Dysfunction on Display in America — Ageism
Sadly, America is a very dysfunctional place — perhaps more so than anywhere else in the world. And ageism is partly why.
This is part six of a series of articles about how America is dysfunctional. Click here to access all my previous stories on this subject.
For this article, I want to focus on Ageism in America. Let’s begin with how…
Ancient cultures respected the elderly — not so much in today’s world.
In most ancient cultures, there was an intuitive understanding of aging, so the elderly were highly respected and revered. The older ones were considered repositories of wisdom. They provided a depth of spirit and consciousness — without which no civilization could survive for long.
Ageism in the world today
Wealthy countries today are typically highly industrialized — and their retirement policies tend to designate the elderly as less valuable to the economy and to society in general.
And once prejudice has been learned, it isn’t easy to unlearn. Many people absorb negative stereotypes regarding aging as they continue into later life. At that point, they begin to apply those stereotypes to themselves. This means that negative thought patterns about age are embedded among groups of all ages.
In 2016, The World Health Organization (WHO) officially affirmed the need for ageism to be addressed globally. Interestingly, WHO highlighted that ageism is most likely more widespread than sexism and racism.
Ageism in our American culture
There are still some countries today where the elderly are considered a valuable part of society and deserving of respect. But ageism — a subtle disdain for older people — continues to be widespread in America.
In American culture, the primary measures of worth — beauty and productivity — are believed to be the domains of the young. When we are identified only by our ‘outer’ form — and our inner dimension of spirit is ignored — the word ‘old’ has mostly negative connotations. It equates to ‘useless.’
What we see in public discourse regarding those over 70 years of age are people who are helpless, frail, and unable to contribute to society in a productive way.
When faced with age-based discrimination and then the harmful commentary is internalized, some older people experience stress and depression together with a higher risk for chronic illnesses. The diminished ego of the ‘aged one’ then spends the rest of its days whining, complaining, or lamenting about the ‘good old days.’
Many elders become trapped in fear, anger, self-pity, guilt, blame, or other negative mental-emotional states. They also adopt avoidance strategies such as attachment to memories and thinking about the past.
To avoid the word ‘old,’ we use euphemisms such as ‘elderly’ and ‘senior.’ With Native Americans, “grandmother” is a figure of great dignity. Meanwhile, the term “granny” is, at best, cute.
Why is ‘old’ considered ‘useless’ in America? It’s partly because, in old age, the emphasis shifts from ‘doing’ to Being. And our society, which is lost in ‘doing,’ knows nothing of Being. Youthful America asks: Being? What do you do with it?
Assigning a value to older people according to their economic productivity ignores the many other aspects of how people contribute to society. Among their many energetic endeavors, older people travel and volunteer. Many still serve in various business capacities. They act as mentors and counselors with decades of accumulated wisdom. They care for their grandchildren and other family members needing assistance. The list goes on and on.
The coronavirus pandemic amplified ageism in America.
In 2020, the first year of COVID-19 in America, the debate raged over when or how to resume everyday public life. One hot topic of the discussion centered around whether reviving the economy was more valuable than the lives of the elderly.
It seemed that ageism had been amplified during the pandemic by many of those who had lost income and stability. They were looking for someone to blame. Anytime the virus was mentioned, people immediately thought of the ‘elderly’ — a class of people presumed to be more likely to be hospitalized and take up beds in the ICU.
This unwillingness of the many who had lost patience to make continued inconvenient sacrifices for the sake of the old was echoed at the highest levels of government.
Culling the herd and herd immunity
The phrase “culling the herd” is a cattle-rancher euphemism. The term ‘culling’ has several meanings. For example, culling produce such as fruits and vegetables means throwing out damaged pieces before the quality ones are shipped to the store.
With respect to animal populations, culling involves hunting or slaughtering the sick and weak to reduce herd numbers. In Orwellian terms regarding the future of humans, this phrase is chilling.
Another ugly rancher-influenced phrase is equally scary to me and my boomer buddies. It’s “herd immunity.”
This can occur when a high proportion of a population develops immunity after vaccination or exposure to a virus. That scenario finally occurred with COVID-19. The problem, however, is that allowing a virus to run rampant to achieve herd immunity can also lead to countless complications and deaths, especially among the most vulnerable.
Heartless indifference toward older people
In early 2023, I remember enjoying a senior discount ride on mass transit and overheard a young man who looked to be in his 20s say that COVID-19 wasn’t a big deal-breaker for the elderly because they were going to die anyway. Then he and his friend laughed.
Some people have tried to dress up their heartlessness as ‘generational retribution.’ In an article I read recently, a young person being interviewed about the elderly said, “To be perfectly honest, and this is awful, but to the young, watching the elderly over and over choose their selfish interests ahead of Climate policy kind of feels as if they wish a death on us younger people that they won’t have to experience themselves. It’s a sad bit of fair play.”
Notice how the familiar rhetoric of ageism works: The elderly are grouped as one faceless mass — and all of them are weak, frail, and feeble. They should, therefore, expect the pain and suffering that may come their way. Meanwhile, the younger people can just go on about their business.
What’s lost entirely is that the elderly are individual human beings — each with a distinctive face and voice, with hopes and dreams, memories and regrets, friendships, marriages, loves lost, and loves sustained.
What does it say about our society that people think of the elderly so dismissively? When people are measured and valued by their outward appearance and economic productivity, it’s easy to treat older people as worthless — people whose ‘best days’ have passed.
We should teach our children that our worth does not depend on or derive from how beautiful we are, what we accomplish, or what we produce. We are, each of us, infinitely valuable. We have mattered since birth and will continue to be relevant until our last day in this 3D reality illusion.
The moral fabric of a society should, in part, be measured by how it treats all its people — including the vulnerable and the defenseless. In that regard, older people warrant respect and protection when necessary. And yet, in America, the elderly are a part of society that we seem to forget or ignore.
Properly addressing ageism
The first suggestion for dealing with ageism in America is for older people to dismiss it as an improper negative stereotype. Studies have shown that older people with negative attitudes about aging may live 7.5 years less than those with positive attitudes.
Of course, dismissing such a negative stereotype means that you ‘walk your talk’ by taking care of yourself as you age into later life. For more on this subject, see my suggested readings below.
Next, young people need to be reminded that they, too, will grow old if they are lucky. If you don’t think older people have value, then you are saying that you won’t have value as you age.
Another way of dealing with ageism is to integrate generations. One study found that 64% of respondents in America didn’t have a friend at least 30 years older than they are. As with race, age integration is essential in our society. There’s so much evidence on the health and well-being benefits of this concept of integration.
The wonderous aspects of the dissolution of our physical form — particularly in old age — are only just beginning to be recognized in our contemporary culture. Perhaps one day — as was true in ancient times — old age will again be recognized and highly valued as a time for sharing wisdom and the flowering of consciousness.
I invite you to read the following articles if you are determined to embrace the aging process in a positive way:
