I'm not a person who's afraid of aging. And good thing, too, because there’s not much choice.
It came to mind recently as Americans seem very obsessed with the age of U.S. President Joe Biden. Even the leader of the free world is getting discriminated against for his age. He is 80 and, if elected for another four-year term after this one, would be 86.
There’s a New York Times/Siena College poll showing the current president losing ground to Donald Trump. The poll found Biden trailing Trump in five out of six battleground states, including Arizona, Georgia and Michigan.
David Axelrod, former president Barack Obama’s senior advisor, says the Democratic Party can’t ignore this.
“Only Biden can make this decision. He needs to decide whether it's wise to run again, whether it’s in his best interests or the country’s," Axelrod said.
The fear is, of course, from his party, that if Biden is seen as weak then it gives Trump another kick at the can.
Axelrod states: “Trump is a dangerous, unhinged demagogue whose brazen disdain for the rules, (norms), laws and institutions or democracy should be disqualifying.”
The Democrats must be scared silly that Trump could win again.
In my opinion, that is frightening for any number of reasons, but not because of age. I personally put no stock in that. If a person, any person, can physically and mentally perform a job, he or she should be allowed to do so.
What’s so odd is that Trump isn’t much younger. He’s 77. Physically, he certainly doesn’t seem in better shape than Biden. Far from it.
Mentally? I’ll leave that for the reader to ponder.
Canada has had older prime ministers, such as Jean Chretien, and younger ones, too, like Justin Trudeau.
Politics aside, I think it has more to do with intelligence, energy, stamina and desire if a person can continue in a job.
I always felt every workplace is most efficient and successful if it has employees of various ages and experience. They can help each other. At each stage of life, we all have something to offer.
We’ve likely all experienced some version of age discrimination in the workplace. There seems to be no lack of it. Whether it can be proven, in court, is another issue, though.
When I frequent any business, I like dealing with an older person for certain things, because they talk my language.
For instance, if I'm buying an appliance, I prefer to talk to a person who has sold hundreds of them. Not to say a younger person doesn’t have the same knowledge. It's just a preference.
If I’m in the market for technology, I like to deal with someone who is up with the latest trends. That may not necessarily be a young adult, but many times it is.
My point is we need a varied labour market. I feel we should judge people by their abilities, not their age.
Don’t dismiss anyone because of how many years they have or haven’t been around.
