There is a massive conglomeration of biases, ignorance, misunderstanding and psychological projection clogging the arteries of our absurdly youth-oriented culture. It’s so bad that we may actually stroke out as a society before we even get to Election Day, much less elect a President who will lead us forward as a nation and be appreciated for doing it.
The 2024 Presidential election is the first in history in which both candidates are over 75 years of age. Joe Biden at 81 displays more of the physical characteristics we associate with a person being “elderly,” while Donald Trump at 78 has a somewhat more robust physique (some claim it’s hot air keeping him filled out), and freely uses stage makeup to appear tanned.
Sadly, these physical features can influence the perceptions of the two men in our society that marginalizes and demeans the elderly. Concerns about Trump’s age are less prevalent than those about Biden’s, even though the latter is more physically fit and health conscious.
Last week’s debate has pushed the discussion of aging onto the front page, literally, as Biden suffered an extended “senior moment” in front of millions of surprised viewers.
There are numerous theories about what happened and why it happened, but the result has been an upheaval in the close race that had been unfolding rather predictably, and the race may possibly break open in entirely unpredictable ways.
I have been flopping around from one position to another on how to view Biden, despite knowing, as a psychologist, that there are an almost infinite variety of factors that can influence a person’s behavior.
Since the debate I have been devouring dozens of articles and opinion pieces, not to mention hundreds of social media comments, each putting forth a theory, a suggestion, an interpretation, with varying degrees of certainty. I even wrote an opinion piece myself, only to watch it lose any certainty it contained as more time passed and more information was revealed.
Interestingly, as far as I have seen to this point, lots of politicians and political observers are weighing in, but we have yet to hear from any neurologists or gerontologists (those are aging specialists). That’s probably because scientists are usually the ones willing to admit the most doubt, and less likely to offer immediate clear-cut answers.
The most vehement opinions I’ve seen are those of people who watched their elderly relatives develop dementia, therefore making them experts on the subject. All I’m saying is that several days after the debate, very dramatic conclusions are being drawn and very radical actions are being suggested, even though nobody truly knows exactly what happened.
Here’s where age bias has an impact. Physical signs of aging cause us to see the person as diminished, both in capability and, I would argue, in value. We are a society that not only worships youth but productivity as well.
We pounce on any sign of a shuffling walk or a loss of balance as a sign that the person is losing their physical strength and, therefore, their ability to “produce”. Meanwhile Biden maintains a schedule that would exhaust even a younger man. You bet I want him to have naps!
Beyond physical strength, cognitive abilities are also scrutinized for signs that an older person is “losing it”. This was the devastating blow for Biden in the debate, where he became obviously confused and struggled to find words, even settling on the wrong ones at times. The onlookers have now decided he has dementia and should drop out of the race for re-election. Whoa, Nellie! (That’s an old person phrase lol).
Meanwhile, Trump supporters seem totally unfazed by multiple examples of cognitive missteps and confusion in his public utterances. Perhaps they don’t see him as “old”, but members of his own party seem to have no concerns about his fitness for office.
I’d like to suggest that we examine our own assumptions before we start putting them into action. The prospect of dementia is deeply frightening to most of us who have been socialized by our culture to value the power of “the mind” in its ability to think, reason, plan and understand. We’re afraid that as we grow older, we must watch ourselves and our loved ones for “signs” and worry if we see any.
I’m not saying that dementia is nothing to worry about, though I think we worry excessively. I’m saying that the brain and its interaction with our aging bodies and our fluctuating emotional state creates an incredibly complex situation that is rarely easy to understand at first glance. We would do well to stay calm while we take in all the changes that are going on around us, in our political world but also in our own changing bodies and minds.
Meanwhile, I will say I don’t think Joe Biden wants or needs to give up. The fact that a man who smoothly spoke numerous lies, including racist and anti-immigrant insults, is widely seen as having “won” the debate, is the truly alarming thing that happened last week.
Susan Hull is a retired clinical psychologist, an Independent voter, and an informal gerontologist who is learning a lot from studying her own aging. Now if she could just remember it all.
