Where age is a state of mind
聽As self-designated watchdogs on government, the news media were remarkably quiet Thursday about one aspect of Rep. Nancy Pelosi as she was elected House speaker for the second time. Yes, she is again the most powerful woman in American politics, the chief adversary of President Trump, and the nation鈥檚 third most senior official. But the dog-that-didn鈥檛-bark: a major focus on her age.
Even though she is the oldest person to hold the speaker鈥檚 gavel, the general silence may be a sign of a shift toward a less ageist society. In fact, journalists were almost as little focused on the age of one new House member, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
Ms. Pelosi herself has contributed to this new quietness about age. Last year, she said age聽has 鈥渘othing to do鈥� with choosing people for Congress. 鈥淚f you have a problem with somebody who is older, run for office,鈥� she told CNN.
Such thinking defies the gloom of demographers about the fast-growing cohort of older people around the globe and the alleged burden they might bring. Last year, for example, the World Bank warned of economic 鈥渉eadwinds from aging populations in both advanced and developing economies.鈥�
To Paul Irving,聽chairman of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of聽Aging, such predictions are simply not accurate. They are 鈥渁 byproduct of stubborn and pervasive ageism.鈥� While some older adults cannot maintain an active lifestyle, he writes in a recent Harvard Business Review, 鈥渇ar more are able and inclined to stay in the game longer, disproving assumptions about their prospects for work and productivity.鈥�
Any news stories that did focus on the ages of Pelosi or other top leaders tend to reflect what writer Carl Honor茅 calls the 鈥渟till syndrome.鈥� In a new book, 鈥淏older: Making the Most of Our Longer Lives,鈥� he says we persist in using phrases such as 鈥渉e鈥檚 still working鈥� or 鈥渟he鈥檚 still sharp as a tack.鈥�
The underlying message: Anyone engaging with the world after a certain age is a minor miracle. Such a perspective only boxes people into narrow paths when, if anything, we are in a 鈥済olden age鈥� for older people, he writes, based on three years of research.
鈥淓verywhere, people are embracing aging as a privilege rather than a punishment. They are aging better and more boldly than ever before,鈥� he states. 鈥淎s a result, chronological age is losing its power to define and constrain us.鈥�
The chief obstacle for 鈥渟eniors,鈥� he says, is not their bodies or minds but stereotypes. Perhaps in largely ignoring Pelosi鈥檚 age (or the youth of new members of Congress), the media may be shedding such tropes and their self-fulfilling tendencies. They are learning to drop the 鈥渟till.鈥�
