Most Troubling Example of Ageism?

Posted September 26, 2007, 11:17 pm by Growing Bolder


Each week, Growing Bolder will ask top leaders, thinkers, writers, life coaches, entertainers and role models to weigh in on issues affecting your life. Our Thought Leaders include some of the most insightful, accomplished minds in America.

This week, we want to know what you think is the most troubling example of ageism in our society.

	Ronda Beaman Psychoscelrosis ... or the hardening of the mind. Too many of us buy into the idea of "old" and we act "old" because people expect that of us! We allow ourselves to become distanced from the flexibility, acceptance and open-mindedness of our original youthful brain. More than anything, this protection of the status quo ages us, makes us bores and creates in us a reluctance to expand or extend ourselves. We actually BECOME the troubling example of ageism! What then? Remaining years pass us by and we are old too soon and for too long. About Ronda Ronda is the author of "You're Only Young Twice: 10 Do-Overs to Reawaken Your Spirit." The wife, mother and grandmother is the ultimate renaissance woman -- she holds a doctorate in leadership and she's a dream coach, a distinguished professor and a personal trainer.
Aubrey de Grey Our denial about the horror of aging. We know that aging kills 100,000 people every day, most of them really horribly, but we hardly spend any research money on attempts to develop therapies to combat it. It's so ghastly that we refuse to let ourselves admit that it's ghastly at all. Why is this ageist? Simply because old people are people, too. To say that we shouldn't work to defeat aging is to say that one's right to long and healthy future is less if one already has a long past. About Aubrey Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist at the University of Cambridge in England who believes that aging is a curable disease and the first person to live to 1,000 might be 60 today. He has been interviewed by many news sources, including "60 Minutes," the BBC, the New York Times, Fortune Magazine and Popular Science. He is chairman and chief science officer of the Methuselah Foundation and editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research.
	Marilyn Kentz I just don't know. I don't really focus on the negative side. I'm too busy figuring out all the things we can do. About Marilyn With Nancy Alspaugh, Marilyn co-authored "Not Your Mothers Midlife: A 10-Step Guide to Fearless Aging," a groundbreaking book that helps women face middle age with confidence. Marilyn is a member of the popular comedy duo, "The Mommies." Marilyn and Nancy are both authors and activists.
Christine Schwab That the media portrays aging as such a negative. Aging today is not the aging of yesterday. We think, feel and act young. We are healthier and more aware of taking care of ourselves. The media is only interested in the 18-24 bracket when the boomers are the ones who have money and time to spend it. We need a better balance. Television is especially guilty. The movies still embrace a Diane Keaton, Helen Mirren and Nick Nolte. About Christine She's a renowned style expert and fashion consultant who has appeared on "Today," "Oprah," "Live with Regis and Kelly" and more. She's been a spokesperson for many of the world's most powerful fashion brands and retailers. In her book, "The Grown-Up Girl's Guide to Style," she smashes ridiculous and unfounded stereotypes.

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