You don’t have to look far to find essays on the importance of societies learning to value older people.
In one example from a few years ago, contributor Percil Stanford wrote for Forbes that the title “older person” “should be a symbol of strength and a repository of treasured experiences and wisdom.
“We can ill afford to not avail ourselves of all that everyone has to offer throughout their life span,” he said.
Well … I think the United States can check this one off its list. We honor our elders so much we keep electing them as our most important and powerful leaders. Voters just replaced the oldest president in history with someone who is 78. At the same time, they elected the third oldest Congress on record.
It’s unclear whether this is a good idea.
In one example from a few years ago, contributor Percil Stanford wrote for Forbes that the title “older person” “should be a symbol of strength and a repository of treasured experiences and wisdom.
“We can ill afford to not avail ourselves of all that everyone has to offer throughout their life span,” he said.
Well … I think the United States can check this one off its list. We honor our elders so much we keep electing them as our most important and powerful leaders. Voters just replaced the oldest president in history with someone who is 78. At the same time, they elected the third oldest Congress on record.
It’s unclear whether this is a good idea.
What it is not, however, is unique. On the list of world leaders by age, 82-year-old Joe Biden isn’t even in the top 10. Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon, will be 92 next month. Muhammad Yunus just took control of Bangladesh at age 84.
Why is this happening? Are there no young folks with aspirations for power?
I’m not sure there is an answer. However, this willingness to empower the elderly comes with some obvious risks.
Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying, “With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” And, let’s face it, sometimes age and wisdom come together, but wisdom decides to go home early.
Last year, Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, seemed to vanish mysteriously from the halls of Congress, missing more than 300 votes. In reality, she had been checked into an assisted-care facility. Her constituents, like the rest of America, didn’t know this.
Granger is 81. She didn’t run for re-election last year. Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is 91 and in the middle of another Senate term. He is the oldest member of the Senate, but no one seems to be questioning his abilities.
This subject is not new, nor is this the first time I have addressed it. It is, however, bound to emerge again and again as the nation keeps electing senior citizens. Solutions, if any are needed, remain elusive.
A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted last August by Harrisx found 62% of Utah voters saying there ought to be age limits applied to elected offices. But when asked what that limit should be, popular answers ranged from 80 (12%) to 60 (13%), The largest percentage, 29%, chose 70, with 65 coming in a relatively close second place at 22%.
But, of course, the problem isn’t age, it’s cognitive ability. Getting back to Oscar Wilde, age and wisdom may part ways at different ages, but sometimes they remain steadfast friends for life. Many can point to elderly people who remain sharp, thoughtful contributors to society, just as some people suffer from dementia at a relatively young age.
Some have suggested cognitive tests for office holders. But agreeing on such a thing in a political body, just like anything else in a political body, would be fraught with endless arguments over details. It’s also unlikely any lawmaker would relinquish a duly won seat without a fight. Not too many years ago, Strom Thurmond, at age 100, used to enter Senate committee rooms with the help of aides, reading questions his staff had prepared for him. As the New York Times reported, his chief of staff made most of the decisions.
Certainly, voters deserve to know who is truly representing them.
The newly elected 119th Congress has an average age of 58.9 years. The average in the Senate is 63.8, and in the House it’s 57.7 years. Measured differently, the median age in the Senate is almost 65 — the traditional retirement age. Nearly half, 49, are at least that old.
The new Senate is only slightly younger than the 63.9 average of the last Senate. However, these calculations, made every two years on the first day of the newest Congress by @unitedstates project, do not include newly elected West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice, who will be sworn in Jan. 13, and who is 73.
Between the House and Senate, 20 members are 80 or older.
Signs of a youth movement are emerging. A majority of the Senate are baby boomers, but Gen X has a slight lead in the House. Only one representative, 27-year-old Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., qualifies as Gen Z.
To be sure, elder care and abuse, and a lack of respect for the wisdom and knowledge that comes with age, remain problems in much of society. Sadly, not everyone can be elected.
Why is this happening? Are there no young folks with aspirations for power?
I’m not sure there is an answer. However, this willingness to empower the elderly comes with some obvious risks.
Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying, “With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” And, let’s face it, sometimes age and wisdom come together, but wisdom decides to go home early.
Last year, Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, seemed to vanish mysteriously from the halls of Congress, missing more than 300 votes. In reality, she had been checked into an assisted-care facility. Her constituents, like the rest of America, didn’t know this.
Granger is 81. She didn’t run for re-election last year. Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is 91 and in the middle of another Senate term. He is the oldest member of the Senate, but no one seems to be questioning his abilities.
This subject is not new, nor is this the first time I have addressed it. It is, however, bound to emerge again and again as the nation keeps electing senior citizens. Solutions, if any are needed, remain elusive.
A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted last August by Harrisx found 62% of Utah voters saying there ought to be age limits applied to elected offices. But when asked what that limit should be, popular answers ranged from 80 (12%) to 60 (13%), The largest percentage, 29%, chose 70, with 65 coming in a relatively close second place at 22%.
But, of course, the problem isn’t age, it’s cognitive ability. Getting back to Oscar Wilde, age and wisdom may part ways at different ages, but sometimes they remain steadfast friends for life. Many can point to elderly people who remain sharp, thoughtful contributors to society, just as some people suffer from dementia at a relatively young age.
Some have suggested cognitive tests for office holders. But agreeing on such a thing in a political body, just like anything else in a political body, would be fraught with endless arguments over details. It’s also unlikely any lawmaker would relinquish a duly won seat without a fight. Not too many years ago, Strom Thurmond, at age 100, used to enter Senate committee rooms with the help of aides, reading questions his staff had prepared for him. As the New York Times reported, his chief of staff made most of the decisions.
Certainly, voters deserve to know who is truly representing them.
The newly elected 119th Congress has an average age of 58.9 years. The average in the Senate is 63.8, and in the House it’s 57.7 years. Measured differently, the median age in the Senate is almost 65 — the traditional retirement age. Nearly half, 49, are at least that old.
The new Senate is only slightly younger than the 63.9 average of the last Senate. However, these calculations, made every two years on the first day of the newest Congress by @unitedstates project, do not include newly elected West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice, who will be sworn in Jan. 13, and who is 73.
Between the House and Senate, 20 members are 80 or older.
Signs of a youth movement are emerging. A majority of the Senate are baby boomers, but Gen X has a slight lead in the House. Only one representative, 27-year-old Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., qualifies as Gen Z.
To be sure, elder care and abuse, and a lack of respect for the wisdom and knowledge that comes with age, remain problems in much of society. Sadly, not everyone can be elected.
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