The WHO estimates that by mid-century, two billion people will be over 60 years old — but rather than welcoming an abundance of wisdom, most Australians simply see a tsunami of cost, writes Lyn Bender.
THE ABBOTT GOVERNMENT has proven itself to be pretty much a dunce when it comes to understanding the complexity of humanity.
The current government takes a ham-fisted mechanistic approach when a nuanced organic sensitivity is required. It manages people and complex social issues — like bikes instead of, say, frogs. You may remove a wheel from a bike and replace it with another.
When you cut off a frog’s leg the whole organism ‒ like an ecosystem ‒ is damaged.
Legendary folk singer and civil rights activist Pete Seeger's recent passing, at the age of 94, has led to an outpouring of tributes and acknowledgement of a valued life.
On one of his last interviews, Seeger was asked about the death of Toshi Seeger, his wife of almost 70 years.
He reflected on the depth and value of their long lives together:
“We needed each other…. Although we were quite different in certain ways, we supported each other”
Peter Seeger was a gentle social revolutionary who survived the McCarthy era and was a tireless advocate for peace. In the period from 1951 to 1957, the fascist inquisitorial Senator Joseph McCarthy was hysterically pursuing ‘reds under the bed’ — suspected Communists sympathisers, including those in the entertainment industry. Seeger narrowly escaped a gaol term for refusing to co-operate with the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee).
As far as I know, Seeger never claimed to be rendered humble by any accolades — he just was humble. In 2011, he joined the Occupy Wall Street protest in Manhattan, singing what has become known as the Anthem to the civil rights and many other protest movements: We shall overcome.
Two days after the march, he said:
“Be wary of great leaders. Hope that there are many, many small leaders.”
His attitude to life might have been expressed in a 1994 interview, when Seeger was a mere 74 years old.
He performed the song: How can I keep from singing?
And declared softly to interviewer Bill Moyers.
“I don’t have any voice anymore but that sure is a good song.”
Does this epitomize the bittersweet joy of ageing?
Perhaps the capacity to do many things is diminished or lost. Despite this, old age can be a time when the appreciation of many small or great things may be heightened.
However, by listening to the public and media discourse in Australia, you mightn’t think so.
Daytime television urges the elderly to not burden their families and to ensure that enough money is invested in a scheme to pay for their funeral. This produces distress and annoyance in many elderly (including my 94 year old mother) who as market placement professionals recognise, watches a lot of daytime television.
The coming spike in the ageing population has been dramatically likened to a tsunami.
This is a windfall for marketing companies who, since the South East Asian Tsunami of 2004 has rendered us all capable of recognizing this metaphor, have added it to their advertising lexicon with gusto. It arouses anxiety and likens ageing to something sinister that will swamp and engulf us.
If the oldsters were like refugees and arriving in boats, there might have been a campaign to stop them. But instead, they lurk within our midst and future in the millions, lining up with their Zimmer frames and mobility aids to invade our overstretched services.
Indeed, since being elected treasurer, Joe Hockey has used the projected hoards of the elderly, and other welfare recipients, to invoke fear of budget catastrophes and health insurance explosions. A horrible fate is depicted and implied for us all as we age. We become the unattractive drain and burden on able-bodied taxpayers.
The pièce de résistance 'solution' is the suggestion that those receiving unemployment benefits could work for the dole in aged care facilities, thereby solving the problem with a 'genius stroke'.
This is no country for the unemployed, impoverished, or the vulnerable, nor for the physically and mentally disabled and those who have extra needs.
Ageism is part of the spin that underpins a claim of a looming budget blowout in healthcare. Our increased longevity ‒ particularly in western affluent countries ‒ bears some of the “guilt”; but it is a worldwide phenomenon according to the World Health Organization. Without denying the practical necessities that must be considered in an aging population, I am dismayed by these negatively focused predictions, [disconcertingly designated as applying to people 65 years and over].
All right I must out myself, I am 66.
One of those pie-in-the-sky left wing organic soy latté progressive boomers with no head for figures who are going to clog health services and destroy the viability of Medicare — unless the prudent and provident Abbott Government saves us from ruin and privatises healthcare, of course,
It only adds insult to injury that the Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing ‒ set up by the former government ‒ has been dumped. This failure to listen to experts, yet again, may cost us dearly in illness, depression and loss of productivity.
The chair of the former Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing, Everald Compton, Tweeted recently:
I chair Federal Panel on #Ageing. Have been sacked. 6 months needed to finish Blueprint on how Australia can turn Ageing Tsunami into asset
— EVERALD COMPTON (@EVERALDATLARGE) November 7, 2013
I can forgive Compton the tsunami metaphor, but it is less easy to forgive such a mean-spirited action from our Government — although, of course, we have the famed ‘budget crisis’ to manage. But just giving aging a bad press and punishment is a head in the sand approach to the reality of projected demographics.
What harm does this do to all our psyches to depict aging in such an antipathetic way?
While it is true that ageing can open the gateway to disability, with potential loss of functions – including memory cognition, mobility, hearing and sight (sorry that does sound depressing) – it may also bring unexpected rewards and new opportunities for stimulating activities. Apparently, you are never too old to join a bookclub, as demonstrated by a group of ’90-somethings’ in the John Paul 2 Village in Adelaide.
Whilst many can readily admire respect and embrace the more famous elders of note who have recently died ‒ such as Nelson Mandela (95), Pete Seeger (94) and novelist Doris Lessing (94) ‒ we denigrate the humble plebian unknown elderly. The less revered aged person seems to become, in our society, merely the onerous millstones dragging productive members of society down the plughole. They are not portrayed as people who have much to contribute — other than costs.
But this is the myopic glass bone dry view of the world.
Several studies have supported the aeons-old awareness that age brings wisdom — or, at least, it can.
As the brain slows with age, it facilitates the ability to be less reactive and to avoid impulsive decisions. In other words, enabling reflection on possible consequences and the making of better choices. The elderly are less driven by dopamine ‒ the reward hormone ‒ thus shielding them from proneness to addictive impulse. They are likely to be able to make more big-picture judgments and to take the long term view.
Older people have seen history unfold.
They have known youth and its longing and seen it pass. They have seen seasons, wars, generations and fashions come and go. They are likely to be more in touch with the existential challenges of mortality and to be accepting of this as coming to all. They have had more time to make mistakes and to learn from these. They have less time left so they value time more. The aged have experienced loss and survived. Loss is such a big part of every life. The aged have been through its school many times. Research also shows that, as people age, they become happier, more content and have a more positive outlook on the world.
That’s right — older people are happier than young adults.
Older people have improved knowledge expertise and report decreased levels of stress worry and anger.
According to psychologist Laura Carstenson, professor at the Stanford Center for Longevity:
“… more years were added to life expectancy in the 20th century than all years added across all prior millennia of human evolution combined.”
So, this is a brand new phenomenon. Professor Carstenson attributes this as due to cultural and scientific evolution, not species evolution.
I have been hanging out in an aged care home recently with my mother and her new friends. Despite visible impairment I am confirmed in my observations of the vitality and emotional viability of the aged. They visibly enjoy music communication companionship and laughter.
They support each other. They reflect on the passing of time. I find it peaceful to sit amongst them.
But with the current zest for speed, the wisdom of older folks often passes away unrecognised. It seems easier to Google questions on the internet to find an answer, forgetting that wisdom is passed on through personal encounters.
How we experience older people and frame our own lives in the future is strongly influenced by role models.
From infancy humans learn through play and imitation. Adults continue to crave the wisdom and example of a mentor guide or guru.
In the sage words of Pete Seeger:
“… even the disasters [of climate change] may teach us. I’ve made lots of fool mistakes in a long life, but you keep trying. That is something the human race needs to be reminded of ‒ to never give up. We shall overcome.”
We have huge challenges for the survival of our species in the coming decades. The inexorable warming of the planet is the biggest challenge ever presented to humanity. We will need the energy of youth and the wisdom of the aged to adapt and change, and to overcome great odds.
You can follow Lyn Bender on Twitter @Lynestel.
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