Ageism

“[The] increase in the life span and in the number of our senior citizens presents this nation with increased opportunities: the opportunity to draw upon their skill and sagacity–and the opportunity to provide the respect and recognition they have earned. It is not enough for a great nation to merely have added new years to life–our objective must also be to add new life to those years.”

-from a 1963 speech by John Kennedy

According to AgingStats.gov: “The baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) will start turning 65 in 2011 … The older population in 2030 is projected to be twice as large as their counterparts in 2000, growing from 35 million to 72 million and representing nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. population.” -”How will the baby boomers age and die?“ (an excellent short article)

More than ever, we need to focus on the science of aging, on degenerative disease management and cure, improved hospice and in-home care, adjusting and improving our social support systems, more tightly regulating nursing homes, ensuring lifesaving and enhancing treatments, like vaccines, can work on the elderly and on preventative measures including healthy lifestyles.  And a lot more.

None of that is surprising.  But there is an underlying, less concrete issue responsible for the inadequate amount of energy going towards fighting many of those problems: ageism.  Ageism is prejudice against a person or people due to their age, and I refer specifically to stereotyping of the elderly. Our country does not treat our elders well enough. Sorry if I sound a tad preachy, but this is something I feel very strongly about.  The attitude of disrespect, indifference and even disdain seeps into how we care for the generations which gave us everything.

In an interesting recent NY Times blog piece, Robert Leleux points out that old people are not treasured like children are, though they are often just as vulnerable.  Older people may not be able to care for themselves and may act erratically or “embarrassingly” with reduced inhibitions.  Children also can exhibit those traits, but we (at least purport to) treasure children.  Leleux writes,

Nursery schools are stimulating, cheerful, colorful places, while many nursing homes still resemble Dickensian orphanages, environments that, were you to substitute their populations with the very young, would be shuttered for reasons of inhumanity. One comes to realize that our valuation of children is somehow based, not in our respect for the life-stage they currently occupy, but upon their future as income-producing adults. For older people, having exhausted their “usefulness,” it’s as if their nearness to death somehow makes the quality of their lives less important. America, it seems, is no country for old men, and (my apologies to Yeats), it’s certainly no country for old women, either.

A good book, “What your doctor won’t tell you about getting older” by respected gerontologist Dr. Lachs echoes those thoughts. He says, “[a]geism in American medicine and society is a matter of life and death, as dangerous as any incorrectly prescribed medication or slipped scalpel.”

Lachs compares ageism to other forms of prejudice, like racism, sexism, homophobia.  He says that in medicine, bedside manner problems which can happen to any group but “especially [to] oldsters” include being talked down to, being ignored, getting interrupted, having their complaints dismissed (often with the assumption it’s just due to “normal aging”), and getting a quick, less-than-thoughtful prescription, referral or test in order for the system to save time.  After sharing a story about a maltreated elderly person in the ER who had served in WWII, Lachs points out,

“How eagerly our nation devours the fruits of our youthful labor. But after our fertility has peaked, after our children have been raised, after our country has been defended…what sentiment remains? Somehow we transition from main event to sideshow or worse, an embarrassment that should be hidden out of sight or ridiculed.  We’re underemployed at work despite loyalty to the company and the capacity to contribute. Underserviced at the sales counter despite an appetite to buy and the capacity to spend. Underutilized as a family resource despite the need to be needed and the ability to mentor. And in health care, we can wind up undertreated or overtreated despite having the greatest chance of being helped (or harmed) by the newest dazzling technology medicine has to offer. I’ve seen physicians deliberate more intensely over what to have for breakfast than over whether to prescribe a medication to an older patient.”

Lachs describes the disheartening story about what happened after John Glenn went into space at the age of 76.  Witnessing this amazing accomplishment, Lachs expected the way old people were portrayed to be forever changed. Yet afterwards, major papers ran cartoons making offensive jokes about John Glenn (asking mission control for laxatives, etc.) and other media outlets also mocked him.  Lachs writes, “[w]hat should have been heralded as one of the greatest events in the history of gerontology and human development was being belittled by a substantial proportion of the media. But what was even more curious to me was the public’s willingness to stand by and acquiesce to this frankly prejudiced viewpoint.”

I think mistreatment of the elderly is an American issue.  Our culture is especially youth-obsessed, individualistic, proud of self-reliance, valuing of a hard work ethic and afraid of death, all of which contribute to avoiding dealing with issues of aging.  How the elderly are treated varies very widely across cultures– America isn’t the only one doing an inadequate job.  Some other cultures fail their older members as well, like Paraguay’s Aché Indians who murder their old by axing them or burying them alive (at least partly due to limited food resources). Jared Diamond (author of Guns, Germs and Steel) is currently researching why the treatment of elders varies so much over the world.  This article describes some societal factors contributing to how older society members are treated.

Ways to combat this insidious, underlying issue? Some easily doable ideas: 1) Don’t be ageist.  2) Be aware that ageism exists, especially in the US, and be on the look out for it. Don’t tolerate it when you witness it.  3) Support positive portrayals of older people in our culture–the media/TV/movies/etc.  4)  Use political tools, such as voting for bills that support the elderly.  5) Other ways!  Suggest in the comments perhaps?

We should treasure life because it is, regardless of age; because someone’s worth should not be judged on their ability to generate income; because our elders have much to contribute to society; because they have earned it; because it is simply the right thing to do.  Our elders deserve joy, respect, comfort, and access to meaningful medical treatment.