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In Praise of Older People

By Pat Racimora on November 22, 2009 at 10:00 AM in Current Affairs

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Older people, especially older female people who live longer, appear to be targeted as one feature of the “final solution” to our economic meltdown. (We seem to be incapable of going after the greedy and the incompetents who got us into this mess.)

So, no more recommended mammograms for women over 74. Huge cuts in Medicare. Big Pharma ups the cost of meds, many of which are used mostly by seniors.

But what will our country look like if seniors are given little choice but to die off before their time?

If you could see my grandmother, you would recognize her immediately from my toon. Were it not for Grandma, my single mom, sister, and I would have been homeless. We lived with her until I was 10, and she helped pay for my college education.

I am hardly alone. According to the last census (and reported in 2003), 2.4 million grandparents had the primary caregiving responsibility for their grandchildren younger than 18. Among these, 39 percent had cared for their grandchildren for 5 or more years.

And then there are vacation periods when parents must still work every day but school is out. Millions of grandparents care for their children’s school age kids during the summer months. Many millions also baby sit for their kid’s kids on a regular basis.

And how would your church or temple get by without older folks? You may not always see them up-front-and-center-stage, but they are busy keeping things going.

Volunteerism is huge among older people. Look at who’s assisting in classrooms, at food banks and kitchens, at polling places, on grand juries, and so on. Lots and lots of gray hair.

And today’s old people are not your father’s grandparents rocking the day away on the front porch. They are out and about, going back to school, traveling, and learning new tricks. Many still have a job. And even those who are ultimately too frail and ill provide thousands of jobs to gerontologists and eldercare givers.

So whereas seniors have indeed paid their dues by working hard and raising and educating their kids, it is simply wrong to think of the so-called “golden years” as composed of those who no longer have anything to contribute. Seniors still do a lot of heavy lifting to help make our country go round!