WBCA Podcasts

Bostonian Rap

Host Rachel Miselman talks about ageism in the United States as well as the key to productive conversations. She discusses Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Nikki Haley, and their relation to age and the surrounding discourse on age in politics.

Duration:: 54m
Broadcast on:: 03 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

Hello and welcome to Bostonian Rep. My name is Rachel Meiselman. You are listening to me on WBCA LP 102.9 FM Boston. This is Boston's community radio station. So we are, as we always do going to go to a quick disclaimer and then we're gonna come right on back and jump right on in to tonight's show. The following commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and management of WBCA or the Boston Neighborhood Network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to Boston Neighborhood Network, 302-5 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 0211.9. To arrange a time for your own commentary, you can call WBCA at 617-708-3215 or email radio at bnnmedia.org. (upbeat music) - Hello and welcome back to Bostonian Rep. Again, my name is Rachel Meiselman. You are listening to me on Boston's community radio station, WBCA LP 102.9 FM Boston. So what can we kavech about today? There's always so much to kavech about. Some people have been listening to me for a while have probably picked up some Yiddish. The word kavech basically means complain. That's, yeah, that's what it means, complain. So it's not about complaining. It's just about pointing out things that aren't right or problematic that are not the presence of these issues. I'm trying to get a phrase of all of this. The presence of these issues present obstacles to things getting done or things, operations, flowing smoothly, how's that? So I do want to talk about certainly that today. Obstacles are going to be very helpful. Obstacles to things functioning the way they should. Because I think that more than ever, just people, I think people have reached their fill. I think people are a lot less indulgent. People are a lot less forgiving. And I know that I have, since the pandemic, I have stressed many a time that that really changed a lot of people. But it actually has. And that's why it's something that does need to be stressed. It is something that needs to be reiterated because I think that it really fundamentally changed how elected officials need to do their business. People are just not, like I said, they're not as indulging as they were prior to the pandemic. And I think people are more demanding. And honestly, I think people always should have been this demanding. We're not, in terms of citizen IQ, if I can phrase it like that, it's not as high as it needs to be. Joe Q Public, his IQ is not as high as it needs to be. He's not as knowledgeable as he needs to be. He may not speak up as much as he needs to. But I think we're certainly moving in the right direction. But there's certainly, there are definitely some issues that need to be addressed. And so I'm going to do some of that during tonight's show. But first, I want to talk about age. Because this is a society that really doesn't respect people who are older. It doesn't. I think that the United States is a society that worships youth. And I think that it's important to make sure that our youth is well protected, well engaged, and has all the resources needed in order for that generation to be productive and personally and professionally fulfilled. Having said that, it's very important to focus on other generations too. It's not one generation versus another or several generations versus others. We have to make sure that society on the whole is functioning well. And in order to do that, we need to make sure that everyone, regardless of age, that an individual has opportunities. That's just so important. That's so critical. And I'll say that for all I talk about our youth because in the United States we love to talk. And some people might be saying, "Well Rachel, that's ironic because you like to talk." I do. Well, it depends. It depends. Sometimes that can be very, very quiet. You'd be surprised. But the thing is, is if I talk, I try to talk about things that I think are going to offer insight or perspective that might be a little bit different. And certainly, whenever I participate in a discussion, I always try to do it with a thought, with a rationale of how can I assist in moving this conversation forward? Because we can't have a conversation where it's like a groundhog day and we just keep on revisiting the same points and putting them forth in the same manner. But I think... How can I... I do try to... Some people think I think that I just kind of blur things out and I just go. And that's not what I... That's not what I do. I actually try to be fairly thoughtful. Being candid doesn't mean being thoughtless and it doesn't mean being rash. I think that we talk a lot in this country. But we don't pay attention to what it can result in. Or we don't seem to care too much that it actually results in something. We seem to content ourselves to just talking. We think that as long as we just talk about something, we're addressing it. And maybe even in some way solving it. And that's just certainly not true. So my point in all this is for all the talk and the focus on our youth. And again, we are youth obsessed in this country. You know, our youth really lacks a lot of what it needs to be successful. But that's, I think, a topic, a huge topic for another time and over the course of several shows. And I'm happy to talk about that particular issue. But to get back to the point of this segment, I really think that we just need to focus on society as a whole. And I think that our electeds need to understand that different age groups are going to require different things to be successful. Right? And I'm not saying that age is the only way, or the only factor that we should look at or consider when we're trying to make sure that, you know, the different populations are accounted for and taken care of. But I think that certainly it is, I do think it's a big one. And I think that we should really look to the needs of the different age segments in our society. And I think we need to do that because, again, any geographical space, and I'm always saying this, I say this quite often, is only as good as the people that inhabit it. And I think that it's in the interest of any government, regardless of level, any elected official to understand this. And so I want to kind of talk about attitudes because I think that that can be an obstacle to our society really functioning the way it should. Right? So I already mentioned one attitude, you know, this inordinate focus on youth where youth obsessed, right? We always try to, we want to look younger. And then, you know, there are a lot of jobs the way after certain age you can't do for no other reason than you're too old. And then we want to talk about education, but we always make sure that that conversation revolves around people up to the age of 17. So it's just, I feel like there's so many things, so many issues, so many discussions, conversations that that could benefit greatly so much from different perspectives. But I think another attitude about age that's not helpful is that once you get to a certain age, you're no longer as useful. And I find that hurtful. So I'm in my early 50s, and it just, it feels kind of funny for me to say that because I say to myself, "My gosh, where does the time go? It just flies." And so what I say, or what I have been saying to some of my friends is that, you know, I still have youth on my side, but I don't feel as young as 21, not that I have any interest in being 21. It's not 31, so what? It's not even 41. It's, you know, it's, well, I'm actually 52, but you know, it's not 22, it's not 32, it's not, it's not even 42, there we go. But I know that, you know, there have been situations or contacts where I am considered too old for something. Or the expectation for someone my age is that I should have done this, or I needed, or I need to accomplish this because I'm this age. And I don't think that there's anything wrong. I'm not saying do away with expectations, but I think some of them are attached to a larger body of ideas that are just not, that are not helpful. That are in fact, I think, prejudicial. And then when we talk about people who are older, there is this idea about what these people can do, what they're good for. And I think that that conversation is at peak right now because of the recent debate between former President Trump and current President Biden. And I'm going to say that at a certain age, and in some instances that age, you know, Biden's age, there can be a cognitive decline. And it's more likely that there can be a cognitive decline at that age as opposed to other ages where people are actually younger. And I haven't said that. I'm concerned that people are going to now really start saying, well, if you're over 70, you shouldn't be running for president. And I don't agree with that. I don't. You know, and of course you have a long time politician, you know, Senator Mitch McConnell. And there have been incidents where, you know, sometimes where, you know, he's kind of like lost his train of thought and he's kind of frozen up. And again, could that be down to age? Some of it could be. You know, I'm kind of hesitant to give any kind of diagnosis when I'm not a medical professional. And even if I were, I haven't, you know, looked at, or I haven't treated these particular individuals. And if I did, I mean, I certainly as a professional wouldn't then go on and then talk about their conditions. So I'm just, I'm an observer here. Could some of it be because of the age, President Biden, Senator McConnell and McConnell, of course, isn't running for reelection. Yes, of course. But it's not because someone is that age that a person that that person rather is not capable of being a President of the United States. Or being a US Senator or anything else for that matter. I don't want people because again, there already is a prejudice against older people. Instead of respecting the lives that they've led and the things that they know, the body of knowledge and the experience that they've amassed. There's just so much disrespect toward them. And I just, I find that so offensive, especially since I had people in my family who lived through the Great Depression. And, and I've shared this before on the show, and they've given me, they gave me so much, they all rest in peace, so much knowledge. I benefited so much from their presence. And so this idea that we can't learn, I mean, first of all, we can learn from anyone and everyone. In fact, that's the idea, even if it's someone who's completely detestable, if nothing else, we can say to ourselves, okay, that's great. That's not how I ever would want to be, even on my very worst day. But certainly from someone who's older, I mean, we stand to learn so much, and I'm a firm believer that if we're taking care of our whole population and making sure all these resources that are available, particularly in a city like Boston, which is immensely rich in resources that, whether we're 18 or 58 or 88, we have something to offer, right? So, I firmly believe that, so I don't want, I don't want people to think that you get to a certain age, and then that's it, that you find the nearest rock and share, and you just, you know, you enjoy the summer day. You just rock back and forth for four or five hours, and then get yourself up with the greatest of difficulty and go into your house and then just maybe watch TV and then you go to bed. I think you can be active at any age, and I think you can be productive at any age, and how you're productive and how you're active. It's obviously going to be different, it's going to look different, not only because of age, but because of, you know, maybe some other conditions, maybe some other factors, but I think that people can always be useful. And to get back to the initial point, I do believe that someone can be in his or her 80s and still be fit to lead this country. I don't think that because someone is younger that he or she is necessarily someone that could do a better job. It's not just down to age, it's how that person is, where that person is at. And if you look at Trump, you know, Nikki Haley tried to make all kinds of arguments that essentially saw Joe Biden and President Trump is the same person, more or less. I mean, you had two people who represented what politics has been that they were both too old to lead this country and that in order to really make a meaningful step forward, the nation required something fresh and someone new, and that person was Nikki Haley, and she was basing it, quite honestly, a lot of it, on her age. And because she based a lot of it on her age, as opposed to actual ideas, I, okay, yes, I'm a Trump supporter, but that didn't mean that I wasn't going to listen to Nikki Haley. She just never made a compelling argument because had she made a compelling argument, at least for me, she never did. I respect that for maybe other people, she made a very compelling argument, very convincing cogent argument, but for me, she never did. It was just, well, I'm younger and I'm different. Okay, well, just because you're younger, it doesn't mean that you'd make a better president of the United States, a better commander in chief. Again, it's just, we can't be a society where we discredit or we discount a whole segment of our population just because they've reached a certain age. I mean, that's just, I mean, come on, we can't do that. It's, I, we, I just feel like for a nation that has so much potential and that really has been rooted in optimism. It's just, sometimes it's very discouraging for me, disheartening to see so many ideas that are embraced, that see, you know, whether it's, I don't know, the victimization, the oppression of one group, the determination of the in utility of another, it's just all these ideas that just really juxtapose with our traditional optimism. It's just very jarring and, and it's, yes, very disheartening. But I think that we need to really be careful and I need, and I think we need to rather just kind of look at the person. And again, if it's someone who's 85 and really doesn't seem to be as fit as he or she used to be as quick and the person's not performing and it doesn't seem really capable of fulfilling his responsibilities. That's one thing. And again, could it be down to age? It could be, it could be, it could be entirely down to age. But what I'm trying to say is that I don't think that age in itself should be a disqualifying factor and I don't think that we should just make that assumption we as a nation. All that person's 80. That's not someone we want. I mean, look, I mean, look at Donald Trump. You know, notwithstanding all the arguments that Nikki Haley, all the statements that she made concerning the decline, the cognitive decline of Trump, it's nothing would stick because the fact of the matter is he's, he's fine. So that's actually a perfect example of if it has to be on a case by case basis. Now, let me, let me talk specifically why I am discussing all this. I'm trying to unpack all this and look at it from a lot of different angles, you know, from a lot of different perspectives. And it is, of course, because of the debate, as I said earlier, everyone from Obama to this one, that one, President Obama said, well, you know, we can all have an off debate. And that is true. We all can, whether it's, you know, an elected official politician, having, you know, an off night, not really being able to recall facts, maybe not being as polished as he or she normally is. Maybe not being as kind of poker faced as one normally is. Of course, it happens, but what happened during that debate wasn't, it wasn't about having an off night, and I need to be clear about that. There's a big difference between an off night and an example of someone that is not fit to lead the nation or someone whose ability to lead the nation should be questioned respectfully. And appropriately. Now, a lot of people might, you know, say, well, you know, you are a Republican, of course, you're going to say that. Look, I would say this about a Republican, regardless of who it is. This has nothing to do with party affiliation. And although I disagree with President Biden on many things, I still want to be respectful, because that's important. I never, I never, I will never cross certain lines. And quite frankly, any conversation, any talk around his ability to lead this nation at this point in time, I wouldn't want to participate in it unless it were respectful and civil. I don't want to engage in name calling. I don't want to be nasty. I don't want to be. I don't want to conduct. How about this? I don't want to conduct myself in any way that really detracts from the point I'm trying to make. I think that this wasn't about an off debate night. I think it was about someone who's not where he was, even five years ago. And I think that it's one thing, again, to not perform as one, as well as one normally does. Okay, that's one thing, but this was someone who was struggling in a way that was, that was indicative. Or, or in a way that suggests that there's something more at play. And so I think that it's important for a civil, an intelligent, and I'm going to use the word respectful again, conversation to be had around Biden's cognitive health. And I also want to say this, I didn't find joy in watching him kind of trying to put his sentences together and trying to respond to questions. That the struggle, the struggling that he had, the struggles that he had in trying to perform in the debate, I didn't find that enjoyable. And even though I disagree with him passionately on a number of topics, and there are a number of issues that I have with him for what he has said and done throughout his career. And of course, it's been very, very long. None of that prevents me from being human and in wanting the best for my nation. So that would extend to wanting the best. And wanting for the for for my president for the president and wanting to see him succeed and be well and do well. But I think, you know, now it is a time to ask questions. And I hope that in this conversation and in the questions asked, as I said, as I've stressed, I think very, very much so during tonight's show. I hope that doesn't become a conversation about older people and just writing them off after a certain age. So that's that. I mean, I could say more, but I think I've said a lot. I'll certainly speak to this topic more because I think it's a serious one. It's not just about the president, it's just about attitudes and it's, and it's about attitudes about age in this nation. But it's also, it's also about how we treat people who, who very well look to have, whether it's mental health issues or cognitive health issues or physical health issues. It's about being sensitive and, and as I said, being human. So what we're going to do now is we're going to go to a quick break and then we're going to come back and we're going to pivot and we're going to talk about leaders and what that means. And some of those leaders, how they've done, what they've done and maybe what they have not done. But let's go to the quick break first. Substance use disorder and addiction is so isolating. And so as a black woman in recovery, hope must be loud. It grows louder when you ask for help and you're vulnerable. It is the thread that lets you know that no matter what happens, you will be okay. When we learn the power of hope, recovery is possible. Find out how at startwithhope.com. Brought to you by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing Shatterproof and the Ad Council. Let's take a moment to breathe. Deep inhale. Extend your spine. Remain focused on what you're doing. If safe to do so, exhale slowly leaning to one side. Inhale back to center. If safe to do so, exhale slowly to the opposite side. Find mental health resources at loveyourmindtoday.org. This message is brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council. I'm Scarlett Johansson. My family relied on public assistance to help provide meals for us. These meals fueled my involvement in theater and the arts as a child, which fostered my love for acting. The Feeding America Network of Food Banks helps millions of people put food on the table. You can join the movement to end hunger by donating, volunteering, and advocating. Because when people are fed, futures are nourished. Join the movement to end hunger at feedingamerica.org/actnow. Brought to you by Feeding America and the Ad Council. Hello. Welcome back to Bostonian Wrap. Again, my name is Rachel Miseleman and you are listening to me on WBCALP 102.9 FM Boston. This is Boston's community radio station. So what I want to kind of jump into now, for those of you who haven't been listening or maybe just are tuning in now, I want to talk about obstacles to community, municipal, state, or even nation success. Because it's an issue that's not just particular to local problems. It's just a widespread issue. So it's about leadership. And we live in a time where people pay a lot of attention to titles. And it's kind of a shame because people pay more attention to titles than ideas. And when we live in a society where it's not what you know, but it's not even who you know, it's who knows you. So the corneism, it's just, it's rampant, right? And when I say it's not even who you know, it's who knows you because you can know people. You can know a lot of people. But the right people, and there are lots and lots of air quotes there, they have to think that it's in their best interest to help you. And unfortunately, corneism has taken root. It's taken root and it's very much a thing. And it's not new. It's as old as, you know, mankind. One way or another, one way or one fashion or another, we have dealt with corneism in many different cultures across time, across borders. But I think that it's really had a particularly devastating effect. I think in Boston and throughout Massachusetts, because as I often say, as I actually enjoy saying, Boston is an education based economy. And we can't keep on preaching the importance of education yet we completely, I shouldn't say we because I'm not part of this, but, but, but degrees, certificates, any kind of educational recognition or professional formation is greatly devalued because we have a number of people in places that allow the entrance of others. And they have decided that they want to base qualifications on how much they like you or how much you can do for them. Or how much, as I just said, how much they can benefit by investing air quotes in you. That all of that behavior is corruption. Let's, let's be clear that's corruption. And yes, it's greatly devalued. The education that so many people have worked so hard to get. And I think that it then affects the quality of leaders we have. It affects the conversations that we're having. It affects the decisions that are being made. And so if we have only certain people being led through these gates, they're all essentially the same people because the gatekeepers themselves are all essentially the same people. Then where are these new ideas supposed to come from? How are we supposed to make progress if everyone's saying the same things or thinking along the same lines? I mean, how, how is, like, how is any progress supposed to be made? And this really, this is something that really, it angers me. I mean, who are these people to tell others that their education doesn't count? That having a sense of pride in one's achievements because of a work ethic and because of determination and diligence? Who are these people to say that that doesn't mean anything? And even a better question is, how is it that these people are leaders? And how is it that these people are in a position to German to German the new leaders, the next crop of leaders? So I had a conversation recently. I'm not going to say exactly when. I'm just going to say that it was someone who works in government. I'm not even going to say what level of government. I'm not even going to say where I was at the time because I want to respect the overall. I don't want to say privacy, but I want to respect the integrity of the conversation. The person I spoke, and it wasn't like the person spoke with an understanding that I was later going to talk about it on my show. I mean, that would be pretty lousy on my part. It would be pretty, yeah, pretty darn lousy. So what I'm going to do is I'm not going to say when or where or what level of government. I'm just going to say that I had a conversation with someone who works in government. And it was about a particular resource. And this is a resource that I think could greatly benefit a lot of people and greatly benefit this particular environment if only people knew about it. And if it were, and I say this very respectfully, if the resource, if it were managed and organized and the rollout of the information about this resource, if everything was just better. And so the individual agreed with me wholeheartedly. And the individual said, well, we have been trying to reach out and work with leaders. And so being candid, as I always am, now we're able to do this respectful, but candid. I said, well, maybe it's time for new leaders. Seriously. And I'm going to take that comment there and apply it just generally. It's time for new leadership. When I was growing up, you didn't stand up and say something unless you had something to say. You certainly didn't talk just to hear the sound of your own voice, unlike today. If you presented yourself for a position, it was because you reasonably thought that you could do it. And you could show that on the balance of probabilities based on, you know, maybe your educational formation, or experience or combination that yes, you could do it. Unlike today, we have a society where we have people who are paid to give their opinions on issues about which they know nothing, and they're paid handsomely. We are looking to people who hold themselves out as leaders, and they're not willing to listen to points of view that don't mesh with theirs. It's tremendously frustrating, and I certainly have been increasingly vocal over the last, I'd say, four years or so about this topic. Not just relative to the different levels of government, and not just Boston or Massachusetts, but just throughout our nation. But particularly in Boston and, you know, Massachusetts as a whole, but I've also been very particular about talking about this relative to Republican leadership. Now, I've been very clear. I have become a fan of Chairman Carnavale. Amy Carnavale, she is the current chairman of the Republican Party in Massachusetts. Now, anyone who knows me, I'm not talking about people who think they know me because they, you know, go through, they go through my social media, they dig through my social media, or who have talked and or who have maybe spoken to some people that have interacted with me. However, briefly, or superficially in the political arena, I'm talking about people who actually know me, people who've grown up with me, people with whom I've had long-term actual friendships. Those people will tell you that I don't just give out compliments like their party favors. I don't, because that's the background I came from. I said earlier on the show, and I've said on other shows that I come from a family where there were people who lived through the Great Depression. They were big figures. My grandparents and my grandfather's siblings, particularly my great uncle David, who was like a second father to me, and his two sisters, these people had a very big influence on me and how I perceive the world and my role in it. And so I'm not going to just say, oh, you're wonderful, because you have a public profile, or because you have a job, you know, you have a title, or because you make X amount of money per year, or because you have X amount of money. This is none of my business. If you have a title, it's only my business if you make a decision or decisions that impact me, even indirectly, then it's my business. But your, how much money you make. Again, that's really none of my business. Again, unless you're in a position where you have to respond to me, you have to answer to me. So in other words, an elected official, right? But however much money you have in your bank account, how is that my business? And if it's not my business, then it's certainly not something that I am going to use as a determining factor when I am deciding whether or not I like you as a human being or not. If I don't like you as a human being, the amount of money that you have in your bank account is not going to change that. It just truly isn't. If I think you're stupid, if I think you're unlikable, if I think you're unpleasant, if I think you're a snob, if I think you're disrespectful, any of these things, it's not going to change. My opinion is not going to change if I find out you're wealthy or you're well off. It's just it's just simply not. Okay. So we have, you know, the chairman of the Republican Party, Amy Carnavali, and I really, really like her. Because she's trying to do the job. She first of all, she understands what the job is, and she's trying to do it. And I greatly respect her and her team for coming into Boston, for focusing on Boston, for paying attention to Boston. And you know, a lot of people say, "Oh, Boston, Boston gets all the attention." You know what? No, we really don't. You know, for all the headlines about Boston and for all the comments about Boston, the Republican presence in Boston has been pretty much nil for a good, I would say probably 30 years. And the consequences have been devastated. At least 30, 30 years more than that, but it's really the last 30 years. It's just been particularly, it's been particularly challenging, frustrating to be a Republican here. And over the last 10 to 15 years, it's been particularly hard. And, you know, I'll keep on saying this. When I stood up to run for Congress in 2020, I certainly had no intention on being a sacrificial lamb. But I will say that people are laughing significantly less about Boston and about Republicans being involved in it. And I am going to take credit for that. I am certainly a fair amount of credit because people weren't even thinking, you know, on the whole, on the average of doing anything to build a Republican presence. And so, for Amy Carnavali to pay attention, what happens in city council meetings, that means a lot to me. It means a lot. And that her team want to do something that just means so very much to me. But, you know, there are other people who've been around for a long time. And longevity does not mean that someone knows what he or she's doing. And I think that after a certain time, and politics is the worst sector for this. But I think that if someone or several some ones are maybe even many some ones are incapable of showing any kind of talent or willingness to fulfill the duties of an office. Or incapable of showing any kind of deliverables. Why is it then that that person is not being questioned? Why is it then that there are no thoughts about bringing new people in? What happened to accountability or transparency for that matter? The fact of the matter is, and I'm going to wrap it up very quickly, if we want to see progress, we need to have different voices. And if people are going to hold themselves out as leaders, then they have to have something to show for it. And you know me, I'm not going to give compliments, not with my background, not how I grew up. I'm not going to give compliments unless I really believe that they're warranted. So, if someone wants to be a leader, then that same someone has to perform and deliver. Thank you so much for listening. And as always, I look forward to hanging out with you next week. The preceding commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and management of WBCA or the Boston Neighborhood Network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to Boston Neighborhood Network, 302-5 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02119. To arrange a time for your own commentary, you can call WBCA at 617-708-3215 or email radio@bnnmedia.org.