***Attitudes are Improving

Be encouraged that Americans' attitudes toward aging are improving.

Television, radio and print media have story after story about how we can't afford to support the swelling ranks of seniors. Some stories suggest young people will be stuck with supporting a legion of seniors who got in on the Social Security "multi-level marketing scheme" but Social Security won't be there for them. The stories could easily create a battle of the ages that would dwarf the battle of the sexes.

Americans aren't buying it. In a December 2004 nationwide survey of 2,092 adults, a Harris Interactive Survey conducted in Dec. 2004 found:

Only 9% agreed that: "With Medicare and Social Security, older people receive more that their fair share of benefits."

Only 4% agreed that: "Older people are a burden to society."

Only 4% agreed that: "Older people don't contribute much to society."

83% agreed that: "Older workers work as hard as young and middle-aged workers."

92% agreed that: "Older people are just as interesting as younger people and middle-aged people."

Why? Because we see more employed seniors from the greeter at Wal-Mart to Supreme Court justices. The sheer number of seniors out and about that results in just about everyone having contact with seniors. Perhaps it is experiencing seeing how seniors are often more knowledgeable, conscientious, and polite than younger workers. Perhaps it is the political weight of Baby Boomers who are redefining age as mostly a state of mind. It is possible that some of the people gave politically correct answers. Even if that is the case, it is still progress.

It is heartening to know that at the very time we are aging, attitudes toward seniors are becoming more favorable--again. I say again because in most of history, seniors were valued and revered. It was only in the twentieth century that we became obsessed with youth culture and tried to marginalize seniors.