Philosophizing on Ageism

A response to André Picard’s “‘Human rights don’t have a best-before date’: COVID-19 lays bare rampant ageism” from The Globe and Mail

As a dedicated volunteer at a nursing home, I appreciate Mr. Picard’s advocacy for seniors during this pandemic. That said, some wording in the article, while well-intentioned, directly contradicts main point of the article.

I extend my deepest condolences to Mr Fox’s family. It sounds as though he was a wonderful man, and his community involvement was highly commendable.

I do think, however, that in correlating his value as a community member with his ability to volunteer, Andre unintentionally devalued the lives of the many seniors who, in all truth, cannot contribute to the community in such a way. 

The seniors living at the nursing home that I volunteer at often do fit the most or all of the attributes of the “elderly” label that Andre is so quick to dispel. They are physically weak, and many experience degrees of memory loss. 

At 104 years old, Agnes is slow to move about her room, and requires a great deal of care. At 95, Lucy is no spring chicken. She requires a walker, and her short-term memory is unreliable at best. Lucy has befriended Paula, two doors down from her. The two laugh like young schoolgirls over stories of their wild youths, and amble slowly down the halls at 3pm to see if lunch is ready to be served, having forgotten that they have already had their meal three hours prior.

Lucy regales me with stories of war-torn Europe, about the young chicken that her mother nursed back to health by storing it in her bra for a day and feeding it from an eye dropper with utmost care. She tells me of her world travels, and the many, many volumes of novels read. 

Margot can’t remember my name, but lights up each time I come for a visit. She’s always making the PSWs who work so hard to care for her feel appreciated, and makes friends with almost everyone who passes through the nursing home’s doors. 

Her life, too, is invaluable and precious. She too is deserving of the highest degree of respect for her personhood. 

The truth is, the term elderly and all implications inherent with its use are often quite accurate. The old do often get weak, and unable to contribute in ways that they did in their younger years. 

In defending the value of the lives of older persons based on the merit of their continued community involvement, the underlying message in Mr. Picard’s piece actually supports a dehumanizing view of the elderly- that because of their inability to give back through volunteer work or economic contribution, they lose value as human beings.

We as a nation need to take a hard look at the way that we view the seniors, and those who are described as elderly. 

There is immense value in their lives, regardless of their ability to continue to contribute in conventional ways, that shouldn’t have to be defended. 

Many Canadian citizens can be accurately described as elderly. That shouldn’t be seen as derogatory. It’s a statement of fact. The issue is not the use of this term. It is that we as a society do not adequately value the lives of those whom the term describes.