Those Darned Old People
An issue being discussed in the context of the 2016 election is “age.” It is one that I have not seen covered recently on television. Rather, it is coming up on DU, regarding one specific candidate, Hillary Clinton. It’s an issue that -- other than regarding this election -- might be a good one for members of the Democratic Party and Democratic Left to examine closely.
First, I’m confident that Hillary Clinton would not be running, unless she were sure that she could serve in good health. That has nothing to do with if I might support or oppose her in the primaries. It just isn’t an issue.
It is true that Ronald Reagan suffered in terms of mental ability while he served as President. While I strongly disliked Reagan as a person and president, his deterioration isn’t what bothered me. That’s a human issue, not a political one.
The fact that his staff covered it up was offensive. And not only for their disrespect for the public. It shows that they thought so little of him, other than his ability to deliver lines on stage, that they knew his condition didn’t matter -- as far as they were concerned.
I’m confident that any Democrat elected to the Oval Office would react differently than was the case with Reagan. I trust democratic administrations, in a way that I could never trust any republican administration.
Is this “concern” about Ms. Clinton’s age simply a sexist attack? There were people who expressed concern about John McCain’s age and health, especially after he picked Sarah Palin as his VP. In the current context, I think it’s more of a cheap shot that suggests desperation on the republicans’ part. It will, of course, go hand-in-hand with sexist attacks.
It provides an opportunity for Ms. Clinton -- or whoever the Democratic Party’s candidate may be -- to address an important social pathology, however. We have a culture that worships “youth,” and thus devalues both children and the elderly. While this holds true for both male and female human beings, it is safe to say that it is an unhealthy, life-denying plastic that is perpetuated by both sexes, and tends to target females in a more insidious manner.
I grew up in the margins of our society, and thus have a different viewpoint than most. I see the make-up and structure of “family units” as a product of our economic system. As I live in the northeast, I’d start with the Iroquois society. Extended families occupied long houses. Thus, children were exposed to multiple generations: parents were no less important then as now, but other relatives played a larger role. Cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents were available, for example, to provide support for children and young parents.
Colonists in our region tended to live in hamlets and villages, that often reflected extended-family systems. For example, there is a “Smithville,” a “Knappsville,” and an “Ives Settlement” -- where the Smith, Knapp, and Ives families lived. Most relatives lived in a separate house, but the same general extended family support system existed. (Also, one can see the “additions” to large farm houses, evidence of where grandma and grandpa “moved” when they aged. This is the multi-generation household of “The Waltons.” Children were exposed to the wisdom of their elders. His is a good thing.)
With the industrial revolution, young adults moved off the family farm, into the city. They lived in single-unit houses, with the white picket fence, and saw relatives from the extended family on holidays.
The high-tech revolution created the need for employees who would sacrifice family for work. When people spend more time with co-workers than family, there becomes a tendency for people to put in a lot of over-time ….in order to pursue affairs that do not reflect the “family values” our culture pretends to promote. Children are more likely to grow up in single parent households. The extended family unit has been shattered.
Obviously, there is a heck of a lot more to it than the dynamics that I’ve noted here. But we’ve created a culture that warehouses the elderly, not unlike how it warehouses young black men. For the larger society, there is a bit of the “out of sight, out of mind” when it comes to the elderly.
And that results in our attempts to deny the reality of that period of life, between our physical primes as young adults, to old age. “Middle age” is to be avoided to the greatest extent possible.
A while back, I spoke about my participating in a “health study” of a village in upstate New York, which has been poisoned by several large toxic, industrial waste dump sites. The rates of cancer are unbelievable. I became sidelined in the past year or so, due to factors outside of my control. But I’ve recently begun the work to complete the study.
One general description keeps coming up among the results. It would be a woman, from about 62 to 66 years old. They are grandmothers, and identify that as the most important feature of their current lives. More, they have had cancer; their parents both died of cancer; one of their daughters has experienced fear from a medical test result, or worse; and they have a neighbor or friend who has had a grandchild who suffers from a medical condition that has a high association with exposure to specific toxins.
These women have some other commonalities. For example, none of them has been represented by one of their own on the area village or town boards. When they have attended these boards’ meetings, to express their concerns about topics such as fracking, they are usually treated with disrespect. The community “fathers,” like the young men and women who are representing the corporations, are not interested in what these women have to say. In fact, they want these women to shut up.
Our culture is out of balance with nature. Part of that imbalance is found in family systems. Obviously, we aren’t about to move back into long houses, or to become cast members on an updated Walton’s series. But we can re-define what “family” and “community” mean. We can recognize that in a healthy society, everyone is valued, and each person has a voice. That means rejecting the anti-aging cultural forces. We need to embrace ourselves as individuals, even if we are not as young and “attractive” as the plastic people in commercials.
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