One of the biggest reasons for the lockdowns and overall high level of fear about coronavirus is that America is more or less a gerontocracy. We are not as bad as Europe, but we’re close enough. Most of our politicians are old and most of the people who vote for them are old; and they’re not just any oldsters – they are Boomers.
Talk of death has been common all over the place this year including on this forum, and it makes you wonder what age is too old? What might be an ideal life span? You hear about people in their 50s-60s diagnosed with life threatening diseases and others say what a shame, he’s too young, but that’s ridiculous; it’s not too young.
My view is dying before 40 is “unnatural” anyway you look at it. Dying before 50 is a little less so, and dying at any age after 60 is 100% normal. Trying to extend life spans much beyond 70 should be prohibited.
You hear about people in their 50s-60s diagnosed with life threatening diseases and others say what a shame, he’s too young, but that’s ridiculous; it’s not too young.
I disagree. It is too young to die. I am a very young middle ager- chronologically. Mentally and I wish physically, I’m like 30, therefore middle age is too young to die. Dying at age 60 is not 100% normal, especially in my family. In fact, it is completely abnormal, given that many in my family live well into their 90s. So you cannot make such statements or suggest prohibiting life after 70. That is ridiculous because people can live very healthy lives well into their 90s. What are you? A kid who doesn’t trust anyone over 30? I fully intend to live a very healthy life well into my 90s just like many in family have.
Or we could change instead of sticking with the work yourself to death system we have. Take time off at midlife. Get an advance degree and be productive at 80. Honor wisdom.
Or we could change instead of sticking with the work yourself to death system we have. Take time off at midlife. Get an advance degree and be productive at 80. Honor wisdom.
My view is dying before 40 is “unnatural” anyway you look at it. Dying before 50 is a little less so, and dying at any age after 60 is 100% normal. Trying to extend life spans much beyond 70 should be prohibited.
Wow, I can't agree with you more with regard to the prospect of living to a ripe old age. 75 seems like a reasonable check out date provided there are no underlying conditions and the body is healthy and fit enough for a 3-mile hike every other day. My problem with your prohibition is kicking the bucket. Do you have a way to do it without fear?
I fully intend to live a very healthy life well into my 90s just like many in family have.
Health is not the only qualifying factor for living. You have to have enough money to live a decent life at any age. If you are 30 and you break a leg, you are out.
I disagree. It is too young to die. I am a very young middle ager- chronologically. Mentally and I wish physically, I’m like 30, therefore middle age is too young to die.
Personal delusions like this can only be tolerated in small doses. We are the age we are whether we like it or not.
Dying at age 60 is not 100% normal, especially in my family. In fact, it is completely abnormal, given that many in my family live well into their 90s. So you cannot make such statements or suggest prohibiting life after 70. That is ridiculous because people can live very healthy lives well into their 90s. What are you? A kid who doesn’t trust anyone over 30? I fully intend to live a very healthy life well into my 90s just like many in family have.
Your family members are the exception, not the rule. Most people would not live much past their 60s without modern medical intervention.
Or we could change instead of sticking with the work yourself to death system we have. Take time off at midlife. Get an advance degree and be productive at 80. Honor wisdom.
Not many people are working themselves to death. And wisdom is extremely overrated.
Wow, I can’t agree with you more with regard to the prospect of living to a ripe old age. 75 seems like a reasonable check out date provided there are no underlying conditions and the body is healthy and fit enough for a 3-mile hike every other day. My problem with your prohibition is kicking the bucket. Do you have a way to do it without fear?
No idea. I have seen people die who seemed like they weren't afraid, but who knows what they were feeling?
Death with dignity laws are popping up all over. I think it's done with pills. Also, most of them require something like a degenerative disease, something that will cause pain and expense later, but you are still coherent now so you are making the decision to check out early. I don't think any law allows you to say you just don't want to grow old.
That depends on how you look at it. If you take the statement as the hyperbole it was likely intended then yes, many people are working themselves to death even by your own figures. If dying in your 60s is completely normal and retirement age isn't until late 60s, early 70s then many people work until they die, which, I believe, was the actual point. And farmers don't tend to retire when they hit 67 years old and just sit back after that. Not in my area, anyway.
Plus if Republicans ever succeed in getting rid of the already entirely inadequate Social Security then most people won’t have a retirement anyway, so most of America will work until they die because when they quit working they will die of starvation and homelessness.
I don’t know if I told this story or not. I retired August 5th. 33 years of computer programming, which rates fairly high on the stress scale, 12 years at a County government which has a special kind of stress. I started experiencing blood pressure in the 130 to 150 range about 10 years ago, aka “pre-hypertension”. That’s after a lifetime of 110 over 80. I measure it at home and thought it would be funny if it suddenly dropped the day after retirement. It didn’t. It took 5 days. I have not had the splitting headaches I used to have. My wife notices I laugh more and I feel great. And my work problems were small compared to most people in the world.
That is a lot of coincidence, man. My son just graduated for computer programming (not to mention I now see you as a god because that was my dream job in middle school, but the school librarian talked me out of it). And I, too, once quit a job where my wife immediately noticed a huge difference in my personality.
I fear my son went to school for the wrong thing, though. He doesn’t seem to have the “heart” of a programmer. He doesn’t code just because he can. And he’s started several projects for me, but never finished one, mostly because every time I ask for a change he groans about how much work it will be or how he likes whatever rinky-dink thing he did better. Hopefully he won’t be that way with an actual boss, but it’s not like I didn’t pay him anything for his work.
Trying to extend life spans much beyond 70 should be prohibited.
oneguy, your insidious hatred for Boomers is showing.
Now you want laws to prohibit any aid to anyone over 70 that could help them continue to live.
You believe that anyone under 40 should live. Maybe people in their 50’s are ok in your book, to live. (That’s mighty white of you.) If they are over 60, you get antsy about them staying alive. At 70 and over, you want them to move on to their oblivion.
How sweet of you.
What other groups of people do you hate? What sort of proscriptions will you make up for them to be culled?
Here are 240 people that we mostly have all heard of, who are over 70. Take a look at them, because in oneguy’s world, he wants any care that could prolong their lives to be prohibited.
No more medical care of any kind for age 70’s or over. Not in oneguy’s paradise of alt-right thinking.
oneguy and tRump promote the deaths of retirees, your mom, dad, grandparents, other relatives, friends, anyone over 70, if they can’t survive without any medical care, then oneguy and tRump want them dead. That will certainly help address the issue of funding Medicare and Social Security.
Old people better stop loving the tRump, if they want to survive many more years.
Oh, but the tRump is over 70. So NO MORE medical care for him in oneguy’s paradise.
No more prescription medicines for him. No more constant testing for COVID. No more medical check ups. (The public reports of his physicals are complete BS anyway.)
Just let him keep consuming so much KFC and MacDonald’s that he eventually pops, (like the fat man at the posh restaurant, in Monty Python’s "The Meaning of Life).
That depends on how you look at it. If you take the statement as the hyperbole it was likely intended then yes, many people are working themselves to death even by your own figures. If dying in your 60s is completely normal and retirement age isn’t until late 60s, early 70s then many people work until they die, which, I believe, was the actual point. And farmers don’t tend to retire when they hit 67 years old and just sit back after that. Not in my area, anyway.
Lausten was talking about working yourself to death like John Henry, which doesn't happen anyway. Having the retirement age late in life is the only possible way to do it in this kind of society because it allows people to pay taxes for decades and contribute to society in a indirect way for most of their lives.
Plus if Republicans ever succeed in getting rid of the already entirely inadequate Social Security then most people won’t have a retirement anyway, so most of America will work until they die because when they quit working they will die of starvation and homelessness.
Social security is doomed now because there's not enough young taxpayers to support the huge amount of retirees. Anybody under say, 50 right now will not be able to depend on SS so they better have some nest egg. That's another good reason not to have a society filled with geriatrics.
Now you want laws to prohibit any aid to anyone over 70 that could help them continue to live.
Living beyond 70 is not ok even if you are not a drain on society or a nuisance to your family. People ought to check out when it's time to retire, like racehorses or commercial airliners that are no longer fit for service. Old folks are not a pretty sight in a world meant for those in their prime.