Fear of Aging
For as long as man has walked this earth, he has shown a certain fear of aging. The Bible gives us an alternative to aging in the legend of Methuselah. He is noteworthy in providing the link between the original prophets of Genesis (specifically Enoch) and Noah. His predecessors lived for several centuries and his descendants, like Noah, and he lived to almost 1,000 years. From that time, human longevity kept shortening, with Moses reaching 120 years, but then Psalms 90:10 specifying that men should expect to live to 70 wand perhaps, if they are strong, to 80. Needless to say, these lifespans of the antediluvian prophets and perhaps even esteemed leaders like Moses may have gotten aggrandized in the writing of this legacies. Nevertheless, things must have been good for followers of the Bible (be they Jews, Christians or Muslims), because science tells us a very different story about the history of man’s longevity. That is not illogical if we assume that those who were prosperous enough to spend time recording their and their antecedents’ lives, were likely prosperous enough to live demonstrably longer lives.
Longevity is measured most often as life expectancy at birth and therefore takes into account the once very severe impact of child mortality. Life expectancy in Paleolithic times was in the low 20s and even by the times of the Roman Empire, it was only 35 or so, getting even lower during the Dark Ages. The burden of child mortality on the longevity calculus did not get relief until the mid-20th Century and it has since ceased to be a major constraint with average life expectancy now generally in the 70s around the world with some variability due to regional, economic, gender and educational differences. We know that nature works in logical ways to cause the rate of procreation to be greater if child mortality is greater and that as societal prosperity has allowed for meaningful reductions in the causes of child mortality, people have seen their fertility rate fall further and further, in theory because it is less necessary to maintain replacement. There is a great deal of emphasis on declining fertility at this point, getting as low as 0.72 in places like South Korea and overall approaching a level of 2.0 and below, causing a reversal of the millenium-long global rise in population levels. This all comes as there is also a good deal of debate on the ability to keep overall longevity rising through improved science and prosperity.
In addition to all of that, the aging of the bulging Baby Boomer cohort has led to an inordinate amount of discussion about the topic of aging and how it impacts lifestyle. Much attention is given to lifestyle changes that can put off aging and its detrimental impact on our lifestyle such that we can remain productive members of society. The thinking seems to be that if we submit to aging rather than put it off, we become less able to add value. Let’s admit, first and foremost, that that is a decidedly Western view. Old equals useless. That is far less the case in Eastern thought, where age is equated to wisdom and the aged are more revered than avoided.
At this time there are about 60 million Americans over the age of 65. That’s close to 20% of the population and that statistic will keep rising until the 2030 census. Given the attention being given the 2024 presidential race and that we will likely have candidates who are 78 and 81 years old, a lot of attention is being given to the impact of aging on the brain. Experts are pointing out that “Aging is not an unmitigated process of cognitive decline and deterioration”, but that doesn’t stop 62% of the electorate thinking that Joe Biden does not have the mental fitness for the job or 48% from thinking the same about Donald Trump. This is particularly getting more attention since they have both agreed to two debates, the first one in late June. This is despite people like Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience at MIT saying things like “Knowledge and experience count for a lot, and that can more than make up for slight losses of memory as a result of aging.” Indeed, what we all see as signs of memory loss, like forgetting a proper name, is not considered necessarily a sign of serious dementia. More importantly, it is noted by specialists that emotional regulation, emotional caring, appreciation, and the motivation to be social with others all increase with age (something that is clearly visible in Biden and not so much with Trump). That should say to us that we might be very well-served by a president who can trade a little bit of risk of occasional word salad in his speeches for an empathy for his citizenry and fellow man.
Nevertheless, our country is obsessed by fending off the ill effects of aging. The anti-aging market is said to be a $40 billion market today and that by 2032 when Baby Boomers are all in Senior Citizen category, t will be a $60 billion market. Indeed, whether in reality or just perception, the age of aging is getting pushed further and further out. Its as though we have created our own Fountain of Youth by definition alone. It used to be that the demarcation point for breaking into old age was retirement age…most often defined as 65. Indeed, if we define the worst part of aging to be the susceptibility to non-communicable diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s, then this is a correct demarcation since estimates show that almost 95% of Americans over 65 have one or more of these non-communicable diseases with which they are afflicted to some degree. The concern by institutions like the World Health Organization is that ageism will take the inference of these disabilities and exacerbate them through discrimination, isolation and disrespect to the point where even poorer health and eventually death are accelerated. I was watching a movie about Patagonia at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Life was so harsh on the Pampas that a worker with a disabled arm would be shot because they were perceived as a burden on society, much the way a horse is shot if it breaks a leg. This is an extreme and highly antisocial approach that would necessarily look at aging as a mandate for disposal of otherwise functional members of society.
As I watch the national consciousness these days, I think we need to fear aging less than we should fear the loss of empathy and caring. If someone becomes ornery and negative as they age, we mistakenly think that makes them more vital in their realism. Those that become more sympathetic and emotional are seen as weak and pitiful. I posit the positivism and social conscience of Biden about our country and its prospects as a good thing. It is the negativism and fear-mongering that are exhibited by Trump and the MAGA crowd that should be of concern to us. Fear of aging is misplaced. It was FDR in his inaugural speech in 1933, the moment our nation was propelled into its finest hour and most prosperous half century, that he said “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”. I would update that to say that we have nothing to fear but those who promote fear itself.