Age and Conservatism

'Any man under 30 who is not a liberal has no heart, and any man over thirty who is not a conservative has no brains.'

When you are young and living off of your parents’ money, and your biggest worries are how to get high every day without affecting your grades, or where your next sponsored vacation will be, it is easy to be a liberal. An idealist.

You are like a bird that has just learned to fly.

“It’s amazing! Feel the wind on your face, won’t you, you old sulks?”

You wonder why more people don’t chase their dreams. You sneer at the adults because of the compromises they make.

(Because responsibilities, Mr. Yahya.)

“Break the rules!” “Down with the government!” “Taxation is legalized theft!”

But then, you graduate college and take up a job. Everything is fine and dandy for another 2–3 years. You don’t like the job, you switch. You don’t mind taking a pay cut in the process because “it is a small price to pay for passion” and that you “won’t be a corporate slave for long” because you “have this amazing idea - it’s the next Facebook”. Savings is for old people. “We need to make memories”, you exclaim as you plan your next adventure in a far-off exotic land, maxing out your credit card.

More years go by. You are now on your 6th job in as many years. However, since you kept hopping from industry to industry, role to role, you are still at one of the lowest rungs of the ladder.

You did try out that start-up idea though, but “man, running a business is far more complicated than people think.”

You drained most of your savings during that 6-month sabbatical you took.

You are no longer covered under your parents’ insurance plan, so you buy one.

You get married. And have kids. And then there is this new soul you need to take care of. The diaper and clothes and toys cost more than what you and the spouse spend on yourself. Creches charge a hand and a foot for keeping your baby a measly 6 hours a day, 20 days a month. You need to save for the kid’s college. And your retirement.

You don’t like surprises anymore. You would rather have a sustained 6% growth of the economy than a period of 9–10% rapid bloom followed by a financial crash, lest you lose your job.

You don’t care if the eggs come from free-range chicken who listen to Mozart and eat Greek yogurt as long as they are affordable.

You cease protesting for unequivocal equal pay for men and women because you understand that “not all animals are equal” and the law of “supply and demand”.

You stop looking to actors, popstars, and young bucks for life advice because, of course, they will tell you to follow their dreams because you can discern “Survivorship Bias”.

You realize that life is not “your oyster” and that “you can be anything you want to be if you just wish hard enough”.

You don’t feel the need to ask if this is “the real life or is this just fantasy” because you can differentiate between the two.

You admire courage. But you can discern the thin line that differentiates it from recklessness.

You finally grasp that the world has its limitations. That a lot of things in life are sadly “zero-sum games”. That your choices have consequences.

You start playing safer.

Let the natural order of things be.

Maslow was right. Food, shelter, and safety are indeed more essential than prestige and “self-actualization”.