The old lawyers.
I was on a phone hearing recently and one of the lawyers, whom I used to run into a fair amount but have not for years, sounded really rough. In a subsequent phone call he sounded the same way, and I looked up his firm photo and realized he is now 76 years old.
76.
What the crap?
In his photo, he looked haggard and ancient.
I was at something else not too long ago and saw another lawyer I used to run into a fair amount, who always had a youthful appearance even though I knew he was at least decade. I was shocked by his appearance.
He's now 83. He might just be practicing part time, I'd note.
I spoke to a lawyer friend of mine who is now up over 70, I think. He doesn't appear worn or drawn down, but he told me that he's afraid of retiring as he enjoys the social interaction of the lawyers. We discussed another lawyer who is a friend of his whom I figure is now in his mid 70s.
There's something deeply wrong with all of this.
This reflects, I'll note, in our society at large, of course. Our last qualified President, Joe Biden was in his 80s, and clearly suffering from mental decline, when he left office in defeat. A recent book regarding the 2024 election reports, in hte opinion of hte authors, that Biden believes he's smarkter than everyone else which formed the basis of his disaterous decision. Our current chief executive is also, in my view, suffering from dementia at an increasing rate that can't be ignored, but which is largely being ignored, even as he destroys the economy, foreign relations, and American democracy. He also seems to suffer from "only I can do it" delusion, and on at least one occasion in the 2024 campaign said as much.
Biden was a lawyer, eons ago. Trump is a real estate developer, so that's a bit off point. But there's something really pathetic about lawyers who practice past their 60s. I'm in my early 60s, I'd note. They've lost something of their soul, if not their souls in general, and have nothing left but their work.*
There's also something societally wrong with a society that allows this to occur. I'll avoid the political discussion, but mental decline is inevitable in almost everyone who lives past their 50s. People don't want to believe it, but it's absolutely true.
And beyond that, society should not encourage the elderly to occupy positions such as this past their mid 60s. It takes up space that should be filled by younger people. By that point a peson should be ready to retire, and if they're not, they're never going to be ready, economically. Talent wise, they should apply their talents and time to something else.
Read a book, train a dog, go fishing. Discovery the person you were when you started out, and the one you apparently lost.
Mehr Mensch sein.
Service.
Vietnam service ribbon.
This will be an odd one, and it'll sound difficult not to make it should like I'm being unduly critical.
We've been running a lot of posts recently about the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975. Nearly daily, as we're in the cycle in which things were becoming a disaster for the Republic of Vietnam, and a war which we entered in the early 1960s, and left in 1973, was about to be lost by the country we supported.
I note this as it's struck me for a long time how many professionals I know, including lawyers, who are of the Vietnam War generation and have no military service.
Not all, I'll note. One former Federal District Court judge here was an artillery observer in Vietnam, and a lawyer in our capital city was an artilleryman. Two state district court judges I know served in Vietnam. And a few other lawyers I know did.
But by and large, most didn't.
It's interesting in a number of ways, one being that it's likely their father's all had served in World War Two.
Now, the Second World War was a huge war, to be sure. But as a member of Generation Jones, when I was growing up, it was the case that if our fathers hadn't served in World War Two, they had in the Korean War, or on either side of it. Growing up, this was so routine you simply assumed it. I recall always being surprised if a kid I knew had a father who had never served in the Armed Forces, and this included professionals. All the doctors and dentists that my father was friends with had served in World War Two or in the Armed Forces after that. I didn't know but one lawyer then, but he'd served in the Post War Army and later on the older lawyers I knew who were of World War Two vintage had served, often quite heroically, in the war.
Baby Boom generation male lawyers? Not so much.
I don't think that's a good thing, frankly. War is awful but most American servicemen who served in the 60s nad early 70s didn't see a day of fighting. The Service is full of men who aren't like you, who didn't grow up like you, and don't have any of your per service shared experiences. That's valuable.
Lots of those guys would have been better men had they served.** Donald Trump would have been.
And American society would be. We really started dividing the country back into the haves, and have nots, but allowing so many who could afford an education to avoid serving. It helped split hte country into the mess it is now.***
"Biased, Misguided WY Judges and Lawyers."
So claimed Wyoming's Congressional delegation about a letter signed by over 100 Wyoming lawyers.
I'm not a signatory to it as, frankly, I was too busy to notice its circulation when it was going around. The letter is 100% correct, however. I know a lot of the lawyers who did sign it, and more of a few of them are actual conservatives, and a few of them were once very significant figures in the Wyoming Republican Party, including those who were elected to office.
Moreover, at least two of the three of the Congressional delegation itself are not anywhere near as populist as they now assert they are. All three of these figures would have supported this letter under different circumstances, and two out of the three undoubtedly still hold the view that the lawyers are right, but are taking their positions as they do not wish to anger Trump supporters. If the wind turns, they'll turn with it so rapidly that it will toss MAGA right off the decks.
All of which is profoundly sad. That people hold one view and then express another one publicly is no doubt common, but it's not admirable, and is far from admirable in a situation like this. It’s one of the things that’s really wrong with American politics today.
It is interesting t have even with the taking of extreme positions like this, at least one refused to publicly adopt the extreme Executive Power doctrine that’s being exercised now, while at the same time, not disavowing it. John Barrasso, when asked if the President really had the power to levy tariffs the way he is (he doesn’t) just twice said that Congress had delegated a lot of power to the President. It has. It’s not a good thing, and he wouldn’t say that it is.
It does make sitting back and letting things happen easier. The entire country is going to suffer massively due to Trump, and Wyoming is going to take a bruising. It’d be far better to stand up and say so now, and take the lumps if they come, then to excuse your conduct later.
Footnotes
*Coincidentally, I saw this in our local newspaper in an advice column.
Dear Eric: I was an attorney when I started having memory problems at age 65. I retired and subsequently learned that I had a devastating rare dementia with a very short lifespan. Instead of providing me support, my friends disappeared from my life, at the time I needed them most. Friends may rally around you when you have cancer, driving you to chemo treatments, dropping off food and other things to support you; when you have dementia, everyone just disappears.
I’ve always been a sociable person and I’m missing that so much, but I have no idea how or where to start. Any ideas?
Students navigate campus atmosphere, social changes to find connection
– Left By Friends
Dear Friends: People sometimes don’t know what to do or say when confronted with illness, but that’s no excuse for your friends’ behavior and I’m sorry. The Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) has a wealth of resources for people with dementia, including support groups, both online and in-person. Being able to talk with others about what you’re experiencing and feeling will help with isolation.
This also might be a time for you to explore new volunteer opportunities or social groups that have nothing to do with dementia, depending on your care plan and abilities. You are a person who is worthy of connection, with a wealth of experiences and knowledge from which others can benefit. Your company would be welcomed at a senior center, a local outing group or an organization that aligns with your interests and values. If you have anxiety about navigating these spaces with dementia, or need accommodation in order to feel safe, please don’t hesitate to reach out in advance and talk to a group leader about how you can participate most comfortably.
Eric is surprised that his fellow lawyers quit associating with him.
He likely ought not to be.
I don't think it's that people don't know what to say or do. I think that people fail to appreciate that workplace social contacts are, to a very high degree, extremely casual or even business contacts, and that once the professional is not employed, at least in teh law, the value of that person to others in the law is gone.
In other words, this doesn't surprise me a bit.
**I'd note that I feel the same way about men who weren't in the service, but who worked a blue collar or agricultural job. Those employments are levelling in a way, and I've noticed that men of the same generation who were never in the Armed Forces, but worked as roughnecks or came from ranches and farms, are much more accepting generally of other people.
***And, ironically, it also started the country off on the hyper glorification of those who have been in the service.
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Labels: 2024 Election, Donald Trump, Education, Greenland, J. D. Vance, Mental Health, Military, Sanewashing, The roles of men and women, The Second Trump Administration, U.S. Space Force, Weird, Wyoming, Zeitgeist
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