Did you hear about The Elders, a group of famous oldsters funded in part by Richard Branson, that will travel the highways and byways of the global village solving problems? I'm sorry, but if I saw this bunch coming my way, I'd run.
(Write your Early Bird Special joke below.)
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I think Rod is mocking their self-importance, not their age. Just 'cause someone's part of the "greatest generation" (and I'll never forgive Tom Brokaw for that smarmy, pretentious book) doesn't mean they're wiser than thou.
I agree with Rod on this. I don't think he was mocking these men as elders, he was pointing out the pretense that these men call themselves "Elders" and are going to solve the world's problems. That is arrogance, pure and simple, which is not a Christian virtue.
Take a look at their website - it's embarrasingly self-exaltating.
Precisely. The idea of putting together a council of The Elders, particularly one consisting of this particular bunch, is something that could only seem like a good idea to someone who spends too much time at Davos.
Better a group of old people with world-changing life experiences and several Nobel prizes amongst them calling themselves 'Elders' than a couple of early 20 year old kids at my front door on a Saturday morning wanting to tell me about Mormonism calling themselves 'Elders', I always say....
Dang Mormons.
Better a group of old people with world-changing life experiences and several Nobel prizes amongst them calling themselves 'Elders' than a couple of early 20 year old kids at my front door on a Saturday morning wanting to tell me about Mormonism calling themselves 'Elders', I always say....
Or 40-something minipundits whose claim to fame includes writing a book with a pithy title.
If your objection is that they have the audacity to state that their influence can and will be a boon to the world, the only response can be: "Look at the what they've accomplished."
Tell us: how many societies have you helped move from oppression to equality like Mandela and Tutu? How many nations have you run? How long were you the Secretary General of the UN? How many Nobel Peace Prizes has "Crunchy Cons" won?
Tell us: how many societies have you helped move from oppression to equality like Mandela and Tutu? How many nations have you run? How long were you the Secretary General of the UN? How many Nobel Peace Prizes has "Crunchy Cons" won?
Three. One. Six years. None -- it won the Nobel prize for Literature this spring. Didn't you get my invitation to the prize lecture? I totally cribbed it from Faulkner.
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