In modern society , we repeat in many symbolic ways that ceremony. We who participate in it doubt its validity, fear its implications for ourselves, yet yield to what appears to be its necessity in the pursuit of our immediate preoccupations. There must always be a justifying mythology when a dominant group systematically disadvantages a less powerful minority. On the one hand our images of old age are idealized images of the beloved and tranquil grandparents, the wise elders, the serene and gracious white-haired matriarch dispensing wisdom from the kitchen or the patriarch from the front porch rocker. On the other hand, the opposite image disparages the aged.
Old age is viewed as irreversible decay, decrepitude and loss of mental powers.
Most tragically of all, these stereotypes are self-perpetuating. Cut off from the society they built, their self-esteem undermined by prejudice and discrimination, too many of our elderly lapse into patterns of despair and decay simply because they are afforded no opportunity to remain active. Yet we need not look far to find abundant evidence that old age need not mean physical and mental disability. Hoyt Catlin, honored here yesterday, began at 65 to build a multi-million dollar enterprise with the help of his contemporaries. The artistry of a Picasso, a Casals, a Rubenstein is not cut off at 65.