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Just as baby boomers led a cultural revolution when they were young adults, so can they lead a cultural revolution as older adults. Boomers like myself can, and I believe should, seize what is a historic opportunity to change the narrative of aging in America.
Although there are now more older people in America (and on Earth) than ever before in history, they continue to be widely discriminated against, especially in the workplace. More than that, older people are often viewed as weaker versions of their former younger selves who are past their prime and thus no longer have much to contribute to society.
The truth is entirely different, however, as there is abundant research showing that older people possess intellectual and emotional skill sets that make them uniquely qualified to help make the world a better place. Through their numbers and influence, the remaining 65 million boomers are in an ideal position to correct the perception of aging in America as they move through their third act of life.
To that end, I propose the formation of a “Me Three” (as in a third act of life) movement along the lines of the Me Too movement that is based on ending the sexual harassment and sexual assault of women. Like that powerful movement and the Black Lives Matter movement, Me Three would serve as a rallying force for those committed to equal rights for all people regardless of biology-based (gender, race, etc.) markers. With an activist spirit in the air, the time is ripe for older people to claim their rightful place as valuable members of society who should not be marginalized simply because they have lived longer than younger people.
Happily, while many boomers are still clinging to the remnants of their rapidly fading youth rather than leading a social revolution dedicated to achieving equality for older people, it’s fair to say that they are already redefining the concept of aging for the better. The model of aging forged in the postwar era when boomers were children is a shadow of what it used to be, particularly when it comes to retirement.
Rather than end one’s career at a predetermined age, usually 65, to embark on a life of leisure in a sunny, warm place, most of today’s sexagenarians and septuagenarians are working as long as they can and are staying put in their homes. For them, their third act is not all that different from their second, a lifestyle choice that is serving to blur the lines of age. Although some are suffering from a kind of identity crisis, not quite sure of their mission in life, this blending of middle age with seniority is helping to reintegrate older people back into the mainstream. This is a wonderful thing whose significance cannot be underestimated; the transformation of one’s later years from a distinct stage of life to one that is fully incorporated into the full lifespan represents a historic change that bodes well for aging in America.
Best of all, perhaps, the assimilation of older Americans into the sweep of everyday life offers the possibility of lessening ageism. As the Golden Girls-like image of seniors further recedes into our memory, the divisions between young and old can hopefully shrink, bridging generations. Discrimination based on age in both the workplace and in social arenas may very well diminish as older folks are seen as not being a separate, less competent part of the population.
It is highly unlikely that the reverence for older citizens that reigned from the nation’s founding through the early decades of the 20th century will ever return, but there is a good chance that boomers can gain more respect in their later years as they normalize the aging experience. Through Me Three or something like it, baby boomers can build on this momentum by proactively redefining the concept of aging for both themselves and future generations, a legacy that could possibly rival the major contributions they made during the counterculture era.
