I talk about my grandkids a lot so let’s talk about our grandkids. They’re not mindless little rug-rats that drain our energy. They’re not stupid. They hear, see, understand and retain more than any of us give them credit for. We call these little folks “Our Future” but I think our society is at odds with that prophesy.

On the way into San Andreas a few days ago, my wife pointed to a day-care and said a neighbor of ours had continued to volunteer there even after her own grandson had moved on to public education. I said “It takes a village.” Unfortunately, for some, “village” is just a sneaky euphemism for Socialism. Once the Big S is mentioned, the debate ends, the party lines are drawn, and the children become a by-product of our political fueds.

Ever hear the following phrase about our crumbling society? “I’m just glad I’ll be dead when it all hits the fan.” I wonder how much damage that little SCUD does to our heirs? Remember, the eyes may be glued to social networking but they retain such nonsense.

Mitt Romney claimed that 47% of the U.S. population are deadbeats and free-loaders. Hardworking people should be able to keep what they earn. Let the “Free Market” decide who eats and who doesn’t. Scary stuff for a child who may not be on the Market’s shopping list. Food stamp programs are cut to balance a national budget but the uber-wealthy refuse to contribute their fair share of taxes. School programs are slashed and teacher unions under attack. Today “Our Future’s” education is just another grenade tossed across the governmental aisles.

On the news we hear either the planet’s atmosphere is warming or the scientists are all liberal media stooges. Our grandkids’ thinking is simple; what possible difference does it make if it’s cyclical or man-made, all the crap we spew into the air can’t be good for us. They’re told five gallons of water running off a lawn is fine. Being students, though, they do the math; five gallons per home times millions of homes, some with swimming pools, hot tubs and green golf course fairways right off their deck, is still a lot of water to use to keep grass green during a drought.

Reference sources abound in today’s tech-heavy world and our grandkids can easily discover that huge corporations are now people and wealthy tycoons are buying up the media. They can intuit the kind of news they will be allowed to hear if a corporation owns all the delivery systems.

Of course these “Self-made men” want to keep what they earn. But the kids can find stunning explanations about that desire by people like Elizabeth Warren (Democrat Mass. Senator). Does anyone think they are too lazy to do that sort of research?

Senator Warren said recently, “There is no one in the country who got rich on his own. Nobody…You moved your goods to market on roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything in your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”

Shouldn’t that payment be in the form of a trust fund for the babies who represent “Our Future”? I’m beginning to think that we need to drop “trust” altogether because how can a child, youngster or young adult continue to believe the babble about free enterprise when bankers rape the country and should be put on trial then bank billions of dollars in bonuses?

I’ve already had my say about our likely need for a female president. Senator Warren emits a ray of optimism. In her opinion, “People feel the system is rigged against them. And here’s the painful part; they are right. The system IS rigged.” A Tea Party sign on Highway 12 proclaims “Private property is the cornerstone of the Constitution.” Well, past presidents, all male, sold millions of acres of docile Indian land to their friends for pennies per acre. The land of the more unreasonable savages was given away free to any settler brave enough to try and farm it. That is the foundation and the legacy of private property, just as the authors of our finest document meant it to be.

Please remember that those little folks that we delight in crawling around on the floor with (at least I do) have ears. They hear those “Glad I’ll be dead and gone” sighs. What are they going to think when they grow up and realize that Grammy and Papa weren’t kidding?

Jerry Tuck is a retired San Andreas resident and an indie author. Contact him at olwhofan@aol.com or use the Contact Form.