The aging among us

This is originally a post for a class in BECA, SFSU but if you ignore the text in brackets then you can experience it as it is - i.e without class implications.]

It is (intuitively in the Gitlin sense) a fact that the elderly members of our society are treated with less than optimal respect. In the vein of intuitive discovery (that Gitlin has used in his post on pop culture which we have read for this class) I assert that it is easy to convince people that the elderly deserve to be appreciated more than they are. (This insert is a little long but you might just let the music play while you read on as the tone of the tune/soundrack has an aesthetic element which lends itself to the sentiment of what I am asserting. Otherwise forty seconds will inform you.)

However, there are people in society who know this as a result of their experiences.




Among this population are these young medical professionals who (presumably) care for the elderly. The way in which they have taken control of "the means of production" (as per Marx) is an indication of the true humanistic nature of some members of our society. They wish to do good. They have done good by attempting to understand through "ethnographic" analysis what it is like to be old.

(In the Gramscian sense perhaps) One could criticize this exercise as a useless crumb thrown to the agressive train of humanity which will never accept our geriatrics as fully human. But (in the Gramscian sense) there is also (I would assert) potential here for the use of the means of production to become more than a crumb. (Marx) Many would congratulate the producers of this kind of media:



(In the Marxist sense) This is a departure from the control of media by conglomerates.

In my opinion - it is the first step. This media needs to be seen to be appreciated. I believe, (in the Gitlin sense), intuitively that I would have a challenge ahead of me to find one who would disagree with the sentiment that our elderly deserve better/more.

Therefore, this kind of media needs to be shown in schools and spread out through the virtual (and therefore real) world. We need to get this message to the forefront of peoples thinking. People want to help and "love" our elderly. They just need to be shown how. This media can do that - People do want to help:



The media have a certain amount of power to influence. Surely it can be a force for the realization of the attributes of our elderly. But these media need to be seen. Now that we have the means of production dissipated to the masses, how do we get the masses to see the production?

This may seem simplistic but if each of us brings this blog to the attention of our mother/father/grandmother/grandfather/aunt/ uncle etc... friend - then more people will be aware that they are not alone in their thoughts about the elderly in our society, whether they are elderly or not.