Exciting Book! "The Making of an Elder Culture"

This new book by Theodore Roszak looks intriguingly on target for a lot of the things I believe Marsha's been talking about in our social policy class. I can't wait until inter-term to have the time to read it!

The Making of an Elder Culture: Reflections on the Future of America's Most Audacious Generation

The Making of an Elder Culture reminds the boomers of the creative role they once played in our society and of the moral and intellectual resources they have to draw upon for radical transformation in their later years. Seeing the experience of aging as a revolution in consciousness, it predicts an “elder insurgency” where boomers return to take up what they left undone in their youth. Freed from competitive individualism, military-industrial bravado, and the careerist rat race, who better to forge a compassionate economy? Who better positioned not only to demand Social Security and Medicare for themselves, but to champion “Entitlements for Everyone”? Fusing the green, the gray, and the just, Eldertown can be an achievable, truly sustainable future.

Ellen Langer = Brilliant.

I first stumbled across Ellen Langer in the article I quoted about Ageism and Health Outcomes. in an effort to hunt down the root of her quote, I came across this review of Langer's latest book, "Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility," in The Situationist.

Here are some of the main points from The Situationist article I like:

...we are all victims of our own stereotypes about aging and health. We mindlessly accept negative cultural cues about disease and old age, and these cues shape our self-concepts and our behavior. If we can shake loose from the negative clichés that dominate our thinking about health, we can “mindfully” open ourselves to possibilities for more productive lives even into old age.

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Most people try to dress appropriately for their age, so clothing in effect becomes a cue for ingrained attitudes about age. But what if this cue disappeared? Langer decided to study people who routinely wear uniforms as part of their work life, and compare them with people who dress in street clothes. She found that people who wear uniforms missed fewer days owing to illness or injury, had fewer doctors’ visits and hospitalizations, and had fewer chronic diseases—even though they all had the same socioeconomic status. That’s because they were not constantly reminded of their own aging by their fashion choices. The health differences were even more exaggerated when Langer looked at affluent people: presumably the means to buy even more clothes provides a steady stream of new aging cues, which wealthy people internalize as unhealthy attitudes and expectations.

We are surrounded every day by subtle signals that aging is an undesirable period of decline. These signals make it difficult to age gracefully. Similar signals also lock all of us—regardless of age—into pigeonholes for disease. We are too quick to accept diagnostic categories like cancer and depression, and let them define us. . . . [W]ith a little mindfulness, we can try to embrace uncertainty and understand that the way we feel today may or may not connect to the way we will feel tomorrow.

This Proves My Point on Ageism

This proves my point, right now, about ageism.

A search for "Ageism" on Google pulls up a shocking low return of 652,000 references.

As a point of comparison - "Sexism" on Google presently garners 4,230,000 results, and "Racism" on Google gets a whopping 23,000,000 returns.

No matter what your race or gender, all people are born with the potential, if they're lucky enough, to be aged. Yet, the discourse around ageism is minute compared to that of other biases and cultural prejudices.

In our Social Policy class, a few of us are working on a project about Language, Ageism and Policy. Essentially, we're researching ways that raising awareness about the usage of negative or positive labels regarding the older population can have a cultural impact. The fact that there's such minuscule discussion about the topic of Ageism as a whole confirms that this is a "hidden" problem, though it's hidden in plain sight.

My point is - let's get talking about "talking about" aging and stereotypes!

Now, how can we utilize Social Policy to get that going?

Link Between Ageism & Health Outcomes

Some notes for me to refer to later for our project in the Social Policy class:

According to the March 2006 Journals of Gerontology and Social Sciences, “Among 546 people ages 70 years and older, those who had negative images of aging (describing older adults as senile, feeble or stooped) were more likely to experience hearing loss than those who had positive images (describing older people as wise or active).” On the other hand, those with a positive aging self-image live and average of 7.6 years longer than those with a negative self-image.
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For older adults to accept the stereotypes as future reality is to threaten their future health and well-being. If there is a single myth about aging that most symbolizes our dread, it is the assumption that our memory will decline in old age. In a stunning study, Harvard psychologist Dr. Ellen Langer demonstrated that it is the near-universal expectation of memory loss that actually brings that fate upon us. The fear of aging is the single most powerful agent creating exactly what we fear. Accordingly to Langer, “As people age, low expectations lead to decreased effort, less use of adaptive strategies, avoidance of challenging situations, and failure to seek medical attention for disease-related symptoms.”

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To avoid creating unintentional negative perceptions, PRAXEIS avoids the use of words that sound institutional or might trigger negative mental images. Managers and operating team members are encouraged to use members instead of residents; residences or homes instead of units, beds, or apartments; and neighborhoods instead of facilities. They avoid using words like senior, elderly, continuing care, or retirement community all together. These are just a few of the words addressed in the growing Life Fulfilling Community Vocabulary to help redefine community living for life’s second half. Our simple rule to combat aging stereotypes is “if a word, title or description sounds institutional, negative, or ageist” do not use it.

Life Fulfilling Community

Nifty Stats from the Page that Counts at Yes Magazine

Average annual health care costs of an elderly person with income under $10,000/year: $14,692

Average annual health care costs of an elderly person with income over $30,000/year: $8,855(4)

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Number of American medical schools, out of 126 surveyed, that required students to take a course on death and dying before graduation: 4(13)

The Page that Counts

Schools Should Include Housing & Community Services for Elders

William Thomas (thank you Nancy for the introduction to his work!) is the proponent for the term "Elder," and many, many notions that flow from that concept.

I thought this was brilliant as it relates to Francie's theme of promoting inter-generational melding:

For thousands of years, relationships between young and old have made life better for both groups. In Eldertopia, all school construction and remodeling projects would include housing and community services for elders.

From "What is Old Age For?"

Grandperson?

I kind of like the ring of it.

From this article on language, children and ageism.

Ageist Language

Had to clip this from the Encyclopedia of Aging and the Elderly because I wanted to keep track of the references at the bottom:

ageist language - Ageist language is the term for words and phrases commonly used to refer disparagingly to older people. While there are some terms that are intended to honor the old (e.g., senior citizen, golden ager, old-timer, mature citizen), others are derogatory. They include some that apply to older women-bag, hag, harridan, crone, biddy, and even witch. For men the terms are fewer and perhaps not quite as unpleasant- codger, coot, geezer, mossback, etc. Other terms attribute disagreeable habits and personality traits to older individuals: crank, fogy, fossil, fuddy-duddy, grump, miser, reprobate, DOM (dirty old man), and cantankerous. Yet others single out the physical weaknesses of the older generation-- doddering, tottering, rickety, decrepit, frail, shriveled, long-in-the-tooth, moribund. Older people are sometimes characterized as mentally incompetent, as when a well-intended younger person will comment that an older person is "still sharp as a tack," as if to suggest that the old in general are mentally dull. Terms that disparage the mental state of the old include rambling, dotty, driveling, gaga, second childhood.
Even the names of nursing homes and retirement communities may inadvertently contribute to the ageist lexicon by calling facilities by such soppy titles as Tender Care, Crystal Pines, Leisure World, Forest Villa, Happy Time Rest Home, instead of employing more straightforward language.
Two publications designed to prevent ageist portrayal of older people now exist: Truth About Aging: Guideline for Accurate Communication and Media Guidelines for Sexuality and Aging. Continual vigilance will be necessary if ageism is to be reduced significantly, if not eradicated from our language and literature. One positive step has already begun in this regard. The newly established national intergeneration organization, Understanding Aging, Incorporated, has recently established an award for authors who portray the elderly in a realistic and nonstereotype fashion.

Nuessel, F. "Old Age Needs a New Name," in Aging, Goldstein, E. C., ed. Vol. 2, Art. 70. Boca Raton, Fl.: Social Issues Resource Series, Inc., 1981.
Spencer, M. E. "Truth About Aging: Guidelines for Accurate Communications." Washington, DC: AARP, 1984.
Wisnieski, C. J. "Media Guideline for Sexuality and Aging," in Television and the Aging Audience. San Diego: University of Southern California Press, 1980.

Wow.

Wow. That's all I have to say. I just had to clip this response in total from the article on "Older Workers Need Not Apply" in the NY Times.

This is just a part of what Laurence J. Kotlikoff wrote. What do you think???

Pay the Aged Less

The solution?

First, modify the Age Discrimination Act by establishing a national age-productivity reference profile that employers can use to defend pay cuts they feel they need to impose on their older workers in order to retain them.

Second, scrap employer-based retirement programs in favor of a Personal Security System under which all workers would invest 8 percent of pay in a global stock/bond index fund. The government would split contributions between spouses, match contributions by the poor, convert balances at retirement to inflation-adjusted annuities, and guarantee that retirement balances equal at least what one contributed adjusted for inflation.

Third, scrap employer-based health care in favor of a Medical Security System under which all Americans receive an annual voucher to buy a basic health plan for the year. The size of the voucher would equal one’s expected costs under the basic plan. So those with pre-existing conditions would receive larger vouchers. The aggregate voucher budget would be set at 10 percent of G.D.P., which means the country won’t go broke.

Fourth, scrap the current tax system in favor of the “FairTax” plan, which is equivalent to a very low, flat-rate wage tax plus a one-time tax on wealth plus a monthly “demogrant.” This “right-wing” proposal is something every Democrat should love. The tax is implemented by taxing all retail sales. In my version, I’d tax the consumption services (called imputed rent) from living in your own home. Such a broad-based FairTax would have a very low rate. Indeed, most older, as well as younger, workers who move from paying roughly 40 cents of every dollar earned to Uncle Sam to only 18 cents.

This will give older workers plenty of incentive to stay on the job.

Thoughts???

Older Workers Need Not Apply

This article in the NY Times got a lot of hefty response.

Here's some of the gristle:

How can I supervise someone who has more experience than I have, how do I motivate them when they are less concerned about the carrot of promotions or the stick of being fired? Managing older workers in fact doesn’t require rocket science, but it does require a more collaborative approach that respects their expertise and engages their interests.

Another interviewed expert:

Older workers are desperate. Their 401(k) plans are devastated, and they realize they do not have enough to retire. My guess is that they are clinging to their jobs. If we had data on quit rates — which we don’t — I bet the rate for older workers has dropped sharply. And long tenure and anti-discrimination laws make it hard to fire older workers... But older workers without jobs are a different story. No law can really prevent the “not hiring” of older workers.

The International Longevity Center

Nancy sent me this great article on ageism, though I agree with her comment that it's a little too hoo-rah, swinging to the opposite end of the spectrum on what's expected in aging.

The article led me to the International Longevity Center site because the ILC's founder, Dr. Robert N. Butler,coined the term "ageism" in 1968.

I thought Karen's group would be particularly interested in the work that the ILC is doing related to aging and corporate America. I also like the consistent messaging of the "Age Boom" and "Longevity Revolution" on the site. Very positive. It turns the notion from "aging" to "living longer."

The National Academy for Teaching and Learning About Aging

While researching a class project ageism and how it's played out in our language, I came across the NATLA site. The broad subject of our project for the social policy class is to combat ageist attitudes in language usage via a social policy program. NATLA fits neatly with that, in that it's entirely about teaching to counteract ageism.

What Do You Call Older People?

The study by the AARP referenced in this article is an example of a Research and Development project on ageism.

This site is just a treasure trove of good info. This is a list of the key understandings that the National Academy for Teaching and Learning about Aging is trying to get into school curricula.

The Value of Existentialism in Meaning of Death?

I gave up on existentialism after reading Kafka's "The Trial" in college and getting very, very bummed about the meaningless of it all. This was in a literature class, mind you, not a philosophy class, so I didn't have anyone outlining what "existentialism" was. This was kind of like getting thrown into the deep end of the pool without a helmet. Or a life jacket. You get my point.

Roll forward a number of years and I downloaded a podcast on "Death Anxiety" aribitrarily on iTunes. The lecture was given by Ernesto Spinelli, an existentialist therapist from London, at a 2008 Conference on Personal Meaning. It was re-broadcast as a portion of a larger episode of the podcast series called "Big Ideas."

Anyway, I found the lecture to be pretty phenomenal in outlining the usage of contemplating meaninglessness as a way of creating meaning. I don't know... made sense at the time.

All I know for sure is that I feel like a more evolved person for having listened to it (while commuting to class the other day!), and I post it here because I know that some aspect of my studies in this Masters in Gerontology program I'm in will revolve around aspects of death and dying.

Here's the link to info on the podcast, where you can listen to it streaming:

http://www.tvo.org/TVOsites/WebObjects/TvoMicrosite.woa?bi?1229202000000

Here's where you can download Spinelli's portion of the podcast on iTunes. WARNING: This link will automatically attempt to open iTunes on your computer so you can get the podcast. If that's what you want to do, great! Otherwise, don't click. Once iTunes opens, scroll through the episodes until you find the one from 12/13/08, and there you have it!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=129166905

"Public Option" Option Not Yet Dead in the Water

This speaks to the power of the press and perception. The Huffington Post published two articles yesterday that covered the same issue - where the Public Option option stands in Congress.
Robert Creamer's interpretation is upbeat, as he figures that the 'near miss' of a passage connotes a "Growing Momentum for Public Option." On the same day, the aptly named Ryan Grim reported that the "Public Option Amendments Fail in Senate Finance Committee." I suppose it's all in how you look at it.

Thoughts?