So, age and ageism are on my mind again today. It’s funny all the ways ageism pops up. This morning I read an article about Paul McCartney in our local paper. Walter Tunis wrote, “Something other than cash has to be prompting a pop elder to maintain the kind of regimen that keeps him onstage in such a high-profile manner well past retirement age.” Paul McCartney is 76, so the assumption seems to be at his age he should just pack it in and be sitting in a rocking chair, drooling waiting for death.
Why are we shocked that Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner and others are still performing in their 70s? As a culture we have to get over the idea that there is a retirement age, past which people ought to just give up and make way for younger people. My father, by his own choice worked until he was 92. He was engaged and vital, funny and thoughtful.
Again, I urge you to look at your language and your thoughts. Examine the ways in which you discount people because of their age. If you’re lucky, you’ll be old one day. How will you want people to treat you?
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