their loved ones. "Keep my grandchildren free. Protect their constitutional
rights, including freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. Their parents will teach them to tell the truth at all times
but to avoid hurtful, prejudiced statements. Their parents will also be very safety-conscious, without making them afraid to
live their lives. "I want my grandchildren to be safe and protected; this
includes protection from the documented horrors of too-powerful governments. Don't let ours grow out of our control; and keep
our defenses strong so that neither the Red Chinese nor any other dictatorship can ever conquer us. "My son and his wife are right about protecting the
environment; I hope you will always help us sort out the difference between careless waste and pollution, and the
natural results of human beings living on earth and possessing property rights. "I'm also relieved that you seem to be the kind of President
who sets a sound moral example and respects the office that you hold. Always tell the truth, for the country and for the
children. "Yours truly, Aidan and Mariah's Gram." Barbara Anderson is executive director of Citizens for Limited
Taxation. Her syndicated columns appear weekly in the Salem Evening News and the Lowell Sun;
bi-weekly in the Tinytown Gazette; and occasionally in other newspapers. |