Welcome to America in the year 2209 where we areentrenched in a culture that worships youth and beauty and seeminglydisdains the process of aging. This assessment may sound a bit harsh,but I think it's right on.
Have you ever noticed how many adsthere on the television that show older people? Actually, there are alot if you're counting the dozens of ads for medications for high bloodpressure, incontinence, arthritis, hearing aids, electric wheel chairsand a long list of other age-related ailments. If, however, the subjectmatter is almost anything else, chances are you won't be seeing any oldfaces or old bodies on your screen. Evidently the public doesn't wantto have to look at aged people. Just ask some of the t.v. news anchorswho have been let go from their jobs for obscure reasons which probablyhad a lot more to do with their ages than anything else.
This isa very undesirable mind set that seems to be afflicting our country andit is extremely detrimental to the self image of millions of "regular"people as it reinforces the widely held view that aging is something tofear and dread. Obviously, no one is excited about the prospects oflosing their sight or their hearing or having reduced mental andphysical abilities but that nonetheless is part of the aging processand that is what our bodies were designed to do; to be born, to growand mature, to reach our prime and then begin the decline thateventually leads to our demise. This will happen no matter how muchtime or money we spend on trying to chase the reality away. But just aswe should try to do with everything else we encounter in life, why nottry to accept the inevitable and make the best of it. There are somegood things that can happen in our later years, often people becomemore aware of the precious nature of time itself and more cognizant ofthe world around them and appreciative of the gift of life.Relationships that often took a back seat during the hustle bustleyears of trying to get ahead now regain the prominent position theydeserve in our hearts and minds.
The obsession that our societyhas with looking young and beautiful has been the cause of muchfrustration, despair and depression to many people, mainly women. Onecan be made to feel less than acceptable if they do not resemble thetrim and beautiful imagine of womanhood projected in magazines, on t.v.and on the big screen. Get real. How many people naturally look likethat? It's fine to want to look as nice as we can without going to theextreme of thinking we need to change everything about ourselves fromour hair, our complexions, our teeth, our noses, our chins, etc. Wheredoes it end and why is it necessary in the first place?
It's asad commentary indeed that in a country where people are losing theirjobs in near record numbers and when the figures for foreclosures aregoing through the roof, we have been spending in the neighborhood of$160 BILLION dollars a year to "look good". An article in the Economistfrom a few years back reported that American's spend more money onbeauty than they do on education.
Something is very wrong withthis picture. This pattern doesn't show much sign of slowing down burrather appears to be escalating. That is a frightening analysis. In aworld where there is so much hurting and so much need it would seemthat there are far better places to spend our hard earned dollars thanon the constant battle against aging and looking less than perfect.
Onecan only hope we'll wake up and join the fight against the real enemiesof mankind; ignorance, intolerance and greed, but I for one am not allthat optimistic.
Nancy Smith is one of the owners of RobbinsSports.com. an online retailer specializing in volleyball nets and basketball uniforms.
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