The Importance of Being Old

It has been brought to my attention that John McCain, if elected as our next president, would be the oldest president to date. I had never really thought about how age may influence the duties and decisions our president is faced with making everyday, but apparently others have. In a poll i saw on Good Morning America this morning, 27% of Americans were "turned off" by McCain's age (check out video of him defending his age). By turned off I mean they would be less likely to vote for him. At the same time, they polled people to see how many would be less likely to vote for Obama because he is black, and how many would be less likely to vote for Clinton because she is a woman. The results said only 8% would be less likely to vote for Obama and 11% for Clinton. I was extremely surprised by these results. Who would have thought that ageism would be more prominent in the 2008 election than sexism or racism?

Maybe a lot of people would see this coming, but i did not. Perhaps because i am a mere 17-years-old i cannot possibly understand the trials faced by older people. I cannot understand how they're age affects how they are treated and what people think of them. However, i suppose ageism is a more long term type of oppression because people rarely notice it, and if they do they might not see how it is wrong. Unlike racism and sexism it is not something that people widely consider to be an injustice, but people cannot prevent getting old, just as they cannot choose the color of their skin or if they are male or female.

Ageism is a prejudice we may all face in our lifetime. When elders were once the most revered and respected they are now sometimes forgotten or treated like children. Saying that John McCain would not be a good president because he is almost 72 years old may be the argument of many, but i am not sure it is a valid one. Can we really judge is effectiveness as a president based on age, and if so, is age necessarily a bad thing?