To the editor,

Under normal conditions, I have great respect for our older generations. They deserve our respect and our honor towards them. However, there are some occupations (such as a firefighter lifting heavy firehoses) that would pose great difficulty on the stamina on an 80 or 90 year old person. They simply don’t have the strength or consistency of performance as they did during their 20’s thru their 50’s. Aging takes a toll on ever human being. Aging is a crucial hurdle for our elected and appointed governmental officials.

In recent days, came word of the death of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif). She was 90 years old and the oldest sitting current Senator. In recent years, her abilities have come into question. Even so, she stubbornly refused to step down or resign. That did a disservice to her constituents.

There are other examples such as President Joe Biden, age 80; former President Donald Trump, age 77; Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, age 90; former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, age 83.

One area that nearly all politicians have to work with is union and non-union labor issues. I have respect for unions. My late father, John William Marples was a longtime member of the International Association of Machinists union when he worked at Boeing and later Cessna Airplane Company. He was even a shop steward. He believed devoutly in collective bargaining, not only for wages, but also for improved safety conditions in the workplace.

I was reading the news and it had a photograph of President Biden with a megaphone standing next to the president of the UAW (United Auto Workers) union. While the top UAW members may be pleased with Biden, many other workers at the Big-Three auto plants think Biden has been a lackluster advocate for their jobs in recent years. With the trends toward electric cars, many of those auto workers may have less and less job security than they think. Electric cars will largely rely on electronic components. And, for the most part, China dominates the American electronics market.

On the opposite side of the coin is former president Donald Trump who met with auto workers. Both men claim to be in solidarity with the workers. In reality, if we weren’t in an election-cycle, both men would likely just spout-off “tweets” (or X as it is now called).

I think Biden can surely do better than use a megaphone. Trump’s own boisterous voice is even louder than a megaphone. Biden touts himself as an FDR Democrat. I respectfully disagree. FDR was only age 63 when he died, yet he did better from a wheelchair than Biden can do on two legs. Trump, on the other hand, is as stingy as Herbert Hoover. Unions need someone other than Biden or Trump. It is up to the voters as a whole to demand that the political parties nominate or appoint people of younger generations to lead our nation in all areas of leadership.

James A. Marples

Esbon