So many of us are in denial about aging perhaps we should do away with the term “old.” What might we call ourselves in a society hooked on staying young? This fellow has an opinion. If you like what he has to say, pass it on.
Here’s a transcript of this comedy bit:
And we have no more old people in this country. No more old people. We shipped them all away and we brought in these senior citizens
Isn’t that a typically American, twentieth-century phrase? Bloodless, lifeless no pulse in one of them. A senior citizen, but I’ve accepted that one. I’ve come to terms with it. I know it’s here to stay. We’ll never get rid of it. That’s what they’re gonna be called so I’ll relax on that but the one I do resist, the one I keep resisting, is when they look at an old guy and they’ll say, “Look at him, Dan. He’s 90 years young!” Imagine the fear of aging that reveals, to not even be able to use the word old to describe someone, to have to use the antonym.
And the fear of aging is natural. It’s universal. Isn’t it? We all have that. No one wants to get old, no one wants to die but we do so we bullshit ourselves I started bullshitting myself when I got to my 40s. Soon as I was in my 40s, I’d look in the mirror and I’d say well, I guess I’m getting older. Older sounds a little better than old, doesn’t it? Sounds like it might even last a little longer.
Well, I’m getting old and it’s okay because thanks to our fear of death in this country I won’t have to die. I’ll pass away or I’ll expire like a magazine subscription.
What happens in the hospital. They’ll call in the terminal episode, the insurance company will refer to it as a “negative patient care outcome” and if it’s the result of malpractice they’ll say it was a therapeutic misadventure.
I’m telling you some of this language makes me wanna vomit. Well, maybe not vomit. It makes me want to engage in an involuntary personal protein spill.
This is just one of a series of brief but insightful selected videos I am posting that dispel basic myths, spotlight simple pleasures and demonstrate what is possible when we change our views on aging.
As you view each video, consider for yourself, how much society stands to gains when we switch our thinking from measuring people in terms of “years of value,” to “value in their years!”
Age discrimination impacts us all. Join me in making a difference now!
P.S. To purchase beautiful, practical WoA gifts CLICK HERE. Buy the book! CLICK HERE.
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