From: Jonathan Standley (standley@rcn.com)
Date: Sun Jan 26 2003 - 04:00:35 MST
Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
> For heaven's sake people we have 40+ million deaths a year from aging,
Fair Warning, some may find the following offensive -
I think that aging at the moment is a pro-extropian phenomonon. At least in America. Other parts of the industrialized world this isn't so much the case, as all segments of the population generally speaking have more 'enlightened', tolerant, and humanistic attitudes compared to the United States. In the US, the most politically active segment of the population (65+) is also generally speaking a negative social force. Bigots, fundamentalists, and all-around complete assholes abound in any demographic, but nowhere more so than in the elderly. I am not stereotyping, simply making an honest observation that has been derived from a rather diverse set of experiences and situations. I live in the northeast US, a place that, like the west coast and the great lakes urban agglomeration, is the progressive, liberal part of my country. Common attitudes among the elderly, over a wide range of issues, are often downright poisonous. The most vile of them are normally the members of the generation that went through the great depression as adolescents, and then fought in ww2. They lived through the worst period in America's history since the civil war, and for many it seems to have hardened and embittered them, leaving them devoid of charity or compassion and self-serving at the expense of the common good. If it's like this in the progress-oriented part of the nation, you can imagine what it's like in the south and rural midwest...
I do not hate old people, and I'm not engaging in the trendy America bashing that is so popular among wanna-be intellectuals. Im just being honest about how I feel. This does not mean I wish ill for America's intolerant and backwards people. I would never support anything that discriminated against the old or the ignorant; if I had the power to halt the aging process in every person over 65 in the us I would do it without a second thought. but...
To be blunt, age and its related illnesses are removing a cultural element that is decreasing the viability and fitness of our society. A real factor in the problem is the apathy of the younger people in regards to the political process. The 18-25 demographic (which I'm part of) are the most apathetic by far, and it infuriates me to end. I try to do what I can, by attempting to get my friends and peers interested and involved in America's decision making process, but its somewhat of a losing battle.
I should probably know better than to say the above stuff. I feel it needs to be said, even if all that comes of it are a few flames :(
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