Dear Old Guys, Thanks But No Thanks

I AM SICK OF OUR CITY BEING RUN BY OLD WHITE GUYS. And when I say "old white guys" that includes men and women, every race, every religion, every whatever... "Old White Guy" is not just an age, it's an attitude. It occurs to me that this latest petition drive to repeal light rail is just one more attempt by Jim Nutter to interject his wishes and desires on the rest of us. This just in. Jim Nutter is 79 years old. Let's be frank here. Light rail projects are measured in years, if not decades. Whatever light rail (or no light rail) plan Mr. Nutter thinks is good for Kansas City will be lived with for a lot more years by the rest of us. I half jokingly said during a campaign forum once that I would make decisions with an eye toward the future as I plan on hanging around for at least another thirty years. Maybe forty. We'll have to see how I feel when I hit 70 before I commit to another decade. My dad wasn't a real big fan of his late 70's. Spare me the righteous indignation about age discrimination and how old you are has nothing to do with anything. I will call BS. We live in a country where age means everything. Want to drive a car? Sixteen. Feel like dying in a useless war? Eighteen. Want to have a drink before you ship off to die in a useless war? Twenty One. Want to start your own, and be president of a multi-billion dollar software company? No age requirement there! Want to be President of the United States? Sorry, you have to be thirty five to do that. So your average young professional that economic development officials want so badly to live, work and play in the urban core will be expected to "live, work and play" in a city built by octogenarians? Please... My dad passed away at 82. I loved him very much, but I didn't let him pick my music, my clothes, my friends or just about anything else that was important to me. He more than anyone impressed upon me the fact that it is up to the younger generations to make decisions regarding their futures. "You're the one that's going to have to live with it" he would say. "I'll be long gone." Morbid? Perhaps. Profound and practical? Absolutely. So why is it acceptable, no scratch that, why is it the norm to have old white guys building our city?