'Too old' or 'too young'; stop judging by age

SOCIAL STUDIES: May 26th 2008

Aging: blessing or curse?

Now there is a question that starts all sorts of discussions; because whether we like it or not, we are all in the same boat. We age, our bodies break down, our minds skip a beat, the world changes around us . . . and, unfortunately, I think our attitude makes it worse.

Consider how it works against the young: he is too young to be a lawyer; she is too young to be a doctor, that job would be done better by someone with more experience. Have you ever said anything like that? You must have at least heard someone say it.

We have a preconceived notion that with age comes wisdom -- and although it may be right that some types of wisdom come with the passing of years, such as patience, all wisdom is not time dependent. But society is focussed on the idea that the most capable person has been doing the job for some time.

But not a lot of time: there comes a moment, all too soon, when you are too old; old fashioned, too slow, out of touch, antiquated. That same doctor and lawyer are working from an old fashioned way of doing things -- we do not value the wisdom of the aged either.

I figure, if you are a man, and I suppose it is slightly different for a woman, but for a man I figure 47 is the only age where you are perfect.

This applies to wisdom, capability, sports, and of course, beauty. There is an optimum age and once you have surpassed it, there is no going back.

I remember the day I became too old to be a U.S. Marine -- it was always one of those childhood dreams like firefighter and Disney World Jungle Boat ride attendant . . . but there comes a time when it is impossible to go back to childhood dreams. And I suppose that is the beginning of wisdom.

But what I want to argue against is that this all too often becomes the beginning of a long list of things that we are told we are too old for.

Think of the President of the United States. That is a job it seems you have to be older in order to have it; and in fact, a lot of people serve in elected office of all sorts that are beyond the age of normal retirement. We trust them with such trivial things as grain storage and nuclear missile codes; and yet in the day-to-day world we think that those who are older, and I am even talking just a little older than us, are verging on useless.

I could counter this on many fronts. Halle Barre is 42 for example, and Demi Moore is 46. Sean Connery is 78 and still a sex symbol. I am pressed for time so I am not going to try and look up all the names of celebrities and work back on their ages, but you get my drift. We have this knee jerk default reaction that says that younger is better when it comes to beauty and celebrity -- but even then, if we stop and think about it, we are wrong.

So why the blind spot when it comes to age? We cannot make claims about people and their abilities based on race, or sex, or religion, but it is still perfectly acceptable to say that someone is too old or too young.

Officially, it is called "ageism" which is defined as stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by U.S. gerontologist Robert N. Butler to describe discrimination against seniors and patterned on sexism and racism.

Butler defined ageism as a combination of three connected elements. These were: prejudicial attitudes towards older persons, old age and the aging process; discriminatory practices against older people; and institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about older people.

This is a real problem; a study by Joanna Lahey, Economics professor at Texas A&M, for example, found that firms are more than 40 per cent more likely to interview a younger job applicant than an older job applicant.

As people became more and more aware of the inherent problems, the terms were broadened to include other ages; and it is also true that there is economic and employment inequity for the younger set -- kids under 18 are hired for less than minimum wage; in fact, it is allowed by law in the United States. And there are other restrictions as well -- such as hours allowed to work.

Now, there is clearly a difference between older and younger folks -- and experience plays into it sometimes. But really, I know a lot of 60 year olds who have never matured and a lot of 15 year olds I would trust with my life. I am merely trying to say that we should not lump groups together based on one characteristic and say it is absolutely true for the whole; especially something as arbitrary as age.

My hope is always that we will be able to see beyond the stereotype to the individual.

I know that is not always easy, but it is necessary.

My three year old teaches me a lot of things, so did my 70 year old grandfather; and almost everyone I have ever met in between.