Blog 3

At the beginning of the semester, I had a conversation with friends about my Aging in America course. We argued about our perceptions of growing up. I took a relatively positive outlook, whereas a few of my friends decided they had no desire to live to "old age," when their bodies begin to deteriorate and they are unable to preform any activity they want. I was shocked. It never occurred to me that some people would simply prefer not to live, than to live in old age.

Really? Of course, they backed up their point with all of the negative aspects of aging that the media focuses on, such as living in nursing homes where abuse and neglect are prevalent. In addition, they also didn't want to look old. They would prefer to spend their younger years care-free and do everything they want. Then when the fun ends, and their bad habits have finally taken a toll on their mental and physical health, they don't want to deal with the consequences.

I'm not really sure how they intend to just "not get older," or even, when their cut-off age is. As much as I feel this ideology is a drain on society, who am I to tell them how to live their lives? I imagine they will eventually grow up to regret some of their decisions, and then depend on the rest of society to support them. Its hard to tell someone to live healthier so they can live a full life and not require assistance when they get older, when they refuse to think about how their actions will effect everyone around them.

This is where I find my own internal conflict. I would like to say that those elderly, who have taken no precautions to sustain a healthy life, should deal with their repercussions and not get extra sympathy just because of their age. However, that would solve nothing in the end. I can't imagine living in a society that allowed everyone to suffer until death because of long ago decisions. This is why I am pleased that there seems to be a media push targeting healthier lifestyles. Granted, I don't particularly like magazines covers that boast beauty at any age, featuring 60 and 70 year olds who's sole claim to health seems to be their beautiful facial skin. Although, this does show a clear trend towards thinking about our future health.