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Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)
America Needs More Old People: Why Geezers Are The Country's Best Hope For The Future
Self-deprecating comments about aging are favorite expressions of many, if not most, old people. Maybe you have encountered a few classic examples of the genre:
- I'm not losing my hair - I'm getting more head.
- One good thing about Alzheimer's - you get to meet new people every day.
- I'm so old all my friends in heaven are thinking I didn't make it.
- I'm so old whenever I eat out, they ask me to pay upfront.
- I'm not old - I'm chronologically gifted.Â
- Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
- Some days I wake up grumpy - and some days I let him sleep.
- I was at the beauty shop for two hours. That was only for the estimate.
OK, you get the idea. Insensitive? Of course, but "outrageous" is often a key element in humor and besides, if the joke's on you, who can complain? What all these quips have in common is an image of old folks beset with negative situations as parts fail, the abyss approaches and ill humor sets in.
The first two factors are real enough, but a new study challenges the perception of seniors as ill-humored, grumpy, intolerant old farts set in their ways. Turns out they are not so intolerant or set in their ways as many assume. (They may be ill-humored and grumpy -- I don't know, as these characteristics were not assessed. None of the old farts I know is ill-humored or grumpy.)
In any event, a study conducted at the University of Vermont and at Pennsylvania State University should spark a reevaluation of ideas about where older folks line up on value issues. The study in question seems to challenge the validity of elder stereotypes as conservative or reactionary on social positions. In fact, the data suggest that the much-maligned geezer is more tolerant and open to change than his/her youthful contemporaries.Â
Between 1972 and 2004, a social survey project conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago has gathered attitudinal data. At last count, 46,510 Americans were surveyed on 25 different occasions to better understand age cohorts at different life stages. Info was collected on many opinion issues that fall into "liberal" versus "conservative" categories. Examples included political and economic leanings, the roles of varied groups (minorities and women, for example), beliefs about civil liberties of controversial groups (gays or non-believers) and on privacy issues (right-to-die or sex between consenting adults).
In which age groups would you expect to see the most changes over time? Would it be the 18-39 age cohorts, or the 60-and-over folks? I think most would be surprised to learn that the biggest changes were found in the older groups -- and that the nature of attitude changes was more toward greater tolerance, not more conservatism.
One surprising finding, at least to the study leaders (and for me, too) was that "people age 60 and over become more liberal at a faster rate than their younger counterparts on a number of measures." It seems that aging itself brings with it changes toward a liberal direction in attitudes.
The findings seem to invite a reassessment of the stereotype of the rigid senior. Maybe it's time for a whole new class of jokes about aging. How did the stereotypes of intolerant, unchanging geezers develop in the first place? The folks who interpreted the data offered some interesting ideas on that topic. Among other factors, the following were noted:
- The freethinking Revolutionary War era - changed thinking about the old patriarchal way of life.
- The influence of Emerson and Thoreau - their unflattering depictions of older Americans.Â
- Sigmund Freud - the good psychiatrist remarked that anyone over age 50 was uneducable.
- Institutional bias from many sources that takes the view that you can't teach old dogs new tricks. Â
One of my favorite Gary Larson The Far Side cartoons depicts a dog on a tightrope in a circus tent, all eyes of the crowd upward as the animal tries to maintain its balance. The caption reads: "High above the hushed crowd, Rex tried to remain focused. Still, he couldn't shake one nagging thought: He was an old dog, and this was a new trick."
Well, maybe these survey data should lead us all to shake the nagging thought about inflexible, set in their ways and intolerant 'socially sclerotic' old folks. Such a view seems not to be accurate, except of course as applied to certain exceptional and unpleasant aberrant old folks. As the survey director observed, relating the findings of the study to the current race for the Democratic nomination for president: "The idea that older people are uninterested in computers or can't learn to use them isn't true. The same goes for the current presidential election. When you dissect the electorate you will see that older voters will support Obama. It would be a mistake to ignore them. There are differences in the ways younger and older Americans function and approach issues, but nothing about the aging process is endemic."
Maybe it's time for some new clever and funny expressions about old people with different punch lines to reflect the reality of how seniors actually view things. Then again, it's probably not going to happen. The current humor storehouse based on existing stereotypes includes quips that are too humorous to surrender, however inaccurate. Grin and bear it but know better - that's my advice.
Be well. Look on the bright side of life.
Domain: physicalSubdomain: appearance and aging
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