Consultant Doug Weinstock muses on "National Older Americans Month"

I had an awareness that May is “Asian-Pacific Heritage Month” in the U.S.

Only as the month was about to begin did I learn that it is also “Older Americans Month” (originally “Senior Citizens Month”, until renamed in 1980 by Jimmy Carter).

As a 72-year-old, this set me to wondering and thinking….

• Is this is a month designated to honor us or pity us, or some combination of both? (identity is determined both by how we view ourselves and by how others view us)
• When does one qualify as a member of  the “older Americans” group (and how does that differ from being “old Americans” or “oldest Americans”)?
• Reflecting on the fact that my father died shortly before his 62nd birthday, I suppose he never got to be an “older American” and maybe not even an “old American” in the eyes of many; my mother now at age 96 is certainly one of the “oldest Americans” – spending her time in a long term care facility, with her waking hours in a wheelchair, and no longer able to read .
• Thinking about the racial disparities that determine the likelihood of who will survive long enough to become an “older American.”
• Realizing that it’s likely some of my internalized ageism, I’ve been wishing there was a law that nobody over 70 could become U.S. president (twice the youngest age permitted under the law) – and yet that won’t prevent me from voting for anyone over 70 running against 45.
• In this covid-19 era, I’m starting to redefine my self generationally as a “baby zoomer” more than a “baby boomer” and that comes with mixed feelings: some joy as I gain minimal competence using Zoom and other virtual platforms (and maybe I’ve already maxed-out), sadness over the loss of providing in-person trainings/workshops, fear about how well I can (and how much I want to) do this “virtual stuff” – with implications for continuing to do the work I’ve been so grateful to be have been doing.
• I have admiration for those, typically “young” and “younger” folks, who have the technical capacity to adeptly navigate the virtual world, and appreciation for those who have the willingness to patiently help us “older Americans”!

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