I have been hearing this constant refrain, which states that we should not judge a candidate by their age. There is little surprise that ageism is the new oppression, considering the most influential generation is now entering its 70s. Two of our candidates actually aren’t young enough to be included as baby boomers, as both were born during the second world war.
But for all its repetition, no one should feel pressured to ignore age, when making their decisions. This is not a form of discrimination, but rather an acknowledgement of reality.
When a male reaches 60 years old:
The mean life expectancy is 81.5 years
The median life expectancy is 82.5 years
The mode life expectancy is 86 years
When a female reaches 60 years old:
The mean life expectancy is 84.5 years
The median life expectancy is 86 years
The mode life expectancy is 89 years
At the end of a first term, both Senator Sanders and Vice President Biden will have crossed the average (mean) life expectancy. Of course anyone with a minor understanding of statistics will point out that these individuals aren’t part of the normal population. You can hardly compare these two individuals with a dock worker.
It turns out that someone looked at that as well. The life expectancy of a US Senator tracked that of the average male population. Turns out high stress and long hours erode the tissues of the mighty the same as the meager.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/…
This isn’t to say that the threat of death is the only factor to consider. Cognitive function diminishes with age. Beginning at around 40, grey matter in the brain begins to die off. This isn’t because someone stops doing sudoku either. It is a physiological reality. The brain literally begins shrinking as we age. Just because someone crosses the line of life expectancy, doesn’t mean they are at peak mental fitness as they approach this line.
Lastly, in a democracy, leaders should represent the population they govern. The median age of the US population is about 37 years old (half the age of Biden and Sanders), Most of the population grew up after the cultural revolutions of the 60s. Biden and Sanders were not young hippies in 1968. They were about 30 years old at the time. If sometimes they appeared to be having a debate set in 1972, there is a good reason why.
That is my final point here. A campaign between Trump and one of our older candidates will look like something divorced from 2020. It will be the Baby Boomers’ re-litigation of the white middle class cultural battles of the mid 60’s. If you live in the Villages, this will be nostalgic. If you live in modern America, this will cement the notion that the American political system has little relevance to the actual problems facing 21st century America.