It’s been a trend in society that has been growing in momentum – and it’s one we should rally against.
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Failing to value the older members of our community is robbing the coming generations of the their wealth of experience and knowledge.
It is often said that history can be our best teacher, but as our communities continue to evolve at an ever-accelerating pace, there is an increasing tendency to leave some of our most valuable “assets” behind.
Having just marked another seniors week, some prefer to put all sectors of the community into boxes – young people are inevitably troublemakers and older people a burden. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Remembering that when the age pension was first created few people even lived to receive it, we now have a very large – and very active sector of the community with so much to offer.
No longer are they retiring at 65 and heading off to the bowls club.
Most remain – and some become even more so, very active members of our community and important foundation stones for many of the important volunteer organisations that make places like Harden and Murrumburrah tick.
There's little doubt that 70 is the new 50 – and people of this generation have so much more to offer – and will do so for many years to come.
The temptation by some members of the community – including employers, is to “shelve” this demographic, deciding that there is little more they can give to our communities.
But how wrong they are.
The knowledge and life experience offer by those beyond 60 needs to be tapped into and, importantly, appreciated by the following generations.
More and more we need to turn to those who have experienced the challenges that life throws up, and seek their counsel to ultimately give us a better outcome on any number of issues.
Whether its working with schools, in community groups or sporting organisations, our senior residents have so much to offer – and are usually keen to do that.
It’s up to the rest of us to keep everyone in society engaged.
If we are more open minded about what older people have to contribute we will ultimately make our communities even better than they already are and that means everyone will be the winner.
