Talking to Myself
An open journal entry
I was about to make an entry in my journal today and thought that it might be helpful for you to see it, even at the loss of my privacy.
Marty, you must accept that you are so out of step that you’d be wasting time and effort trying to convince even friends of your rectitude, and regarding policy? It’s going, passionately, toward yet more anti-merit redistribution. I’d be fighting a tidal wave and get drowned in the undertow. So, I need to keep the duct tape over my pen and mouth, even with most friends.
When you told people you just had your 75th birthday, not one person said, “Gee, you look great,” or even “You look good for your age.” Yes, I am bald and wrinkled and occasionally feel old though not usually…yet. But there’s no avoiding that the sands in the top half of my hourglass are draining, and we men have less sand — We live six years shorter, a bigger gap than ever, and we live that shorter life in worse health. Yet, NIH, the major source of health research funding, spends much more on women’s health than on men’s. When women have a less deadly deficit, say they’re “under”represented in STEM, there’s long been massive redress. Just google “Women in STEM” and you’ll see. Yet when men have that ultimate deficit — We die younger and live sicker — what we get is glib advice to see the doctor more when in fact, the main cause is gender difference in cardiovascular degeneration — Estrogen protects. And would we blithely say, “See the doctor more” to address that Blacks live shorter? We’re far more likely to see another run for breast cancer than for male heart attack, the leading and early killer of men. Oh well, that goes into the category of fighting a tidal wave with my thimble. I shouldn’t.
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You’re doing better at accepting that a dishonest but wily troll deplatformed you. If someone likes something I write, great. If not, I’ll just keep writing.
Marty, you only need to lose maybe a half-dozen pounds, but you probably should do it— You’re already seeing signs of aging. I’m guessing that my body will be a little happier if a little thinner. That said, my doctor said that at my age, it’s better to be a few pounds overweight than under. As usual, I’ll probably end up eating reasonably but cheating — I cannot, for example, resist bread.
I go through life often mildly sad, even though as liberals would say, I’m privileged. I view my privilege as coming not from my race or gender but because I inherited a good brain, good health, and drive from my amazing dad — Despite his being in the Holocaust, dropped on a cargo boat in the Bronx without a penny to his name, no family, no education, and speaking not a word of English, he lived an unusually productive life even if he had been born “privileged.” Millions of people say that their parent is their greatest inspiration. Me too.
Okay, that’s my journal entry for today. Is there anything here of value to you?
I read this aloud on YouTube.
Marty Nemko is a career and personal coach, and author of 35 books, including How to Do Life. You can reach him at mnemko@gmail.com
