The Old Man and the Sea speaks about an aging fisherman finally catching his long-desired prey, only to fail to enjoy the results. Gran Torino tells a story of an old man dying to get justice for his neighbors. The Bucket List narrates the story of the last attempt at enjoying life for old men. Logan shares the image of immortal Wolverine dying, as he ages. When Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar at 83 years of age, more people blamed him for ‘stealing’ the award from people of color, than rejoiced, that an aging man rose to such a level. No Country for Old Men spoke of the changing system of values, with new, rotten principles replacing what worked so well for so long. The general theme is that old men tend to wear out their welcome and are used as tributes to the times gone, or to teach us a lesson, or just to reminisce over past accomplishments. Old men are just not that trendy, sems like. No rizz, no strength, and unless it’s Rupert Murdock’s fifth marriage, not much of a game either.
Away from how the society views the older generation, the most popular pension tool available to American retirees is Social Security. After paying a portion of every check for decades, people retire, just to find out that the amount paid isn’t even enough to cover rent in any city. On top of that, the fund itself is projected to run out by 2035, with diminished payouts, short of action from Congress, adding to the current debt. Almost 100 million of the entire US population were on some sort of government assistance in 2019, and it only got worse after the pandemic. A third of all senior citizens live well below the poverty line.
As many as 40% of all senior citizens ‘unretired’, or rejoined the work force, after realizing that they don’t have enough to cover their expenses. At times, it’s boredom, that pushes people back, but more often it’s the financial reasons. For some, it’s a different reason entirely.
President Joe Biden said in no uncertain terms, that he only went back to politics, after 8 years as VP, just to get Trump out of the White House. In the election of 2020, there were 3 main politicians running, all well past retirement age. Larry David might make a great impersonation of Bernie Sanders, but is it a comedian screaming, like an American socialist decades after McCarthyism, or a brooding politician channeling his TV appearance? When Hillary Clinton momentarily lost her footing and needed help from Secret Service, she was instantly painted as ‘too old and frail to be President’. In the meantime, the 2024 rematch is putting a 78-year-old man against an 81-year old for the nation’s highest office. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley tried and failed. Gavin Newsom didn’t even try. They were all far younger and had plenty of ideas for how to run the country. Across the oceans, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are in their 70s and yield more power, than almost any other political leader. Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei is 85 and his grip on Iran couldn’t be stronger. Perhaps people don’t view senior citizens in the most favorable light, and yet, they keep on appointing them to lead, despite complaining of their age.
The fifth commandment in the Bible says ‘Honor thy father and thy mother’, yet 9.5 million senior citizens are in retirement homes, not being cared for by their overworked and constantly busy children, while a fifth of senior citizens is still working.
Try looking for a progressive job with 30 or so years of experience, unless you’re looking to become a CEO of a Fortune Firm. All experience outside of the last 10-12 years generally counts against people, not promotes them, with ageism being illegal, yet widely practiced by resume screeners. Walk into most firms’ offices. How many visibly senior citizens will you see? The odds are, if you spot one, it’s the owner. In some cases, it’s a legitimate prejudice – most modern jobs require constant computer usage. Till about 25 years ago, most people had no personal computers or access to the internet. Generative AI may help with that issue, where knowledge of how email works, or how to properly fill out an Excel spreadsheet, or how to appropriately calculate inventory totals, not getting in the way of asking a voice assistant for help. How about interoffice bravado? Will a 27-year-old single guy, after a wild weekend of partying, find himself sharing partying war stories with an aged coworker by that water cooler? How about the need for manual work? After all, people don’t get faster, stronger, and sharper, as they age, unless it’s Gabriel Yulaw from The One.
Greek philosophers lived long lives, and their guidance was sought after by Kings. The image of Mother Teresa is of a frail old woman. Albert Einstein’s discoveries came from an old man. The best scientists, like Isaac Newton and Thomas Edison; musicians, like Vladimir Horowitz and BB King; and thinkers, like Karl Marx and Charles Darwin, none of them were young. Perhaps this bias is imagined, not real?
The image of success is often portrayed by showing young and beautiful models, or a masculine and skilled athlete. James Brown rocked the mic till he died, Aretha Franklin filled the Apollo Theater with her voice at the age of 70, Whang-Od became Vogue’s oldest cover model at the age of 106, and Cher and Tina Turner were selling out venues well into their 70s, gracing stages in miniskirts. Henry Kissinger gave political advice to foreign leaders till his death at the age of 100. Still, those were the exceptions.
Being old has often become synonymous with being irrelevant. Unemployed, or employed in less critical roles; no more young kids to raise; less energy and desire to explore new horizons; lack of knowledge of trendy terminology and tools; and a diminished financial presence, all contribute to the image of old people barely fitting in, as a part of this society. Why is it then, that the 2 remaining Presidential candidates, some of the wealthiest people in the world, and some of the brightest and entertaining minds are all past retirement age, but just won’t quit?
