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Empower Yourself
I just read an article titled The Lies Those Of Us Over 50 Were Told When We Were Young on the Huffington post. Well, I'm over 50 and love the book Lies My Teacher Told Me for opening my eyes to how much historical misinformation we are taught in our schools, so I eagerly clicked on the link to the Huffington Post article. Here is an excerpt:
I come from a generation that was given certain promises. My generation was told we needed to do well on the SAT. We were told we needed to have leadership positions in clubs and other extracurricular activities, do volunteer work, and write stellar essays for our college applications. We were told we needed to get a four-year degree, and learn how to 'think'. We were promised that as long as we did all of these things we would become successful in life. The article goes on to lament the fact that the world changed around us, and that despite doing all the things listed above, many people over 50 are suffering in the current economy and younger people with different skills are taking our jobs. As those who are 50 years old and older, we are seen as too old to hire, but too young to retire, and are quietly ignored during job searches...The older female worker now finds younger, unaware women willing to trod on her for jobs that previously would have been unavailable if not for her own previous trailblazing Of course the author is right; the economy is difficult for everyone, and it is much harder for those over 50 to find their place in the new economy. In a kind of pathetic cheerleading attempt to make us feel better, she reminds us that those of us over 50 are survivors by regurgitating every FaceBook meme about our childhood that I've seen in the last two or three years. You know, the ones that start with we "didn't use seat belts, bike helmets or hand sanitizer. We frequently licked the lead paint on our cribs because it tasted good, and we always sat too close to our color television sets after school because we were alone in the house until mom got home. We rattled around in the back of our family's station wagons like marbles, on endless road trip vacations." It is rather convenient for her argument to ignore the millions of people who didn't survive when they were killed or severely injured for not wearing a seat belt or helmet, those who suffer mental illness or health difficulties because their houses were lined with lead paint, and those were thrown from the back of the vehicle, but hey, I guess they just weren't survivors. Donald Trump would call them losers. But what really irks me about this article is that the author Chanler Jeffers gives the impression that those of us over 50 are just innocent victims of the times that changed around us. The truth is that it is my generation, those of us in our 50s and 60s, who created this world that rejects us like old clothes in favour of younger, cheaper models of ourselves. When Ronald Reagan took the first step towards breaking up unions, my generation said nothing. Hell, we put him in office. When the meme Greed is Good made an entrance, my generation embraced it with all we had, and we consumed, and ran up credit, and threw out the old to get more and more new 'stuff'; when Reagan's policies created more and more homeless, we just walked on by, looked away, and went shopping in that new mall they built where there used to be a park that we played in as children; when Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, we just laughed at that crazy old man named Ross Perot who warned us of the giant sucking sound that would occur when our jobs and businesses move south of the border; we were too busy buying more cars and plastic shit to worry about global warming, now changed to climate change because my generation was too comfortable with the status quo that we believed it, or at least conveniently pretended to, when authorities told us climate change is all just a bunch of hooey; and my generation is the loudest in crying foul when we have to pay taxes to help our government function, the ones who say, "I'm not getting 'X,' so why should I have to pay taxes for it!" So, yeah, those of us in our 50s are having a tough time of it. But so is everyone except a few. It is of our own making, so the answer is not to supply readers with a list of self-help links with tips for getting a job over 50 as Jeffers does in her article. The solution is to take a good hard look at how we made our bed and what we can do to make a new society that fits our needs and leaves a decent opportunity for those who come after us. My list would include the following: Volunteer Allocate one day a week a non-shopping day. Get involved with local government--heck, run for local government. Attend meetings with your local politicians and make your opinions heard. Buy from small businesses rather than chain stores or corporations. Buy from local farms. Start your own business. Support a union--join a union--it is not a coincidence that since unions have been under attack, wages have stagnated, hours are longer and the worker is under attack on all fronts. Reject trickle-down economics. George Bush called it voodoo economics and he was right. Demand policies that help the middle class and let the income trickle up for a change. And my number one suggestion--don't be afraid. Not only do our fears hold us back, they are used by savvy politicians to divide us and maintain the status quo. This is just a start. I'm sure there are many more things that people would suggest to make changes in our world. Any other ideas?
2 Comments
Linn Woodard
2/27/2016 06:51:27 am
Linda...you always write so thoughtfully.....Very well said. I write about the "light" moments......you fearlessly tackle the big problems!
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Linda
3/1/2016 05:13:35 am
Thanks, Linn. That is sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. But I love reading your lovely posts--not lightweight at all.
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AuthorI am a yoga instructor, author and activist. I wrote The Diamond Tree to inspire women to take chances. Even if the outcome of any given risk is different than expected, there is something for the community and the individual to gain from it. Archives
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