On DU's population aging, and change to DU...

[Moostache]

53. If my kids did not have their mother and myself, they would be in danger of the same...

Rent is obnoxious...food, gas, electric, digital communications (phone, internet, streaming)...student loans and debts...it is a scary situation and the absolute reality for anyone 18-29 for sure and many in their 30's as well.

I joined DU after a year of lurking about back in 2003 (during the run up to 2004 election). I was 32 then and 52 now (even if I am loathe to admit it, the photos and disappearing hairline will not allow my denials to stand)...this place has been a constant for me every day of that time, an online friend of many in a single interface; through all of my children's births, school and now as they are entering the workforce and colleges and independence (someday?). I have a 4-generation picture in my office of my grandmother (82 at the time), my father (60), myself (32) and my infant son (six months) that was taken in 2003. That photo show me that time is fleeting, and that while my grandmother has passed and my father has become her age now, I can't believe I am rapidly approaching my dad's age from the photo. Only the really great things in life seem to get away from us that fast, seem to linger in our memories and stay fresh decades later...DU is my online version of that photo.

What we can and must do is ensure that the millennials and the generations to come do not fall prey again to the Reagan myths and destructive policies they produce. Bush the lesser and Trump took those "tax the middle and give free ride to the rich" ideas to extremes, and unless we convince them that their struggles with the economy, the rising costs of EVERYTHING and especially the cost of higher education are NOT the fault of immigrants, minorities or LGBTQ communities, but rather the offshoot of 43 years of relentless oppression of the middle class lifestyle and enrichment of the upper 1% (really the upper 0.1% to be completely honest).

We need to continue speaking about these problems and work with them to devise solutions and we don't have another 40 years to see what happens or wait around.