75 and counting

Put this under the heading of "In case you missed it".

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wrote an article for The Atlantic Monthly entitled, "Why I hope to die at 75." Such an article wouldn't attract much attention except for the fact that Emanuel is a chief medical adviser to the Obama administration and one of the primary architects of the Affordable Care Act. Does anyone remember the furor over Sarah Palin's "death panels" speech during the 2008 election campaign? The primary reasoning in Emanuel's article was that people older than age 75 tend to be non-productive for society and use an inordinate amount of the nation's health resources. That from a man whose published field of expertise is Medical Ethics.

As you would expect, various pundits from across the country have taken on Dr. Emanuel's thesis, including Greg Scandlen of TheFederalist.com, Damon Linker of TheWeek.com, and Ruth Marcus in the WashingtonPost.com. Hereafter, I shall add my two-cents' worth to the controversy.

Dr. Emanuel may have forgotten that Winston Churchill was still prime minister of England at the age of 81, that Ronald Reagan was still president of the United States at 78, and Grandma Moses did her best painting in her 80s. Henry Kissinger just authored another book on politics and international relations, his 12th. That Nobel Peace Prize winner is now 91.

I should point out that Dr. Emanuel is age 57 with 18 years to go before he is 75. I am reminded of the old joke about the man who said, "When I'm 90 years old, I won't care if I'm dead." That is just the way he felt until he was 89. Like most who mellow as they age, I suspect that Dr. Emanuel will be talking out of the other side of his mouth when he hits his 70s.

Still, there is a message worth considering in Emanuel's thesis of the non-productivity of our aging population. Those of us who have reached what some nin-com-poop called the "golden years" should strive to make those years more productive. There are numerous community organizations such as Meals-on-Wheels, Red Cross and United Way that need volunteers to provide services to those less fortunate. Churches have become the backbone of what former President George H.W. Bush called "points of light" in our communities. They have a never-ending list of opportunities for us to be of service to our fellow man. We just need to open our eyes to the possibilities. And, it goes without saying that the younger generation needs our wisdom and, even more, our example.

In case you are wondering why Dr. Emanuel's article caught my attention -- I'll be 75 this month.

Mark Hopkins is a former Chaffee, Missouri, resident. He may be reached at presnet@presnet.com. Books by Hopkins may be found in the Chaffee Library.