Spectrum

I keep hearing liberals claiming that gender is a spectrum; that there are dozens if not hundreds of genders. While they are correct that gender is a spectrum there are not dozens of genders.

There is a spectrum for men and another for women. Let’s divide those spectrums into 100 categories each.  At one end is the macho male and the other the ultra-feminine women. In the middle is a line dividing men and women but the spectrum overlaps.

We will now use me as an example mainly because if I use anyone else I will bring a storm of wrath down on my head.  My score would be on the lower end of the “masculine scale.”  I failed macho in elementary school and continued failing it until today. However, as the Ray Stevens song says, “I am secure in my manhood.” I have never even made an attempt to become more macho.  However, there are also men who are less macho than I.

Now on the woman spectrum there are women who are more masculine than I but are entirely women. The fact that they can beat up 25 percent of men doesn’t change that. There is an overlap on the two spectrums regarding physical characteristics. But that doesn’t equate to multiple genders. In fact, the entire transgender argument or discussion in you like, agrees with me.  If you were a man and are now a woman, that makes two genders.

I haven’t once heard of any Trans person claiming they worked their way through the gender spectrum until they became something else. No, they say “I was once this and now I am the other.”

“I was a man and am now a woman” clearly states there are two genders.

Generational Wealth

Another hot topic this year is generational wealth. Apparently some people feel it is wrong for some people to get an inheritance when others don’t.

Even if the parents are very wealthy generational wealth usually doesn’t last beyond a few generations.  Unless someone ties the wealth up in trusts and so on the third generation many times ends up broke.  There are two reasons for this. One is that often the third generation has lost the drive to compete or even maintain. The other reason is “people multiply exponentially.” If two people have two children who have two children each. In three more generations, there are 28 people with 16 descendants in the last one. The next generation will have 32 people and the next 64 and so on.

Let’s suppose Granddad had a ten million dollars and every generation maintained that wealth. Discounting inflation, which has cut the spending value by at least half, each descendant will receive half of what their parents received until one generation gets enough to buy a cup of coffee.

One of my ancestors had a 28,000-acre land grant in the 1700’s. By the time it was divided by ten or so children who each had ten or so children, some of whom squandered it, each received less.  When it got to my Grandfather his generational wealth was 60 acres to be divided between five children. Had it been divided equally by the time it got to me I would have received three acres, my children one acre each and my Grand-brats 1/5 of an acre each.

There are many pieces of family land where the last owner died without a will and nothing was done. Today there are dozens or hundreds of heirs. It would cost each heir more than they would receive to divide the land. Had not one heir continued to pay the taxes that land would have been sold for back taxes and no one would have received anything.  

Many “rich” families have poor cousins whose parents lost their generational wealth.

Generational wealth isn’t something anyone should count on.

Affirmative

Action

I have questions for the supporters of Affirmative Action.  Why do you only want to start in the middle?

Why do you only want AA for college admissions instead of First Grade? If you start with first grade and give the kids a first class education from there, you won’t need AA in College Admissions.

Problem solved.

On the other hand, why give minority students preference only in admission to college or Medical School?  Why not just give them a diploma?  If you want equity that is the only solution.

Affirmative

Action in Sports

I propose a new program to include Affirmative Action in Sports.  My plan doesn’t include race or ethnic background. My sports Affirmative Action is for those of us who have been consistently excluded from sports. We are excluded from all of the benefits of sports. We were not eligible for sports scholarships, or fame and fortune through sports.

All of this is because of inborn characteristics over which we had no control. Some of us were clumsy. Some couldn’t run, some couldn’t catch or throw.  Some were too chubby or skinny. All were discriminated against and denied all of the positive benefits sports provide through no fault of ours. 

This must stop.

Affirmative Action for sports failures is the answer.  Give the sports failures an equitable opportunity. 

You might argue that this is ridiculous. The sports inept people would just fail, embarrass themselves and be worse off than if they hadn’t been given the opportunity.

After serious reflection, my answer to that argument is, “You are correct.”  What purpose would it serve to give a sports klutz like me a spot on the team?   

I am wrong. You are right.  It was a stupid idea. As you said it won’t work. Those who don’t have a chance of succeeding shouldn’t be tortured by pretending they do.

Percent

Dropouts

I recently read that over 40 percent of students who enroll in a four year college drop out before completing their degree. With the cost of college that number is frightening.

Are we sending students to college who are unprepared? Does anyone know why this is happening?

I know one parent who said the purpose of college is to “get the partying out of their systems so they can get a job.” But that sounds like an expensive solution to the problem to me. 

I have also noticed that in my experience, not one of the students who were working and paying for their own college ever failed a class.

Time, energy and money

A man told me once that it takes time, energy and money to accomplish anything. The problem is, he added, is that when you are young you have time and energy but no money. When you are middle age you have money and energy but no time and when you are older you have time and money but no energy.

That is worth thinking about.