by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

Why do women live longer than men?

I’ve been pondering this for some time, probably since I learned the real showy, over the top peacocks — the ones with all the feathers — are males. Why so insecure, fellas?

I’m no scientist, but as a 61-year-old semi-educated American male I have gathered a certain amount of street knowledge over my career as a boy, and much, much later, a man.

Us men get up on tall ladders to retrieve Frisbees off roofs. In the rain. We drink too much, and a little more, then fall down. For most of our teens until an undetermined age, possibly forever, we’re driven by primitive forces, unfettered by common sense, caution, or even reality, all in the service of attracting a mate.

In short, we do dumb stuff.

This is not to say women don’t sometimes make similarly reckless choices. But in my experience they’re generally more likely to take a beat before attempting to jump a motorcycle over a motor home. Smarter? Maybe. More patient, and generally less prone to irrational risk? Definitely.

Don’t believe me? The United Nations estimates there are about 600,000 centenarians alive today, and 85% of them are women. Studies have also shown men are less likely to visit a doctor. (There’s that dumb stuff again.) And, women are better at maintaining active social lives, a key factor in longevity. Us men? We sit in chairs eating horrible food, watching sports and 24-hour news on giant TVs, usually at deafening volume. It’s no wonder our mates crave a meaningful social life outside the home. We probably stink too.

We really get at it in earnest when we’re young (there are those primitive forces again). We modify our exhaust systems so our cars are louder. Louder! All this to be noticed. We imagine attractive women turning their heads and sighing as we drive by, thinking, “Who is that guy in that really loud Toyota Corolla? He really has something going on.”

American males’ “Look At Me!” phase usually morphs as we skid into middle age. Most of us give up on the subwoofers and amplified tailpipes, opting for more expensive ridiculousness like inappropriately flashy luxury vehicles or (gasp) Cybertrucks to get women to look at us. Of course, the ultimate is money. If we can find a way to make it crystal clear to the opposite sex that we are financially well endowed, we will have our trophy mate, regardless of how far we’ve let ourselves go.

Such is the journey of the modern American male, it seems. We are all cursed in our own way by vanity, whether we admit it or not. Laughing at the absurdity of it all is our only real defense.

So, the next time you see a gray haired guy in skinny jeans chatting up a barista young enough to be his granddaughter, just know that deep down he knows the train has left the station, and he is terrified.

I want to hear from Trump supporters

Over the seven months I’ve been writing about the Trump administration’s ever-escalating assaults on free speech, the separation of church and state, the right to due process, the middle class, the arts, the First Amendment, and its general blatant disregard for the Constitution, I’ve heard whisper complaints, and some out loud, that my reporting is biased.

Guilty.

I’m dead set against fascism, authoritarianism, and oligarchy. So sue me.

That said, I welcome other opinions (these are the opinion pages, after all), as evidenced by our frequent letters from conservatives lamenting my wrongheaded outspokenness. I want to learn new things. I’ve lived long enough to have been wrong — very wrong even — many times over.

I recently reached out to some conservative readers, offering them the opportunity to do just that: show me — show us — how we’re wrong about the Trump administration. Millions of Americans see authoritarian overreach at the expense of the most vulnerable among us. Explain it to us: how are we wrong on this?

Unfortunately I’ve had no takers.

This is a pattern I’ve seen repeated often over the years: people complain behind closed doors, in emails or texts, but when you ask them to step up and do it publicly, they’re suddenly at a loss for words.

I know from firsthand experience there’s a price to pay for standing up for what you believe in;  we run the risk of losing friends, status, or even jobs. But if you think something is wrong in private and you’re afraid to say so in public, you’re not standing up for anything, you’re just prioritizing your comfort over your strong feelings about (insert perceived injustice here).

So, I ask: who will defend the Trump administration in print and put their name to it? In past columns I’ve assailed Trump’s policies on immigration, the First Amendment, its indifference for due process, targeting of pro-Palestinian protesters, and situational disregard for the U.S. Constitution, among others. But the outrage of many millions of Americans isn’t restricted to those examples. Pick one for yourself among the scores from which to choose and explain it to us.

As long as your writing is accurate, factual, well sourced, and realtively intelligent, I welcome your submission.

You have the floor.

Speaking of the First Amendment …

As Courier Publisher Peter Weinberger writes in his column in today’s edition, the Courier is “committed to informing, connecting, and empowering Claremont to protect the First Amendment, even when it takes courage.”

To that end, we’ve created a new online poll asking readers if they believe American’s First Amendment rights are in peril. To add your voice, go to claremont-courier.com or use this link: https://poll.fm/15766046.