The ongoing Presidential election—now with a new candidate—has featured a boatload of cultural themes one of which is rampant, divisive and gone virtually unchecked for months. Ageism.
It may be that President Joe Biden (who happens to be 81 years of age) does lack sufficient mental stability to engage, campaign, effectively communicate and fulfill the terms of his office. It may also be that former President Trump (who happens to be 78 years of age) may be the same. But cause and effect logic seem rapidly lost in such discussions and in a way that is scurrilous and unacceptable to American seniors.
Biden’s recently observed behavior undercut his credibility. This included traits we may sensibly associate with the normal process of aging in many people. Surely his psychological make-up, challenges born to a stutterer, unusual (unspeakable?) history of family grief, values and what not make him who he is today at 81 years and its something seemingly not desired in our next President. But whatever challenges he endures they are not necessarily a by-product of someone who is simply 81 years old. Plenty of folks that age would show none of these symptoms if they were in the same circumstance as Biden.
Similarly, Trump at 78 is prone to meandering word-salads that sometimes make him sound especially cringe worthy. I’m not talking about the vitriol of his messages (though often there is that) but rather the basics of noun, verb, point etc. No doubt this behavior reflects on his personal life traits and experiences including the seldom-noted point that he operates with about an 8th grade reading and verbal ability (and always has). His unique mish-mash communicative style is for the the American people to decide if it disqualifies him from high office at his advanced age.
But simply being 81 and 78 respectively makes no one “too old” for office. Again it may very well be that these particular gentlemen show traits often associated with aging as undesirable in our Executive leader. But to assert, in turn, this disqualifies any in that age cohort from the same or similar office is simply wrong.
Yet such a meme has raged for months against both men and not all of it from a partisan politics place. Just as we would never say someone is too black, female, fat, thin, bald, hairy, young (the Constitution does require a President to be 38 and we already have a 39 year-old VP nominated this cycle) pierced, tatted or whatnot to pursue this office—so too should be our same sensibility about age. Yet we have lost our way on this big time right now and that bodes poorly for a country whose birthrate is at 1930’s levels while everyday we become an older and older culture.