Aging

The whole idea of "affirmative aging" is silly, patronizing, and trivial. This, of course, is my bias. But that's what opinions are about. Bias.

For one thing, when does aging start being affirmative? If getting born at all has any special value, then in most cases aging is affirmative from the start. Suddenly to start calling aging affirmative at some arbitrary stage in life is absurd, sounds like an AARP fund-raiser, and is probably insulting to God.

Our diocese has (or has had) an affirmative aging "program." I'm never sure exactly why. The fact that its "director" seems always to be parttime ought to tell us something. There's even a chaplain -- volunteer, I think, for lack of anything else to do -- who sends out hearts-and-flowers cards with soap-opera messages on birthdays and anniversaries. The bishop doffs his mitre once a year and invites the "seniors, spouses, and survivors" to lunch. Otherwise, to the senior clergy, he's more often out-to-lunch. He'd spend his time better invading Iraq.

"Survivors" is a comforting thought on the face of it. It has an obituary creepiness and hokey TV show ambiance. I'm never sure what it means. Survivors of what? Vestry meetings? Reinventing some ecclesiastical wheel every decade or so? Holy Week? Life?

There's a lot of untapped experience and maybe even wisdom out there among what the Brits lovingly call "old age pensioners." Surely there's a better way to use it. -- JLD

[COVENANT, Number 17, June 2004]