Reclaiming Our Elders Voice Elders Forum

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi on “Elder” and “Elderly”

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 23:59:39 -0500

On the issue of the term “elderly,” note these quotes from Schachter-Shalomi in From Age-ing to Sage-ing ; ..."WE NEED TO MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN "ELDERS" AND THE "ELDERLY." Elders go through a process of conscious and deliberate growth, becoming sages who are capable of guiding their families and communities with hard-earned wisdom. The elderly....are plagued by a gradually mounting sense of alienation, loneliness and social uselessness.....these people age without sage-ing.

Del Jones

One Elder’s Message To President-elect Obama

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:15:24 -0500

President-elect Obama,

I am very pleased that your transition team website quotes you at the top as emphasizing “making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.”
As an elder, I feel a special responsibility for the welfare of coming generations. I am especially concerned about the size of the national debt we will pass on, and about the long term impacts on the environment of greenhouse gas emissions.
Addressing these issues will require a willingness to sacrifice, and that will require great leadership. I hope and pray that you will provide the necessary leadership to move us toward policies that truly make the world we leave our children a high priority.

Paul Severance
Beech Grove, IN

“Elderly” is a dirty word

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:50:54 -0500

Recently I was elected to the Board of Directors of our Area Agency on Aging for Pima County (Tucson) (PCOA). When I introduced myself I stated I had started a whisper campaign to say that “elderly” is a dirty word.

Then I went to a focus group put on by University of AZ on Gero-psychology (new word to me---gero as in geriatrician). When I sent an email after the session about the use of the word elderly, the Professor stated that everyone had been instructed to say “Older Adult”

As usual, when the timing is right, you hear the same thing over and over….so I was having a consult with a staff person at PCOA and was informed that all staff working with clients over 50 were to use “older adult”---not elderly, not senior citizen or senior.

Of course, in all of these cases I spoke my piece about the word “elder” and The New Elder and about the Native American reverence for Elders and the Okinawan elder who is considered a living treasure.

Del Jones