Statistically, we are living longer in North America because of better nutrition, health care and medical innovations. As a senior myself, I have a lot of concerns about how we treat elders. COVID demonstrated how inadequate our long-term care facilities and senior residences were and continue to operate. First and foremost, the issue of increasing longevity is a major one given that we have an aging population. In addition, we have a society that is still primarily focused economically and socially on youth as was the case for much of the mid-twentieth century and on. The fact that the U.S. has a current president who is over eighty should tell us something, instead of raising concerns over his age in terms of a possible second term. Ageism is a factor in our everyday lives. Take it from someone who has faced it first hand.
In other societies, elders are treated with much more respect and consideration. These seniors often have experienced things, such as wars, persecution and severe poverty: things which none of our younger generation has ever really had to face head on. Many immigrated to the U.S. and Canada after the Second World War in search of better opportunities for themselves and their families. Their stories represent the history of post-war immigrants who fled following the collapse of European countries and the emergence of the Soviet Union, and their efforts to create new productive lives in both countries. I myself was an immigrant making up this historic migration when my parents came to Canada shortly after the war.
For those who fought in the war, we frequently recognize them as the “greatest generation”, many shaped by the Great Depression and who represented the primary generation composing the enlisted forces in World War II. In past years, they had an important place in our society in light of their sacrifices and experiences. They passed on their values of working hard and sacrificing for their families, especially their children. Now, many who were part of the so-called greatest generation are slowly disappearing. They are no longer there to serve as valuable role models for my generation and our youth. Instead, in our micro-family society the role of elders has been diminished and diluted to the point of blatant obscurity. In most cases, they are no longer living with their children and their families. They are often placed in senior residences and long-term care facilities. Some seniors are fortunate enough and financially able to stay in their homes with available home care. However, for some seniors, this possibility is unaffordable or simply unavailable.
Interestingly, it’s somewhat ironic that both countries have federal governments where the elected representation is one with more seniors proportionately represented in comparison to the general population. For example, the 118th Congress is the third oldest since 1789 and the average age of Congress has been climbing since the early 1980s. Today, the average age in the U.S. Senate is 63.9 years, and 57.5 years in the House of Representatives. In Canada, the average age in the federal 39th parliament is about 52 years. The Canadian senate has more seniors because members, appointed by parliament for their experience and past contributions to Canadian society, can sit in the Senate until the age of 75.
When it comes to governance, including the judiciary, there is much more recognition of the value of knowledge gained through life’s experiences. Unfortunately, this recognition is not always carried over into our daily lives. One only has to listen to the stories of our elders to realize their important contributions to our society, no matter how small and distant. They are part of our history which needs to be recorded for posterity, thereby becoming part of their legacies. The next time that you encounter a senior, take the time to listen to their personal histories and stories. After all, they helped to contribute to our society’s foundation and to those changes which helped us evolve into today’s modern society: socially, politically and economically. We owe it to the elders not to simply ignore them, but to treat them humanely with the respect they deserve as invaluable assets.
FROLITICKS 