Carol Osborn
The last five years have not been kind to us old folks. First Covid put a bull’s eye on our backs. More recently there’s been the relentless drumbeat about advanced years also posing a risk factor in regards to our country’s leadership.
In regards to those of us just now growing old, negative messaging about aging has sent many in the boomer generation into serious bouts of soul-searching. In terms of holding positions of power, what is too old? When is it incumbent upon us to pass the reigns to a younger generation? How do I know when to fight against aging—when to accept? Many of even the healthiest of us mix up words occasionally or forget an important date. But the vast majority of us are doing fine. More than fine. In fact, the generation that is now coming into age are experiencing a quality of life that is unprecedented for our years. Some of us are running marathons and climbing mountains. Paul McCartney is in his eighties, for heaven’s sake. And Mick Jagger is too. While we may not be rock stars, many of us are enjoying enduring vitality and an expanded perspective, drawing on vast reserves of experience one can only label as wisdom.
And yet, when it comes to the public arena, it is solely our ages that are taken to define us, as if were acceptable to paint us all with the same wide brush. Of course, some of us age better than others. There are disparities between two people the same age based on physical and cognitive challenges, economic and social factors and more playing into it.
This is a problem. When any group of people can be lumped together and judged solely on the basis of negative associations and worst case scenarios, there’s a name for this: profiling. We know racial profiling is not only inaccurate but wrong, as is profiling on the basis of sex or religion. Nevertheless, age has proven to be the exception. Until now. The time has come to call out this torrent of age-bashing for what it is: chronological profiling. Ageism: the pressing “ism” whose time has finally come to be deemed unacceptable.
It hasn’t always been this way in our country. In fact, as recently as World War II, when mostly young men went off to do battle, it was the women and old people who were called upon to run factories and farms, commerce and industry. They did just fine. Old people who stepped up to the plate to show their mettle were not only respected, they were deemed patriotic. They did so fine, in fact, that at the end of the war, they weren’t all that excited about relinquishing their jobs for the returning soldiers. In fact, the country launched a major two-pronged public relations initiative that on one prong painted the urge to stay relevant as disloyal. The second prong was to lure these older workers and women into self-chosen marginalization: namely the idealized vision of suburban bliss and gated communities.
It is this shadow of institutionalized ageism under which our current generation of elders was born and raised. No wonder we haven’t been informed that our country was founded in a time of such deep respect for age that even young men donned white powdered wigs to feign the wisdom of advancing years. But just growing old, alone, is not necessarily the same thing as growing wise.
Wise, viewed through the lens of spiritual aging, includes truth-telling, discernment, generosity and the inclination to override ego in service of the greater good. The sage asks him or herself “To what am I being called?” Sometimes it will be to push through. Other times to surrender. Physical health and stamina are not the only criteria and in non-physical jobs should not be the only reason for forced dismissal. In fraught times such as ours, we need our seasoned elders more than ever. But at the same time, not everyone who grows old grows wiser.
My primary concerns center around the insidious acceptance of chronological profiling as any kind of norm. Chronological age should not be a measure of either wisdom nor goodness for any one us. What I’ve seen is that as we age, we do not so much necessarily decline as we destill: the essence of who we have always been becoming concentrated into a fuller expression of itself. The individual who has valued integrity becomes increasingly able to stand up for what he or she believes to be right action, to take more risks and make more sacrifices. The one who has put expediency over the greater good, on the other hand, becomes even more willing to take moral shortcuts. In the former case, hearts grow larger and more compassionate. In the latter, hearts shrink and turn black. It takes a series of good choices over a long period of time to become the best version of ourselves—not the worst.
The real risk factor for our society at this juncture of history is not age but ageism. Let’s call it for what it is: chronological profiling. It’s time to put the broad brush away, look beyond the steroetypes and seek wisdom wherever it may be found.
BULLET POINTS
In regards to those of us just now growing old, negative messaging about aging has sent many in the boomer generation into serious bouts of soul-searching. In terms of holding positions of power, what is too old? When is it incumbent upon us to pass the reigns to a younger generation? How do I know when to fight against aging—when to accept? The generation that is now coming into age are experiencing a quality of life that is unprecedented for our years. And yet, when it comes to the public arena, it is solely our ages that are taken to define us, as if were acceptable to paint us all with the same wide brush. Of course, some of us age better than others. There are disparities between two people the same age based on physical and cognitive challenges, economic and social factors and more playing into it.
This is a problem. When any group of people can be lumped together and judged solely on the basis of negative associations and worst case scenarios, there’s a name for this: profiling. We know racial profiling is not only inaccurate but wrong, as is profiling on the basis of sex or religion. Nevertheless, age has proven to be the exception. Until now. The time has come to call out this torrent of age-bashing for what it is: chronological profiling. Ageism: the pressing “ism” whose time has finally come to be deemed unacceptable.
- What is chronological profiling?
- What are the implications of chronological profiling in regards to politics as well as society as a whole let alone the individual?
- How can two people the same age be very different from one another?
- Has our society always been ageist?
- What is the individual’s role in answering the questions aging poses?
- How does spiritual aging provide tools that are helpful to the individual engaged in soul-searching?
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