Ursula K. Le Guin writes about old age

[firecat]

And she writes about it brilliantly, as she writes about so many things.

http://bookviewcafe.com/blog/2013/06/10/the-diminished-thing/

Excerpt (but this isn't the best part. Go read the whole thing. And definitely read the poem she uses as a frame):

Americans believe strongly in positive thinking. Positive thinking is great. It works best when based on a realistic assessment and acceptance of the actual situation. Positive thinking founded on denial may not be so great. (Like, look at Lance Armstrong.)

Everybody who gets old has to assess their ever-changing but seldom improving situation and make of it what they can. I think most old people accept the fact that they’re old — I’ve never heard anybody over eighty say “I’m not old.” And they make the best of it. As the saying goes: Consider the alternative!

A lot of younger people, seeing the reality of old age as entirely negative, see acceptance of age as negative. Wanting to deal with old people in a positive spirit, they’re led to deny old people their reality.

(via Body Impolitic)

Comments

[adrian_turtle]

I am really uncomfortable with the way younger disabled people become invisible (or more actively disregarded) in this kind talk about gracefully accepting age-related disabilities.

Would you say to a person paralyzed from the waist down, “Oh, you aren’t a cripple! You’re only as paralyzed as you think you are! My cousin broke her back once but she got right over it and now she’s in training for the marathon!”

Yeah, people do say that kind of thing! If you can go through youth and middle age without running into ableism, you're lucky. And a tradition of respect for elders does not seem to reduce ableism, as far as I can tell.

[firecat]

Yeah, people do say that kind of thing! If you can go through youth and middle age without running into ableism, you're lucky.

Yeah, I thought the same thing, and the first comment to the article went into great length about it. I was a bit surprised Le Guin used that comparison.

[evilawyer]

This fits in completely with a discussion I was having yesterday. Thanks for the link.

[fyreharper]

Thank you for the link! I adore LeGuin's essays, possibly even more than I adore her fiction :)

[eggcrack]

That poem was so, so apt.

Superb essay. Thanks for the link.

[sabotabby]

Yes, that is amazing and brilliant.

[eveningstartwo.livejournal.com]

Kinda wandering off here: she mentions someone's grandma driving at 99. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. I understand not wanting to give up driving because of the loss of freedom associated with that but as a person on the road, I've seen older folks (and I'm 60!) on the road that are downright scary. I beginning to believe that people over a certain age should have to take a road test periodically to make sure they are safe.

[firecat]

I agree. My mom passed her paper driving test when her Alzheimers was already pretty advanced. Fortunately she wasn't actually insisting on driving at the time.

[auntysocial.livejournal.com]

Excellent. Just the kind of stuff I've been thinking about. My walks are becoming ever shorter and slower, and it takes a larger portion of my energy just to get through the day....and I'm only sixty-something. Once I set my goal as living long enough to complete my walk down Broadway. Now it's to live long enough to see the completion of the Sixth Street Bridge. I went to a 100th birthday party at a nursing home on Sunday, and wondered if I will be like the people there someday. All I could do is resolve to be gracious toward my caregivers, whoever they may be.

[firecat]

All I could do is resolve to be gracious toward my caregivers, whoever they may be.

Yep, I think about that a lot.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That is wonderful and useful.