Susan Cunningham, a local activist, has put a video up on YouTube about the problem with electing a 72 year old president. She’s 69, and she talks about the problems she experiences at her age. This is no harsh diatribe; it’s a sympathetic look at the problems McCain’s age would present, whether you like his policies or not.
The more of us who click on it, the higher it will rank and the more viewers are likely to find it on YouTube’s home page.
Susan gave us the short, printed version of this speech in a diary here about three weeks ago, but she’s decided to reach a broader audience. We can help her make it a broa-oa-oa-der audience. Feel free to click on it often and leave comments.
but neither does Ms. Cunningham. Speaking from the gerontological perspective, her comments are frankly ageist. Chronological age is really not a definer. Biological aging is more accurate and is the result of a multitude of factors, including health, diet, activity and most of all heritage. Some people are old at 40. Others, not until 90 and of course some are ageless.
Look at Jimmy Carter, quite a few years past 69 and still a vital contributor to society. His mother Lillian Carter joined the Peace Corps at age 68 and served almost two years in India. Longevity has increased dramaticallly over the past decades with more and more living into their 90s. John McCain’s mother is 90+ and still very much her own person.
More and more we find that genetics plays a big role. Gerontologists frequently say, “If you want to live a long and healthy life, choose your parents carefully.
Chronological age is not a definer but we should guard against using it as such b/c to do so invites discrimination.
Getting old sucks…it just does. That is not to say that many older folks don’t make significant contributions to Society. They do. I am 56 and have big plans for my retirement at age 62. My wife and I are nurses and we look forward to working in Medicin Sans Frontiere or Peace Corps.
I think that Susan’s point is that John McCain is displaying signs of early senile dementia in his frequent gaffes. Remember the “3:00 AM” question?
I do not want to imagine John McCain at 3:00 AM…int he Whitehouse…in a crisis…trying to collect his thoughts.