We silly old people have really silly habits, like buying stuff we don't need but that make us feel good about having worked hard for a half century. We pay our taxes. We like participating in the economy. Some of us have expendable income and spend it on bright spring Saturdays.

Americans deserve to know about a presidential prospect's health, and questions about experience and integrity are, of course, legitimate areas of inquiry. But to imply that Hillary -- or any candidate -- should be discounted based on advancing age goes too far. Age is an asset; it's no disqualifier.

What if actresses could stop shaving years as regularly as they do their legs? What if the only numbers that mattered on our resumes referred to how long we stayed at one place? What if we could love without worrying about the birth dates of potential partners?

These days, I catch myself pretending to know what my young colleagues are talking about when they refer to some hot new topliner (that's new school speak for lyricist) with a perplexingly random moniker such as Catnip or Carpeting.

Do people, regardless of their own race and religion and age, have favored (and disfavored) groups that they do not publicly -- or consciously -- proclaim?

We can see concepts and issues of oppression as a wheel with each of the separate spokes representing the numerous forms, which continually trample over the rights and the very lives of individuals and entire groups of people.