As an aging industry professional do you think that the endless articles, news items and podcasts about the ages both our presidential candidates are doing a disservice to our senior citizens? By that we mean making the case that aging makes ageism ok?
So much of what’s written seems to make aging synonymous with mental and physical decline. 80 = old = ill = demented. A formula that means aging makes ageism acceptable. As aging industry professionals, you know memory issues aren’t uncommon at many ages and a change in how you walk doesn’t always signify illness or incapacitation.
When something as arbitrary as a number becomes synonymous to decrepitude, doesn’t aging become something to decry, deny or defy. Fear of aging becomes the father of ageism.
How do we suffer when we fail to take account for, and cherish, the benefits age brings?
As identified in his letter to the New York Times editor David G. Myers a Hope College social psychologist, notes 3 important strengths senior citizens retain or grow:
Crystalized intelligence, wisdom, and emotional stability
In her chapter on the older brain, Ashton Applewhite(author of “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism and a Next Avenue Influencer in Aging) describes how older adults have access to more information, how attention gradually expands, and this wider worldview allows for better judgment. Older brains are more flexible and resilient in managing emotions, and our capacity for integration increases, which is a sign of intelligence at any age.
Some of her thoughts appear in the article Age is real, but not everything: Is the presidential race encouraging ageism? Here she supposes that it takes longer for elders to find words because older brains are sifting through many more connections and information than younger brains.Â
So, what does this mean to us? Champions of the elderly, their families and their needs? It should remind us of the importance of our mission, passion and profession. Our senior citizens really do need and appreciate a champion. Professionals who understand all our senior citizens have to offer and all we owe to them. It’s a truth that transcends political party or election. And something we can all agree on.
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