On Trump
I’m saddened by the hate expressed in my state last week as
demonstrated by Trump’s sweep in the Republican primary. It was
manifested again this week by the events in Chicago, where reports are genuinely
upsetting and heartbreaking. Trump protesters faced verbal and physical
assaults outside of the venue. At the same time the media replayed video from
previous Trump appearances where he encouraged his followers to attack
protesters and offered to pay their legal defense fees. Is this really who we
want as our president? (Time.com, March 10, 2016)
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| NPR - Getty Images |
Listen to the disrespect this American suffered at the hands
and minds of Trump supporters. Listen to his message. “America is great without
the hate.”
On ageism and the presidency
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| Senior Planet |
When Hillary started up her campaign machine again, so
shortly after the 2012 election, “too old” was a common question and comment
among the pundits. (“Is Hillary Clinton too old to be
president?” MSNBC
asked. ” Hillary is too old to run,” the New York Post
claimed. Politico opinionator Pete
Seat echoed the sentiment: ” Hillary Clinton is too old to be president.”)
(Erica Manfred, Senior
Planet: Aging with Attitude, May 28, 2015)
Senior Planet looked at this question in a great article: How Old is
Too Old to be President? (May 28, 2015). In the article, the experts are
split on the effects of age and office holding. Dr. Nir Barzilai,
professor of medicine and genetics at Albert Einstein and director of the
Institute for Aging Research, says, “biological and chronological age are not
the same. The older you are, the more your genes rather than lifestyle are
likely to predict longevity...Someone like Hillary, who functions at very high
intensity, has the gene for longevity. “ Her mother died at 92.
Barzilai also points out that Alzheimer’s isn’t a forgone
conclusion with age: “[t]he more educated and intelligent a person is, the less
you’ll see the decline even if they have Alzheimer’s.” (According to
Barzilai, if one of your parents lived to be over 85, your likelihood of
getting Alzheimer’s is reduced by 25 percent, even if that parent had the
disease.)
Also quoted in the article is Dr. Robert Epstein, a research
psychologist and former editor in chief of Psychology Today. “As long as the
candidate shows no signs of senility – say, from early Alzheimer’s – an older
candidate is probably your best choice if you think the world is a fairly
stable place. As we get older, our judgment regarding matters we know about
generally gets better. Experience is a great teacher.”
But, Epstein says, “If you think the world is rapidly
changing, that’s another story. The older we get, the harder it is for us to
quickly learn, master and evaluate new information.”
The article goes on to point out that the issue for
candidates today isn’t about age but about how visible they are to the voters
through social media and how savvy their campaigns are in using these
communication platforms to reach all of the voters.
Does age matter? You can vote
Erica Manfred, the article’s author reports that the “jury is still out on age and the presidency.” You can vote on the site for how old is too old to be president. (at the bottom of the article)
Erica Manfred, the article’s author reports that the “jury is still out on age and the presidency.” You can vote on the site for how old is too old to be president. (at the bottom of the article)
