There’s a new book out entitled “The Age of
Dignity” in which the author makes the point that America had better get ready
for the “elder boom”, referring to the 10,000 “baby boomers” who are turning 65
every day in the United States. The book addresses the reality that by 2050, 27
million Americans will need varying degrees of supportive aging services.
In a recent National Public Radio interview,
Ai-jen-Poo, author, says the following: “The way that we approach aging and
dying in this country is from a place of scarcity and fear. And what this book is saying is that getting
older is actually a blessing and an opportunity. Living longer is about loving longer,
learning longer, teaching longer, and connecting longer, if we figure out the
supports and infrastructure to make all of that possible.”
So Ai-jen-Poo says we Americans approach aging and
dying from “a place of scarcity and fear.”
Doesn't the term diminishment
fit here?
After articulating the positive aspects of aging,
the author says that all this is possible if
we ‘figure out’ the necessary supports.
Doesn't the term Culture Change
fit here?
What do you believe about aging? Do the concepts of diminishment and decline
so totally encompass your view of aging that you see it as a time defined by
depression and loss?
Do you see your future in a traditional long-hall nursing
home
n
That is run like a mini-hospital,
n
Where one’s days are determined by staff-imposed
schedule and staff convenience,
n
Where a common sight is slumpers in wheelchairs
-- those are residents who have totally withdrawn within themselves because the
external environment is unbearable,
n
Where meal time is spent in interminable waiting
at assigned tables, where waiting time and meal time are spent in silence,
n
Where “Activities” have replaced what really
gives life: Engagement?
If you see aging and/or aging services in the ways
described above, then you are among the multitude of Americans who view aging
from scarcity and fear.
What are you willing to do to change the culture
of aging and aging services in our society? If one is not changing the culture, s/he is sustaining
it.
Come on, Prophets, let’s “sing to the lamentations
the music that is in the Heart of God.”
(Carol Zinn, CSJ, Presidential Address, LCWR Assembly, August, 2014)
