Time With Sands – Ageism On The Ballot

I came across this article, asking if the age of the candidates should be on the ballot when voting. I find this extremely off-putting and they even quote someone as saying America is a “gerontocracy.” Is this blatant ageism here to stay in politics?

— Janet P.

Ageism is one of the -isms that often gets left unchecked in every aspect of our lives. I’m not surprised to see this sort of rhetoric in the media and we can expect it to continue. 

One point the article discussed was how age is just one facet of these candidates. Their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, education, and political experience are other aspects of them as individuals, but we have singled out their age. This truly shows the insidiousness and pervasiveness of ageism in our society.  

This article does a great job of highlighting that age does not equal decline in cognitive functioning. And this is why it’s essential for the study of longevity and gerontology! Living longer is a new phenomenon and we need new science and research to back up what we know. 

Ageism is all around us—let’s work to address it at home, in the workplace, and even in our politics.