Publish : 31 Oct 2021, 09:10 AMUpdate : 31 Oct 2021, 09:10 AM
In his poem “Crabbed age and youth,” William Shakespeare found no positives for advancing years in the comparison between the aged and the young. The Oxford assertion that an absence of the usual style and tone suggests the poem probably wasn’t penned by him might relieve some of that belief.
However, assuming it was his work, the truism of some of the statements made does reflect in those who lived to a ripe old age at a time when lifespans were shorter. Social systems were different. The elderly were mostly left to themselves and unashamedly, their progeny almost wished they would kick the bucket.
The bard died at 52. His aged characters and most other literary output in similar vein, were depicted as being necessarily delimiting in terms of creativity, spark, and energy. This view of the elderly finds personification with the current day tendency to opt for young leadership, especially in growing, ageing populations.
Europe has led the way of compartmentalizing the elderly in care homes or otherwise living on their own. The phenomenon has spread. The close-knit families of the East are beginning to follow suit. The Europeans have also expressed preference of young cabinets and heads of government that experiment with newer thoughts in education and re-jigging scientific forays to address vexing issues such as recycling, even agricultural waste.
The youthful Emmanuel Macron fancies himself to be the unelected, unofficial leader of Europe as Angela Merkel heads into the sunset.
The UK has been more of a “been there, done that” before settling on the Theresa Mays and Boris Johnsons. The United States has moved radically from the vigour of Barack Obama to Donald Trump and now Joe Biden. Their last presidential race pitted two of the oldest candidates in the country’s history so much so that there was more than significant interest in the running mates for the almost usually accepted second-term.
Elsewhere, the difference is stark. For reasons more inclined to stability, India has hovered in leadership from the octogenarians to the septuagenarians, Pakistan and Bangladesh have kept their faith in experience over youth. All of this pretty much at odds with the Shakespearean philosophy, even as life spans increase as does young populations.
There are two distinct features of octogenarian life. One either has life’s wisdom to be gleaned from using wit and guile with energy to boot. Or one has to battle the vagaries associated with advanced age. Mahathir Mohamad and Atal Bihari Vajpayee are examples to be drawn from.
Whereas Mahathir continues to shine in his 90s, Vajpayee had lost most of his faculties in the same age bracket. Tony Blair, George Bush Jr, and the late Colin Powell were guilty of one of the biggest hoodwinks of the last century that led to the destruction of one of the oldest civilizations of the world. Blair and Powell later, in different degrees, admitted they had been wrong.
At the other end of the spectrum, Vajpayee went over and beyond to keep the militant RSS in check during his tenure as head of the BJP government. Mohamad broke ranks with his party, sided with the opposition, and essentially began the concept of power-sharing at leadership level. Trump shocked the world by meeting Kim Jong-un face to face, thereby putting the warping age vs energetic youth theories to rest.
Business corporations too have experimented with young boardrooms and now re-settled into more of a balance. Mistakes can be made, by brashness or when informed by wisdom. The latter tends to cause lesser collateral damage. The former can foment chaos. Experience suggests that a combination of youth and wisdom of age works well in tandem. Neither has advantage over the other. The contrary is also as true.
Roll back some of the years to riots in France over shorter working hours and shorter work lives so as to get better work-life balance and enjoy retirement pensions. The government wasn’t amused and remained unmoved. Pension bills are expensive, made further so if the active work force is employed for lesser duration.
The younger citizens were just as up in arms. Their argument was clear. They didn’t want to foot the bill for early retirees. So much for the benefits of longer lives and all the money poured into research to achieve just that.
In a strange way, that is as wasteful as the money spent in Bangladesh for bridges, highways, and rail lines that have to be dug up, demolished, or uprooted, because they didn’t fit in with longer term plans or because designs were faulty. Contrarily, it is now law for punitive action against progeny that do not take care of their parents.
The US has favourable retirement policies and greater individual choice. Bangladesh has little by way of choice and more in the form of delineated retirement age. With the world having moved on, the value of retirees that are able and willing remains paramount sources of expertise hung out to dry.
The education sector is one area where their utilization could make a difference to quality teaching. At the end of the day, it is adaptability to change and not age that is the determining factor of one’s utility to society. Sachin Tendulkar bowed out of T20 cricket early, calling it a “young man’s game.” Chris Gayle and MS Dhoni have proved otherwise. Soccer is a different game now, but in the 1950s, Sir Stanley Matthews didn’t have problems turning out on the pitch till the ripe age of 54.
Mahmudur Rahman is a writer, columnist, broadcaster, and communications specialist.
OP-ED: Age has little to do with it
In his poem “Crabbed age and youth,” William Shakespeare found no positives for advancing years in the comparison between the aged and the young. The Oxford assertion that an absence of the usual style and tone suggests the poem probably wasn’t penned by him might relieve some of that belief.
However, assuming it was his work, the truism of some of the statements made does reflect in those who lived to a ripe old age at a time when lifespans were shorter. Social systems were different. The elderly were mostly left to themselves and unashamedly, their progeny almost wished they would kick the bucket.
The bard died at 52. His aged characters and most other literary output in similar vein, were depicted as being necessarily delimiting in terms of creativity, spark, and energy. This view of the elderly finds personification with the current day tendency to opt for young leadership, especially in growing, ageing populations.
Europe has led the way of compartmentalizing the elderly in care homes or otherwise living on their own. The phenomenon has spread. The close-knit families of the East are beginning to follow suit. The Europeans have also expressed preference of young cabinets and heads of government that experiment with newer thoughts in education and re-jigging scientific forays to address vexing issues such as recycling, even agricultural waste.
The youthful Emmanuel Macron fancies himself to be the unelected, unofficial leader of Europe as Angela Merkel heads into the sunset.
The UK has been more of a “been there, done that” before settling on the Theresa Mays and Boris Johnsons. The United States has moved radically from the vigour of Barack Obama to Donald Trump and now Joe Biden. Their last presidential race pitted two of the oldest candidates in the country’s history so much so that there was more than significant interest in the running mates for the almost usually accepted second-term.
Elsewhere, the difference is stark. For reasons more inclined to stability, India has hovered in leadership from the octogenarians to the septuagenarians, Pakistan and Bangladesh have kept their faith in experience over youth. All of this pretty much at odds with the Shakespearean philosophy, even as life spans increase as does young populations.
There are two distinct features of octogenarian life. One either has life’s wisdom to be gleaned from using wit and guile with energy to boot. Or one has to battle the vagaries associated with advanced age. Mahathir Mohamad and Atal Bihari Vajpayee are examples to be drawn from.
Whereas Mahathir continues to shine in his 90s, Vajpayee had lost most of his faculties in the same age bracket. Tony Blair, George Bush Jr, and the late Colin Powell were guilty of one of the biggest hoodwinks of the last century that led to the destruction of one of the oldest civilizations of the world. Blair and Powell later, in different degrees, admitted they had been wrong.
At the other end of the spectrum, Vajpayee went over and beyond to keep the militant RSS in check during his tenure as head of the BJP government. Mohamad broke ranks with his party, sided with the opposition, and essentially began the concept of power-sharing at leadership level. Trump shocked the world by meeting Kim Jong-un face to face, thereby putting the warping age vs energetic youth theories to rest.
Business corporations too have experimented with young boardrooms and now re-settled into more of a balance. Mistakes can be made, by brashness or when informed by wisdom. The latter tends to cause lesser collateral damage. The former can foment chaos. Experience suggests that a combination of youth and wisdom of age works well in tandem. Neither has advantage over the other. The contrary is also as true.
Roll back some of the years to riots in France over shorter working hours and shorter work lives so as to get better work-life balance and enjoy retirement pensions. The government wasn’t amused and remained unmoved. Pension bills are expensive, made further so if the active work force is employed for lesser duration.
The younger citizens were just as up in arms. Their argument was clear. They didn’t want to foot the bill for early retirees. So much for the benefits of longer lives and all the money poured into research to achieve just that.
In a strange way, that is as wasteful as the money spent in Bangladesh for bridges, highways, and rail lines that have to be dug up, demolished, or uprooted, because they didn’t fit in with longer term plans or because designs were faulty. Contrarily, it is now law for punitive action against progeny that do not take care of their parents.
The US has favourable retirement policies and greater individual choice. Bangladesh has little by way of choice and more in the form of delineated retirement age. With the world having moved on, the value of retirees that are able and willing remains paramount sources of expertise hung out to dry.
The education sector is one area where their utilization could make a difference to quality teaching. At the end of the day, it is adaptability to change and not age that is the determining factor of one’s utility to society. Sachin Tendulkar bowed out of T20 cricket early, calling it a “young man’s game.” Chris Gayle and MS Dhoni have proved otherwise. Soccer is a different game now, but in the 1950s, Sir Stanley Matthews didn’t have problems turning out on the pitch till the ripe age of 54.
Mahmudur Rahman is a writer, columnist, broadcaster, and communications specialist.