“I think there’s a HUGE need for young business owners and entrepreneurs to bridge the gap with our elected officials. For example— how many of our 75+ yr old Senators who have been there for 40 years…understand things like cryptocurrency? What SpaceX is doing? And they can pass bills that can impact startups/ innovation? Time for a change. Younger voices and new perspectives are desperately needed in our Government!“ — Catalina Lauf, Instagram post, 10/27/21, emphasis added

From the desk of John Lopez: Ever since congressional candidate Catalina Lauf (R, Woodstock) posted the above as part of a lengthy Instagram social media post last fall, I’ve been bothered by the subtle ageism, particularly with the words “young” and “Younger” in the post.

I read what Lauf said, and wondered why the emphasis on youth, when what she said is accurate, regardless of age.

Surely Lauf knows her Instagram audience, consisting of over 70K followers plus people like me who read her posts but don’t follow her in social media, likely made up of men and women of all ages. Emphasis on age may be appropriate at a Turning Point USA gathering speaking to an audience of sub-30-something Millennials or GenZers, but not a mixed age audience.

So I captured the Lauf post & quote in a draft article, and let Lauf’s ageist post stand.

Until now.

This past Monday night, I was invited to attend the We the People of McHenry County meeting in Cary by a friend from church.

My friend, along with over a dozen people, mainly McHenry and northern Kane counties residents through our church, participated in The Truth Project by Focus on the Family during the fall of 2020, meeting every Saturday morning after Labor Day until early December, including the events of the 2020 general election.

Throughout our times together, we would apply the lessons learned on the video series taught by Dr. Del Tackett in the late 2000s, and in spite of dated contexts and fashions, the lessons are based on God’s Word, which make the lessons timeless.

We definitely applied the lessons learned to how to cast our respective ballots in the fall of 2020.

So my friend’s and my attendance Monday night in Cary was simply applying the lessons, based on Scripture, we learned from The Truth Project, and by an act of God, Catalina Lauf was making an appearance as a candidate that same night, which I did not learn until after I arrived.

Lauf once again fell into an ageist message addressing the roomful of men and women of all ages.

Lauf saying people want young people in Congress did not go over very well, including when I was compelled by the Spirit to speak up and question Lauf.

Should video be published of Monday night’s meeting, the video of what Lauf said, other questioners including my friend from Marengo, and what I said will speak for itself.

Lauf must really remember, the electorate, starting with the Republican primary electorate is of all ages, and emphasizing youth, when she happens to be the youngest candidate, better be coupled by real-life experience/record, with full transparency and disclosure the record she speaks about herself is the truth.

Lauf has been challenged with telling the whole truth, and Monday night included specifics where she has been less than truthful.

All will see when/if the video is published.

For full context, here is the verbiage of the October 27, 2021 Instagram post by Lauf:

“It’s always great when two passions can collide—in this case *startups and politics* —Highlighting a trip that began with Peter Thiel w/ a blurry pic and a mediocre background (that kinda looks like Europe😂) . Peter (co-founder of Palantir and Pay-Pal) has got to be one of the most brilliant men of our era — he’s a true entrepreneur and a billionaire who just “gets it.” Had the opportunity to hear him speak on many topics, including politics, policy & religion. In the past, he has spoken ardently against censorship, the threats of communism in the U.S. and was/is one of President Trump’s allies. I think there’s a HUGE need for young business owners and entrepreneurs to bridge the gap with our elected officials. For example— how many of our 75+ yr old Senators who have been there for 40 years (other than Sen. Lummis and Cruz) understand things like cryptocurrency? What SpaceX is doing? And they can pass bills that can impact startups/ innovation? Time for a change. Younger voices and new perspectives are desperately needed in our Government!

“If you haven’t read Peter’s book “Zero to One” it’s a great & fast read!!”

To view Catalina Lauf’s full Instagram post, including the three pics she included, click here.

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Clearly, Lauf respects Peter Thiel and his accomplishments, and proven record in business, which are easy to discern.

About a week before Lauf wrote about Thiel, I published a similar article on McHenry County Blog (and I strongly recommend reading it given claims by any candidate, including how their record as a private citizen and businessperson can be discerned) about Chicagoland’s David Marco in the context of a congressional candidate claiming to be a business “expert”, and showing readers how to discern the truth about anyone making that claim.

A trailer to The Truth Project can be viewed here and all will see the Biblical principles I strive to apply with all of my writings.

Once the IL-11 Republican candidates start filing their petitions on Monday, all will know who is actually running in the race, but based on FEC filings, here are the Republican candidates thus far, in alphabetical order, and including age since this article is about ageism:

• Mark Carroll, 47, of North Aurora
• Jerry Evans, 38, of Warrenville
• Grace Greene, 43, of Campton Hills
• Andrea Heeg, 55, of unincorporated Geneva
• Catalina Lauf, 28, of Woodstock
• Cassandra Tanner Miller, 34, of Elgin
• Juan Ramos, age unknown, of Naperville
• Dean Seppelfrick, 58, of Aurora

Juan Ramos filed FEC paperwork yesterday, but unless he publishes additional information, McHenry County Blog will wait to see if he actually files petitions by March 14 for the Republican primary on June 28.