The New York Times – Sunday Review – Opinion – The Liberation of Growing Old – By ANNE KARPF – Published: January 3, 2015
With the prevalence of the terrifying prospects of the Social Security machine, the demise of the pension (huh…what’s that?) and the reality of an imminent dramatic increase in the population of retirees in the Unites States, it is easy to follow why so many 20 & 30-somethings leak scornful disdain for the older generations. Their un-metabolized fear comes honestly.
Yet, ageism is a prejudice against one’s future self. We begin to age from the day we enter the world and, if we’re lucky and we work at it, we can approach our senior years with a rich sense of vitality, engagement, self-worth and curiosity. We can continue to grow, to be engaging and useful, to experience richness and meaningfulness, until our dying day.
Anne Karpf is a British-based journalist and sociologist, and the author of “How to Age”.