Being 50 to 65 years old is like being between a rock and a hard place in 2010 - Too old to be hired for work, but too young to qualify for a pension or Social Security.
The big FIVE-O is about where most potential workers are left on the sidelines. When we were younger we weren't chosen for the team if we weren't big enough, quick enough, tall enough, or old enough.
We couldn't WAIT to be older so we could hang out with the older kids and do all those cool things they could...like stay up late and watch those scary movies.
We used to lie about our ages to be older so we could buy beer or drink in a bar, or to get a certain job, or to drive a car, or to join the Army.
We never used to be old enough to do many things, but now it seems people think we're too old to do anything...as if they themselves will never be 50 to 65 years old. And what happens to those people who think so - when suddenly they themselves are also "old"?
Let me explain to them.
Aging is as natural as birth and death, but younger people consider it a handicap. Maybe it is - I myself am a little slower than I was when I was 21; but I also know that I'm not going to live forever anymore either. Age does have some advantages...like acquiring more common sense.
In most cultures outside the U.S., the elderly are respected and taken care of by their families and society as a whole. Here, they're tossed to the curb like an old beer can.
I remember very well when I used to be 21 and considered myself somewhat "cool" for my time. I once drove a sports car, customized a motorcycle, played guitar a little, smoked pot around a campfire on the beach in California (when it was once permitted - the campfire, not the pot - that wasn't permitted in those days).
But when I was doing all those things (enjoying my youth), I never outwardly disrespected older people; though I must admit, because of my immaturity and lack of understanding, I did privately feel some ridicule for them.
It's impossible to explain these things to younger people...but when they get older themselves and gain more life experiences, they ALL eventually understand this point of view (if they are lucky to live long enough).
It's all part of nature's life-cycle. You're born, you get a driver's license, you get laid, you get a hangover, you get a job and work like a dog all your life. Then you get insulted for being old, before you finally slow down, get sick, and die. It happens to all of us. It will happen to your wife or husband, to your mom and dad, to your brother and sister, and it will happen to you...no matter how young, cool, and pretty you are at this moment in time. You will get old and you will be discriminated against.
Some of the older people get angry at the younger generation for harboring those feelings of age discrimination - - - but me, I get angry at the employers (the enablers) who have the economic power to perpetuate this discrimination on the elderly. Profits and productivity is always the argument. 30-year-old managers are going to hire 21-year-old punks to boss around - not older people with more experience than them!
If you're 21 today, plan on facing this same dilemma when you too are older...trust me, I know, it will.
And some of the younger people are angry at the older generation, as if we're in their way, slowing down progress, or somehow denying them of something. To them I say,"Look in a mirror. One day you will be me."
Now I have to go...I'm old and tired and have to take my daily nap.
See all my well-researched posts on the current unemployment situation:
The New Poor - Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/02/21/the-new-poor-millions-of-unemployed-face
The Jobless and Suicides in 2010
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/07/out-of-work-buy-a-shotgun
Government Jobs (Bigger Government) Drive Employment Numbers
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/03/01/government-jobs-bigger-government-drive
Actual Unemployment in 2010 - Recession Worse than Reported
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/02/04/actual-unemployment-in-january-2010-rece
Deep Recession Shows No Sign of Letting Up - Maybe Getting Worse
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/02/24/deep-recession-shows-no-sign-of-letting
Largest U.S. Labor Union: AFL-CIO says Jobs Won't Return
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/01/07/largest-u-s-labor-union-afl-cio-says-job
More Bad News for the Unemployed in 2010 - and Beyond
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/02/23/more-bad-news-for-the-unemployed-in-2010
Almost 1 out of 5 People are Out of Work in the U.S.A.
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2009/12/31/unemployment-december-2009-new-release
FOX News Wages War on Unemployed - Thinks They're Lazy
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/03/02/real-reason-why-extended-unemployment-be
Tea Party, Fox News, and Conservatives Attack the Unemployed
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/04/tea-party-gets-in-wrong-on-unemployment
Extended Unemployment Benefits in 2010 - Fully Explained
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/02/16/extended-unemployment-benefits-in-2010
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