by Larry Johnson
There’s a lot of talk going around in the media these days about age. When are we too old to work, to play, to contribute our ideas, our talents, our advice? It used to be that societies respected their elders and turned to them for guidance and direction. But nowadays there seems to be a growing tendency to want to question the competence or mental health of some of our prominent public figures because of their age.
I’m not saying that all old people are fully capable physically or mentally for every job. I sure wouldn’t qualify, or want to be, a Super Bowl quarterback. But I’m still able to work on my computer, write articles, conduct meetings and manage my checkbook.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that older Americans will account for 57 percent of the country’s labor-force growth in the coming decade. The share of older Americans who are working, by choice or necessity, has doubled in the past 35 years, according to a report released last month by the Pew Research Center.
At 77, John Van Horn works 40 to 50 hours a week as editor and publisher of a small parking industry magazine and has no plans of slowing down. Wilmar Jensen is still a practicing attorney in Modesto, California. He turned 95 in December and has no plans of stopping.
Louise Aronson, geriatrician and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco says, “Some of the assumptions that underpin arguments against older workers include the idea that they are slower and more expensive than younger workers.” She argues that there are huge benefits to having people with different skill sets and of varying ages. “We know that older people are more likely to make the right decision when presented with information,” she says. “They are more likely to have emotional intelligence.”
At 84, Seatle therapist Nina Shilling isn’t planning on retiring anytime soon. “As long as people want to come to see me, I’ll keep working,” she says. Italian-born fashion designer Pierre Cardin continued to work until age 98. Angela Lansbury, British actress, with over 100 television and film appearances and four Tony Awards, continued working until her death at 96. And Queen Elizabeth II lived an active life to age 96 as well.
Perhaps most startling is that workers age 75 and older are the fastest-growing group in the workforce, according to Pew’s analysis. In her book “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism,” Ashton Applewhite writes: “Ageism is prejudice toward people based on their age. It’s not about how we look, it’s about how people treat us. They discount older persons as ‘over the hill,’ ‘old-fashioned’ and relegate them to less meaningful jobs.” American culture is youth-centered, she pointed out. “There are many prejudices related to aging. Older people are too slow, forgetful, more likely to get sick or have a fall. However, excluding older people from decision-making robs society of an immense amount of knowledge and experience.”
Some people are already old when they turn 35, while others at age 90 are still vibrant and alive. Aging doesn’t happen overnight; you don’t suddenly wake up and have graying hair and wrinkles under your eyes. It’s a long process. Likewise is the acquisition of knowledge, patience, and experience. It takes time. Accepting our age and that of others paves the way to acknowledging it as an accomplishment to be claimed with pride. To borrow and slightly alter a famous quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Let us not judge other people by the number of years that they have lived, but rather by their talents, their experience and the content of their character.