Who’s Old? Not Us! And Why Is Old Bad Anyway?
Technically, they are still baby boomers. But on the cusp of 50, much to their surprise, having come late into maturity, they can suddenly envision themselves becoming obsolete, just as their fathers, mothers, grandparents, uncles, and aunts did when they crossed the age 65 barrier, the moment society now defines as the border line between maturity and old age.
A small but growing gaggle of experts (themselves mostly elders) — a diverse lot of gerontologists, physicians, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers, ethicists, cultural observers, and spiritual leaders — are the vanguard of a movement to change the way society looks at and deals with growing old. They seek to have us stop viewing old age as a problem — as an incurable disease, if you will — to be “solved” by spending billions of dollars on plastic surgery in an attempt to mask visible signs of aging, other billions on medical research to extend the life span itself, and billions more on nursing and retirement homes as a way to isolate those who fail at the quest to deny aging.
For the first time, Baby Boomers cannot manipulate the situation to their liking. And I say that as a Baby Boomer myself. Our generation has consistently been able to change whatever was going on in society or our personal lives, to accomodate us. Unfortunately, that sounds a bit selfish, and in some ways, I suppose it is. But it also has brought about a tremendous amount of ingenuity in solving problems. We never thought of this problem because it wasn’t going to happen to us.
We are getting old(er). I even had to qualify that – I almost took it out but I decided to be honest and show that I am not going to say old – older sounds better. Talk about splitting hairs. And in typical Baby Boomer style, we are going to make this situation work. We can’t change it this time, so we are going to make it “cool.”
In this article from MedicineNet.com, provided by “Psychology Today,” the Baby Boomer embracing aging is discussed. We can’t beat this one. But we can make it okay.
The ironic part to me is that it has always been okay. Other cultures have always honored their elders for the knowledge and wisdom of experience that can be passed from one generation to the next. Respecting the older population wasn’t just good manners – it was a respect born out of understanding that they were smarter. Seasoned.
Perhaps the Baby Boomers are not as inventive as they thought. Just maybe, they have been too caught up in the here and now to think about this one. Perhaps they are a little behind the times. But, definitely, better late than never!!
