Elderly don’t have the best role in our society. They live alone, if they are lucky. If not, and are not fit enough, they sit in a nursing home all day, waiting for death.
And now, at the time of coronavirus, it has even worsened. We hear people saying that the disease is not so worrying, because “only old people die”. Yes it’s true, but some 70 year olds are fit and still enjoy doing a lot of activities, and could do so for 20 more years. In Italy hospitals are now obliged to choose who to save, fair enough I would say, emergencies call for extreme measures, but I can’t help thinking that we lack respect for the elderly. Isn’t there anything in the middle, between relentless therapy – that we carry on non-stop in peaceful times – and what’s happening now?
Some random thought that crossed my mind lately, as coronavirus is spreading around the world and my father sits in a nursing home all day long, while the three possible future US Presidents are between 73 and 78. How come ordinary people have to retire from work at 65, falling into a useless-and-invisible-to-society category, but American presidents get to run for elections at 78? If the brain is like a muscle, why aren’t young people valued as the smartest? If we (still) think elderly are the wisest, why do they occupy such a small role in society, unless they are politicians?
I was also thinking that, similarly, children’s position within society has changed. For instance, how we treat and bring up children nowadays is very different from how for instance my grandmother experienced childhood. Children now are at the centre of attention all the time, every small desire of theirs a whim to satisfy.
Maybe elderly’s position will change again. If the European Commission’s projections are correct, 51.2% of the EU population in 2070 will be over 65. Maybe by then this category will have an active role again. Even movies like The Intern, that do contribute to improving old people’s image, are not so positive, as the main character doesn’t know how to use social media, and nobody cares if he has an actual professional experience and skills. Old characters in movies are either sweet & wise or mean & cranky.
Blabbering of a millennial 