This article is reprinted by permission from NextAvenue.org.
During the second Presidential debate of 1984, in response to the question of whether he was too old to be president, the 73-year-old incumbent, Ronald Reagan, deflected the question by good-naturedly teasing his 56-year-old Democratic opponent, Walter Mondale.
“I will not make age an issue of this campaign,” Reagan says. “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
Of course, Reagan was well aware of the reservations a number of people had about someone his age continuing to hold such a demanding job. Playing on those concerns by flipping them gave his quip extra punch.
““The reality is that the racial, ethnic and gender makeup of our political leadership does not accurately reflect the demographic makeup of the country. So why are we singling out age as the primary defining characteristic?””
— Tracey Gendron, chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Gerontology and executive director of the Virginia Center on Aging.
But at the time, Reagan wasn’t the only older person with power in Washington. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill was 72, and Senate President Pro Tempore Strom Thurmond was 82.
Although pessimistic views about getting old have been a longstanding feature of American culture, being a politician of advanced age didn’t carry as much of a stigma back in the 1980s as it does in this election cycle.
Recent articles and op-eds in newspapers and magazines have cited the ages of long-term officeholders — 25 Senators are more than 70 years old and 76 Representatives are at least that age — to suggest that the United States has become a gerontocracy, a government ruled by old people.
There’s a reason for this growing preoccupation with lawmakers’ ages. “We are living longer, healthier lives than ever before,” says Tracey Gendron, chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Gerontology and executive director of the Virginia Center on Aging.
“The average life expectancy in the U.S. is rising, and that trend will continue,” she adds. “Longevity at this scale is a relatively new phenomenon, which is why this conversation is happening more and more.”
Nevertheless, Gendron notes, “describing present-day America as a gerontocracy is an easy, convenient and frankly lazy way to argue the current state of American politics…Age is but one component of a political leader’s identity, as are race, gender, education and experiences, etc.”
“The reality is that the racial, ethnic and gender makeup of our political leadership does not accurately reflect the demographic makeup of the country,” she says. “So why are we singling out age as the primary defining characteristic?”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is 89.
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The politics of ageism
Gendron, the author of “Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It,” believes that ageism has permeated political discourse and that what qualifies people for public service should have little to do with their birthdays. Further, the same criteria for not judging people in other occupations should be applied to political figures as well.
Other experts in the field of aging agree.
“The media have often used derogatory terms like ‘silver tsunami’ to describe the rising numbers of seniors,” notes Dr. Dilip Jeste, professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at the University of California San Diego and past president of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.
“This has led to greater scrutiny of older leaders in politics and elsewhere,” Jeste adds. “Just as people should not be stereotyped and stigmatized because of their sex or race/ethnicity, they should not be discriminated due to their chronological age.”
Like any other “ism,” ageism categorizes and stereotypes people, ignoring the variety of their individual backgrounds, experiences and traits.
“America is diverse, and age is just another part of that diversity,” says Paul Irving, senior fellow and founding chairman of the Center for the Future of Aging at the Milken Institute and a 2016 Next Avenue Influencer in Aging.
“The argument [that America is a gerontocracy] simply reflects negative age bias,” he adds. “Power is found in the hands of people of all ages. Joe Biden is old; Mark Zuckerberg is young. Nancy Pelosi is old; Pete Buttigieg is young. Greta Thunberg is young; Al Gore is old.”
“There are people of all ages in positions of influence; there people of all ages living in the shadows. Power derives from social status and a wide range of social determinants, not from age,” Irving says.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is 88.
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The value of older leaders
Since longevity alone doesn’t explain the reason why older people may hold positions of political power, could there be other factors related to aging that explain why they do?
A case could be made that the leaders of government bodies have been able to rise to those positions because they have been re-elected multiple times and thus over the years have honed the political skills necessary to do their jobs.
“Many people mistakenly think that our development ‘stops’ at some point (e.g., ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’),” says Gendron. “But throughout our entire life, as we age, we continue to develop skills and abilities resulting from our years of experience.”
Adds Irving: “If someone is intelligent, informed, cognitively healthy and passionate about their work, experience and maturity are likely to enhance their effectiveness. Older adults know how to navigate, to deal with internal politics, and to reach multi-sectoral solutions.”
Jeste, who gave a 2015 TEDMED talk on elder wisdom, makes a key point.
“Chronological age is different from biological age — including brain age,” he explains. “Some people in their 80s and even 90s are cognitively functioning at a higher level than some in their 50s and 60s.”
“It is true that the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias increases with age,” he says; “however, it is worth noting that a majority of older people do not develop dementia. Nothing happens overnight on the 60th or 70th or 80th or 90th birthday to make people incompetent as leaders. Aging is heterogeneous — that is, as people get older, they become more different from one another. There is no one size of age that fits all.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is 80.
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Youth have a place in politics
That’s not to say that young people who seek political office lack advantages or gifts. “Youth bring energy, excitement, ambition, and innovation,” says Jeste, “while older adults bring empathy, emotional regulation, self-reflection, and openness to diverse perspectives, which all are components of wisdom.”
But he poses this caveat: “Needless to add that not all the youth and all the seniors exhibit these traits, but many do.”
That’s the point experts want to make. In elections, considerations other than age should matter at the polls.
“There is no age at which someone is ‘too old’ to run for office or to do anything else,” says Gendron. “Make a determination based on specific issues, views and actions. How well does the candidate represent your personal ideology? Will they support the causes you support?”
“Focus on the person, not their birth date,” advises Irving. “Whether they are old or young, these decisions should be made based on the candidate’s capability, integrity, leadership skills, performance, and similar factors — about the quality of the individual, not their age.”
In short, there’s no room for age on the ballot.
“For the human species to not just survive but also flourish and thrive,” explains Jeste, “we must make use of the complementary strengths that different generations tend to display. Numerous studies have clearly shown that when different generations work together, everyone benefits.”
Social gerontologist and Ageful Living blogger Jeanette Leardi is a Portland, Oregon–based community educator and public speaker who gives popular presentations and workshops on ageism, brain fitness, creativity, health literacy, and caregiver support. Her essays, articles, and book reviews have appeared in The Charlotte Observer, The Oregonian, the Dallas Morning News, Stria, ChangingAging, and 3rd Act Magazine.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
