Basic HTML Version
1 believe profoundly
that our whole society
is sick. If we are
to heal this sick
society and build a
new one which puts
people first, you and 1
have to be
prepared for sorne
extraordinary changes.
in
our society, and calls for nothing
less than radical change in response
to their needs.
Below, a random sampling of
Maggie Kuhn on various topics re–
lating
to
growing old in America.
Our Sick Society
T
be lieve profoundly that our whole
society is sick, and that our sickness
is epitomized by the bigh priorily
we've given to profits and produc–
tivily and efficiency. to the utter
waste of people. lf we are to heal
this sick society and build a new one
which puts people first, you and 1
have to be prepared for sorne ex–
traordinary changes in our own
value systems , in our life-styles , and
in the way in which we conduct our
common life fogether.
Our society is racist , il's sexist,
and it's ageist. Racism, sexism and
28
ageism are built-in responses lo a
society that puts people in groups
that it considers inferior. AU deprive
certain groups of slalus- the right to
control their own destinies and lo
have access to power, wilh the end
result of powerlessness. All result in
social and economic discrimination
and deprivation. All deprive Ameri–
can society of the conlributions of
many competent and crealive per–
sons who are needed lO deal wilh
our vast and complex problems. All
result in individual alienation, de–
spai r, host ility, anomie. To be
eliminated, all will require the
mobilization and commitment of
many of us to changing our present
nalional priorities and política! pro–
cesses, public and prívate in–
stitutions, and social policies and
theories.
Ageism infects and pervades our
whole Weslern society.
lt
infects us,
the aging, when we rejecl ourselves
and our gray hairs, when we lie
about our age, when we lake elabo–
rate precautions to keep from even
recognizing that we are getting o ld .
On Being Called " Senior Citizens"
We old people take all kinds of whal
I consider very derogatory lan–
guage. The euphemisms are really
insults. .We don ' t say [various racial
epithets] anymore. If we do, all
kinds of people correct us. And
you're bleeped off the air if you do
it on television or radio. But we are
not "seniors"; we are
old.
I think we
need sorne new Language, a nd 1
think we need to guard ourselves
against the kind of language used in
our society and the media. 1 think
we can redeem those words "old
age." They ought lo have new
meaning and affirmation.
The Graying of the Universe
Al the present time there are about
24 million people over 65 years of
age and more than 31 million
people over 60, and it's con–
servatively estimated that by the
year 2020 lhe old will outnumber
lhe young and that we will have
perhaps between 40 and 50 million
people in America who will be old.
Th is
is
also a worldwide phenome–
non. You might say il's the graying
of the universe. In 1970 there were
29 1 million people over 65 in the
world population, and it's estimated
thal by the year 2000 lhal number
will be more than doubled ; that
there will be 585 million, according
to present projection. Just 25 years
from now!
The Myths of Aging
There are certain myths lhat have
been reinforced by this society.
1) "Old age is a disease" - a patb–
ological, loathsome state even more
repugnant than venereal disease.
2) "Old age is mindless." Educa–
tion is for the young, we say. " You
can't teach an o ld dog new tricks."
"Education is for the kids." and
"Who do those old folks think they
are, going back to school?" There
are a ll kinds of educational op–
porlunities that very few people in
proporlion lo our numbers are tak–
ing advantage of. And 1 think we
need lo examine very closely why
they are oot.
3) "OId age is sexless." Adult chil–
dren have been brain-damaged by
lhat myth. " Mother, at your age–
why, the idea- it's preposterous!"
"Grandfather- not really!" We get
lhese reactions, instead of a rejoic–
ing lhat there can be that surge of
humanness, a reaching out lo an–
other for support and love and es–
teem. And we too have been brain–
damaged to think that sex is not
for us. But I'm here to say lhat it is.
4) "Old age is useless." We build
·obsolescence into all the things we
make. We don' t make lhings to last ;
we make things to wear out, even
before they're paid for. And the
sarne kind of obsolescence rubs off
on people.
The mylh of the uselessness of old
age brings us to sharply evaluate the
whole meaning of work and play in
our society. Abolishing mandatory
retirement is just the béginning-it 's
not the answer and it's not the ulti–
male solution.
r
like lo lhink that
there can be a whole new view of
work, flexible work; thal teams of
people could do a job; thal a couple
cou ld share a job and share the
maintenance of a home and share
sorne public responsibilily. But not
a ll of our waking momenls and our
energy must be devoted exclusively
to earning a living and keeping our–
selves alive. There oughl to be sorne
leisure, lhere ought to be sabbatical
The
PLAIN TRUTH March 1978