Forfeiting The Elderly

In Josh Barro’s article, he mainly discusses the theme of Social Security. He explains how if we raise the age for people to access Social Security, that will harm poorer Americans who have a lower life expectancy due to the type of work they do or because of lack of other proper benefits. In the video, Coming of Age in and Aging America, they discuss the main theme of aging in America and the difficulties and obstacles these individuals face on a daily basis, especially in terms of Social Security. The video covers a variety of situations that the elderly face and how America can work to make the lives easier especially in a world where our elderly population in growing. One example was in a hospital where they were able to integrate new techniques and systems to make it easier for people to work longer into their lives. The main themes of Sharon Kaufman’s journal article were health care and the reform of current plans, and discussion of life-prolonging procedures. She discusses the three main procedures used in the U.S. which are organ transplantation, cardiac procedures, and cancer treatments. Finally, Segal’s text covers the themes and policies related to aging and elderly population. She discusses the acts and programs that have been put into place such as the Older Americans Act of 1965, social security, pensions, and Medicare/Medicaid, along with a variety of others.

Ageism, an idea created by Robert Butler, can be described as degrading behavior or emotions toward older people based on one’s own fears or preconceived ideas (Butler, 1969). This kind of behavior can consist of anything from refusing jobs to someone due to their age and perceived capabilities from not offering ideal care to older people because one believes it is wasteful of resources. The presence of ageism within society leads to a population bound by certain stereotypes that can prohibit the advancement of people considered to be older adults.

A current ethical issue is elder abuse. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2015) defines mistreatment of the elderly, as “any single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring in any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or discomfort to an older person.” A distinction of elder abuse compared to domestic violence, sexual assault or fraud is that “elder mistreatment implies that the recipient of the mistreatment is in a situation or condition in which the ability to protect oneself is limited in some way” (Touchy & Jett, 2012, p. 401). Elder abuse represents a serious social problem, which is only on the rise because of the longevity and increased dependence of some elders (Martins, Neto, Andradea, & Albuquerquea, 2014).

The human species of the world are growing older, and existing longer. Research shows that the average life expectancy of humans living past the age of 80, since the 1800s to that of 2011, has increased by almost 10% per year, with women leading the way with a growth expectancy growing from that of 6.4% to that of 9.6%, surpassing their male counterpart whose life expectancy show an increase from 5.9% to that of 8.2%. As the human life expectancy increases, there also comes an increase concerns by individuals and government official alike in regards to elder care. This literature looks at what is being carried out by individuals as well as government officials to deal with the cost of living longer. We will examination approaches identified

The cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards the aged may in part be due to different societal perspectives. In most western cultures the elderly today are hardly regarded with religious awe or reverence. They have become virtual outcasts of society, many living on the fringe, often in retirement communities or in nursing homes. William Withers states that “modern cultures have coped with the death of the aged, minimizing its disruptiveness, by disengaging the elderly from the vital functions of society” (518).

In conclusion, after reading this report, I have deep understanding of human rights of older adults. As a professional society, it can impact people’s attitude towards the elderly and also change the quality of life for old people in

Our society nowadays discriminates the elderly and they are being ill treated. However Primitive agrarian cultures very existence depended upon the knowledge earned from experience, valued their elders, but even they were o moved to killing the non productive members of society because of harsh conditions of subsistence living. (Carroll Estes, 2009)

"Are the old real human beings? Judging by the way our society treats them, the question is open to doubt. Since it denies them what they conceive the necessary minimum, and since it deliberately condemns them to the utmost poverty, to the slums, to ill health, loneliness and despair, it affirms that they hold neither the same needs nor the same rights as other members of the community. In order to soothe its conscience, our society's ideologists have invented a certain number of myths - myths that contradict one another, by the way - which induce those in the prime of life to see the aged not as fellow beings but as another kind of being altogether" (Perrin, & Polowy 2008).

In Being Mortal, Atul Gawande painted a little depressing picture of the realities faced by the elderly in the US nowadays: declining health status, economic insecurity, and loss of independence. It seems once the older people move into nursing homes or assisted living facilities, they lose autonomy, dignity and privacy as the institutions are not able to fully individualize care. Even though the situation has been improving, it still shocks me to see how unhappy some of the elderly are in these circumstances. Realizing senior care facilities often fail to address all aspects of well-being, I would like to explore the issues of promoting both objective and subjective component in quality of care for the older people.

The issue being discussed in this paper will be “the issue of the ‘graying’ of the American prison and parole population and the unique problems that elderly prisoners face while incarcerated and subsequent to release” (Stojkovic, 2007, pg. 98). Incarceration of elderly criminals is a highly debated topic in criminal justice. The definition of elderly criminal in this case will be a person 60 years or older that commits a criminal offense. This is not a new topic; however, there is not a lot of research conducted on elderly offenders. There are many arguments as to whether these elderly criminals should be treated the same as younger criminals and whether it is cost effective to put the elderly in prison. This paper will discuss the pros

Elderly people are very delicate, therefore they can only commit to a limited amount of labor. Applying people over the age of sixty five to Military type activities would be unbeneficial to our country. Once you get to a page in your life your body starts to wear and tear, therefore it would be hard for the elderly to do anything in the army. Senior’s in general deserve rest, that they have earned through a long, hard fifty-five years of life. Therefore elderly people should not have to serve our country any longer.

When most people envision an elderly person, their minds go to the iconic little old lady or man. They automatically think about them having psychological ailments such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. With this assumption comes many unfair prejudices in the work place or other

As for the apparent mistreatment of the elderly, I could not disagreed more. The previous time I spoke with my great-grandmother, whom I only get to see every few years, the moment we walked into her home she stochastically claimed my father to be ‘’fat’’. After this, before I could even comprehend what absurdity just escaped her mouth, she started whining about how absolutely horrible today’s

This is a society of isms, racism, sexism, and ageism. It labels, stereotypes, and categorizes people, by shape, size, color, and age. The elderly in their later years should be able to have a peaceable life, treated with dignity and respect. However, pretty much anyone under the age of 50 is a target for an attack of an attitude of ageism at some point. Those who do the disrespecting don’t stop to consider that at some point, they will also be at the receiving end of that attitude.” (Webb)

The elderly in modern society aren’t treated very well in comparison to previous generations due to lack respect. Regardless of someone’s age, religion, race, and sex as long as they’re a law-abiding citizen they deserve respect if they are worthy. I am not stating that elders should not give their respect to those that are younger but I am emphasizing the fair treatment of all. As a youth I was taught to always value and respect your elders because they hold the key to next generations’ prosperities.