Boldly Oldie

The radio, a media that requires delightfully more imagination than screen, voiced this morning that it is "older people who don't believe in global warming". It would have been easy to ignore this witless statement, but it was made by a well-known science guy who should know better. First of all, he's an oldie himself and second of all, I doubt that his charge is accurate. This individual lumping one large group of people into a single dark, unproven statement such as this, is  not only ignorant but defamatory, if not prejudicial. If this man, he's no gentleman, is truly a scientist and not merely riding on the backs of scientists for his show biz money, he ought to present facts in an authoritative manner. Since the famous earth-caring, Dr. Suzuki, an older man, would be included in this media science guy's implosive blurt about age being part of the world's problem, he could at least provide us with some proof. It reminds me of how the older set are regarded by many younger people in our youth-yearning society. There is a great misunderstanding of aging. It is not entering the stupid stage of life, it is merely the natural process of everything living on earth to age, and as such, needs to be understood as much as growth. As our lovely blue planet ages, we, the ones who have been watching it all our lives, we elders, likely have a better picture of where we stand biologically than those who are newer on earth. We have seen the stages and grieve for the losses on the planet, but at the same time, we as citizens, pay our taxes and our daily living expenses the same as those who are still earning money. Our hard-earned money over the many decades, is no longer worth what it was, and thus we live, most of us, in a very practical style. We don't waste, we recycle, we don't overuse. We don't need the fashion labels or foreign cars or restaurant foods at the same rate as Millenials. We also don't have the same credit burdens. But we feel the ills of the world as much as anyone. We've done our jobs. It's our time to rest but that's not always possible, lovely as it sounds.  Many  elders who are daily accused of taking up medical services and time,  have also had to support  grown children and grandchildren, donated and volunteered to make society a better place for all and statements like the one by this science guy, are untrue and unwelcome. I know a couple of retired people who have taken in five grandchildren with parents who are drug addicts. They are old but they are full of love not only for their grandchildren, but also for the world those children will be entering as adults. To hear elders being told they aren't aware of global problems is ridiculous. They have more time to learn about our environment and to make every effort to erase their "footprints". It would be nice to hear the good news about elders and not always words of blame.