Killing Off the Elderly

So when you're older, you need to slow down, take it easy, don't run around so much, visit the doctor more often, and, for goodness sake, act your age. 

Let's face it, our society, via well-ingrained social filtering, actively conspires to kill off the 'elderly'.  People, defined as 'old' because they've reached a certain age number, begin to be made to feel fearful for their health and safety.  And, it is out of this resulting fear, fabricated through self-perpetuating societal myths about what happens to you when you "age",  that you, as an 'elderly' person, start to visit the doctor and the medical community more often.

The fiscal incentives of more frequent geriatric visits to Medicine Inc., must lead to, by design, pharmaceutical prophylactic prescriptions and, in some cases, prescriptions for real, but minor ailments -- not to mention the accompanying psychsomatic damage that is strategically placed by some practitioners and institutions. The pharmaceuticals and the medical 'advice' ("well, you need to slow down now"  i.e., don't take physical activity too seriously) actually conspire to begin a cycle of downward spiraling health.

You're not exercising as much now because this is "a bit much for someone of your age". The new regimen of prescription drugs will most definitely present side effects like, for example, wiping out flora in the intestinal track (bowel movements and digestion affected), destabilizing normal body chemistry (cell and molecular structural damage) or the negatives that accompany the drugs' interaction with healthy organs (brain, liver, heart, lungs, etc., damage, however minor).  Repeat use of some of these pharmaceuticals, especially in the presence of other drugs, can cause balance problems which cause falls which lead to more doctor and hospital visits and more prescription drugs, ad nauseam.  And so now there is an ever greater acceleration of spiraling concern and even more caution, resulting in still less activity or desire to be active.

Meanwhile, people around you feed into this sanctioned dismemberment as well, continuously reminding that, "well, you're getting older now, you're not as young as you used to be, you're in your twilight years . . . bla, bla, bla . . . " all of which conspires to make you feel, well, old (or, actually, sick).  At this point the 'elderly' attribute all malaise and discomfort to old age, even though more than a few fifteen year olds out there are suffering from the exact same 'malaise'.

Society defines what 'old age' should look like for us and this results in your own family, friends, co-workers, etc., conjuring up reasons to ramp up the chiding -- chiding that is designed  to drum you out of existence. In the realm of nature, this is normal.  There needs to be room for the young -- resources are limited in a physical environment, and old people in our millennial society are all but vestigial appendages -- or so we're given to believe. 

Older people need to realize that they are having their demise created for them. There is an urgent imperative:  those 'of age' need to take control of their environment, disassociate/disconnect from mindless societal ranting (yes, even from their own family. . . probably the worst), and feel confident in shaping one's own present and future. You're not dead until you are, so let no one around you convince you that you "can't" because you're "too old."

While we are rousting the older members of our society out of existence, it should probably be noted that these very same 'elderly' are best placed to make the most meaningful contributions to our community if for no other reason than the wisdom that accompanies longevity.  And because of this single truth, it's difficult to look away from the possibility that we may, after all, be planet Earth's least savvy inhabitant.

So, now that I've gotten that off my chest, I think it's time to try out my newest skateboard and street skate over to the drugstore and pick up some Geritol. I'll work on my olis on the way, and when I get back, grab my surfboard and paddle out and get the sickest waves I can find.  I'm getting more comfortable with the stares.