from pixabay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>And by \u201cnutty,\u201d I mean unsustainable, worrisome, a train wreck waiting to happen.<\/p>\n
In the end, I suppose, having aging parents is like training, for the next life stage of having young adult children. \u00a0Not so much in terms of how to manage their infirmaties \u2014 that\u2019s yet to come, for the most part \u2014 but the need to suck it up and accept that they\u2019ll make their own decisions, as wrong as you think they are.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the latest? \u00a0Well, since Dad\u2019s fall two years ago, he has never been authorized to resume driving by his doctor. \u00a0The explanation had always been that he doesn\u2019t have sufficient\u00a0reaction time any longer, and, so far as I know, the doctor had never particularly held out any hope that this was temporary, either. \u00a0So his car had sat in the driveway, with Dad periodically complaining about the doctor refusing to authorize driving, but never doing anything about it \u2014 until yesterday. \u00a0That is, two weeks ago, they\u2019d received a notification from the city that they had a non-running car in the driveway that they had to deal with, by getting it operational or moving it into the garage (it had been sitting in the driveway with a flat tire and the hood open for who-knows-how-long), so over the weekend, my nephew came over and pumped the tire and charged the battery. \u00a0And then yesterday, unbeknownst to Mom, Dad got in the car and went on a drive. \u00a0Just a couple miles\u2019 worth, and he returned safe and sound, but cr@!, what next?<\/p>\n
And in the meantime, well, I\u2019d been trying my best to encourage Mom to check out the fitness center at the community center where they have their Senior Lunch. \u00a0\u201cYou say that when you get home from lunch or from running an errand afterwards, you\u2019re tired, but if you start exercising regularly, that can actually help you feel less tired and help you have more energy.\u201d \u00a0\u201cEven if you just spend 5 minutes on a treadmill, it\u2019ll help.\u201d \u00a0That sort of thing. \u00a0But it\u2019s a bust \u2014 or, rather, I\u2019ve learned that what I think of as \u201cencouragement\u201d she thinks of (or is close to thinking of) as nagging, so is counter-productive.<\/p>\n
Now, it\u2019s still the case that I think that their quality of life would be significantly improved if they would get out and be more active, by participating in more of the senior activities at the community center, for instance. \u00a0And it\u2019s not just a matter of what they\u2019re happy with now, but what would help them preserve their independence in the long term. \u00a0But I can\u2019t make them do it. \u00a0So maybe they\u2019ll just muddle along as they are for some time yet, with no real harm done, or maybe they won\u2019t, with a potential outcome worse than if they\u2019d made changes earlier, but there\u2019s very little I can do about it.<\/p>\n
And, after I\u2019d talked to Mom yesterday, I then turned on the news, and opened up my usual internet news sources (twitter, RCP, etc.).<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s face it, Trump has a clear path to the nomination, with the combination of winning the winner-take-all states and gaining substantial pluralities elsewhere, unless<\/em> the Republican field empties very quickly. \u00a0But Kasich stays in. \u00a0(Why?<\/em>) \u00a0And Carson stays in \u2014 claiming that \u201cas soon as people start discussing the issues, they\u2019ll begin to support him.\u201d \u00a0Even if they were to drop out, even if it were left to Trump, Cruz, and Rubio, that\u2019s not enough for one of Cruz or Rubio to begin winning, rather than taking second and treating that as a victory. \u00a0But right now, each of Cruz and Rubio are saying that they agree in principle with the idea that it has to be a two-man race, but simply insist that it has to be the other candidate that does so.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s going on? \u00a0How is a bombast like Trump getting so much support? \u00a0Is it because of his support of The Wall? \u00a0Yes and no \u2014 so far as I can tell, the typical Trump supporter sees this as an indicator that he\u2019s \u201con their side\u201d and that everyone else isn\u2019t because they support open immigration as a cheap labor source. \u00a0The Republican party is fracturing before our very eyes, with Trump supporters (and even Cruz supporters) seeing The Establishment as a nefarious entity, even if they can\u2019t identify a specific misdeed. \u00a0If this were Germany, they\u2019d have formed a new party by now, similar to what happened in Germany with the Euro-skeptic Alternative fur Deutschland.<\/p>\n
How much of this is about immigration at all? \u00a0I don\u2019t know. \u00a0Supposedly, polls tell us that immigration (both the overall number of new arrivals and the question of a legalization program) isn\u2019t a big issue for the electorate, but it certainly seems to stand in for a whole set of issues: \u00a0trustworthiness, support for American workers, etc. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll build a wall\u201d is fundamentally about communicating, \u201cI\u2019ll do whatever it takes to look out for the U.S., and my opponents won\u2019t.\u201d \u00a0The Wall is a symbol of much more.<\/p>\n
And, of course, things aren\u2019t any better on the Democratic side. \u00a0Between Clinton\u2019s corruption and Sanders\u2019 pie-in-the-sky socialism, I don\u2019t know which is worse.<\/p>\n
Which gets to my question for readers: \u00a0is there anything any of us, individually, can do about this<\/em> trainwreck?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And by \u201cnutty,\u201d I mean unsustainable, worrisome, a train wreck waiting to happen. In the end, I suppose, having aging parents is like training, for the next life stage of having young adult children. \u00a0Not so much in terms of how to manage their infirmaties \u2014 that\u2019s yet to come, for the most part \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":3116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[58,325],"class_list":["post-3931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-family","tag-trump"],"yoast_head":"\n
What's nuttier? The 2016 American presidential election, or my folks' current situation?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"And by "nutty," I mean unsustainable, worrisome, a train wreck waiting to happen. In the end, I suppose, having aging parents is like training, for the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What's nuttier? The 2016 American presidential election, or my folks' current situation?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"And by "nutty," I mean unsustainable, worrisome, a train wreck waiting to happen. In the end, I suppose, having aging parents is like training, for the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jane the Actuary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-24T16:24:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-24T17:29:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/533\/2015\/10\/train-wreck-67775_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jane the Actuary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jane the Actuary\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html\",\"name\":\"What's nuttier? The 2016 American presidential election, or my folks' current situation?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-24T16:24:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-24T17:29:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9b99e0bd58c5eeeebae6b82fa5a77a\"},\"description\":\"And by \\\"nutty,\\\" I mean unsustainable, worrisome, a train wreck waiting to happen. In the end, I suppose, having aging parents is like training, for the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What’s nuttier? The 2016 American presidential election, or my folks’ current situation?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/\",\"name\":\"Jane the Actuary\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9b99e0bd58c5eeeebae6b82fa5a77a\",\"name\":\"Jane the Actuary\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d6a493d380e87d49599d5487691c9fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d6a493d380e87d49599d5487691c9fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jane the Actuary\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/author\/actuaryjane\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What's nuttier? The 2016 American presidential election, or my folks' current situation?","description":"And by \"nutty,\" I mean unsustainable, worrisome, a train wreck waiting to happen. In the end, I suppose, having aging parents is like training, for the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What's nuttier? The 2016 American presidential election, or my folks' current situation?","og_description":"And by \"nutty,\" I mean unsustainable, worrisome, a train wreck waiting to happen. In the end, I suppose, having aging parents is like training, for the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html","og_site_name":"Jane the Actuary","article_published_time":"2016-02-24T16:24:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-02-24T17:29:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/533\/2015\/10\/train-wreck-67775_1280.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jane the Actuary","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jane the Actuary","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html","name":"What's nuttier? The 2016 American presidential election, or my folks' current situation?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-02-24T16:24:37+00:00","dateModified":"2016-02-24T17:29:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9b99e0bd58c5eeeebae6b82fa5a77a"},"description":"And by \"nutty,\" I mean unsustainable, worrisome, a train wreck waiting to happen. In the end, I suppose, having aging parents is like training, for the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/02\/whats-nuttier-the-2016-american-presidential-election-or-my-folks-current-situation.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What’s nuttier? The 2016 American presidential election, or my folks’ current situation?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/","name":"Jane the Actuary","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9b99e0bd58c5eeeebae6b82fa5a77a","name":"Jane the Actuary","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d6a493d380e87d49599d5487691c9fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d6a493d380e87d49599d5487691c9fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jane the Actuary"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/author\/actuaryjane"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"from](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/533\/2015\/10\/train-wreck-67775_1280.jpg\")
<\/a>