Genealogical Inertia: Does It Make You Royalty?

by muon

Paul Ryan: Master of Disguise

The first line of Paul Ryan's bio on his congressional webpage (paid for by your taxes) states "Born and raised in the community of Janesville, Paul Ryan is a fifth-generation Wisconsin native." In fact, everything I've read about him or heard from GOP pundits for the last 24 hours have mentioned the "generation" thing. Well, actually, his Wikipedia page, sourced from Ancestry.com, says he's only 4th generation, but I'm not here to quibble. 4th or 5th, what does it prove about his character except that he was born?

I'm a 2nd and 3rd generation American, and I have to admit, I have nowhere near the strength of character and sheer guts of my original immigrant ancestors. Two of my great-grandmothers came to this country with children in tow, but no man at their side. Imagine leaving your home in the late 19th century, a lone mother with a couple kids, packed into steerage on a slow steamer, for a 2 month voyage with all kinds of strangers, some probably not honorable. Then you arrive, not knowing if someone will meet your ship, or how far you'll have to travel to be reunited with your husband or other family?

Would I have the chutzpah to make that trip? No way. I don't even walk around my neighborhood after dark. The courage of my ancestors boggles my mind. Two generations later, because of the better life those kin made for me, I don't need to be courageous. I've evolved into a marshmallow, whining about things like rush hour traffic.

So what kind of asset is it to be 4th or 5th generation like Paul Ryan? He's pretty far removed from the journey his ancestors made to Wisconsin. I'm not knocking his forebears; they were no doubt as brave as my own ancestors. Yet character is something forged by trial, not inherited like blue eyes. By my own experience, if your family's been in one place longer than other families, it usually means you've had more security and comforts handed down to you.

The Ryans have certainly inherited their share of America's wealth. Not that being rich is a bad thing in itself. But money doesn't bring courage and character. Often the opposite.

I heard this morning that Ryan snuck off for his meeting with Romney "in disguise"--wearing "a T-shirt, blue jeans, sunglasses and a baseball cap." He flew to Hartford and got into a rented SUV. By the next night, he was "eating Applebee's takeout at a nondescript chain hotel..."

So...he was "disguised" as a typical middle-class tourist on summer vacation? (Or, at least, typical until Bush killed the economy in 2008. Now many more people can't take a vacation. They can't afford a plane halfway across the country, and even if they could, they rent economy cars instead of SUVs. They eat off fast food value menus instead of Applebees. They go for cheap mom and pop motels or stay with relatives.)

Yet somehow, we're supposed to be amazed at this trip, as if, for a brief moment, royalty had walked amongst us poor common folk and we missed it. Shucks.

I'm not impressed by Mr. Ryan's claim of being a 5th generation Wisconsonian. Give me an honest immigrant any day over people like Romney and Ryan who act like they think they're born to the throne. We need more courage and character right now than they can muster.