By Jim Selman | Bio
We’ve been assaulted lately by political pundits and statisticians telling us what will happen this week. It is easy to roll over and assume they know what they are talking about. So why bother to vote at all? Just sit back and watch the process on TV. This is a particularly easy rationalization for cynics and those who’ve become resigned that they don’t make a difference anyway.
Most of the hype and hysteria seems to be aimed at younger voters. It is assumed
By Jim Selman | Bio
There is nothing new about ageism, other than the fact that there are increasing numbers of people growing older (which means increasing numbers of examples of age discrimination against older people). The latest statistics from AARP show formal anti-discrimination complaints are up roughly 30% in the workplace. I had some fun with this in my recent blog, proposing we create the National Organization of Pissed-Off Elders (N.O.P.E.). However, it isn’t a laughing matter when we see a potentially tragic problem growing in our society that can be prevented.I say tragic because ageism, whether institutionalized, culturally embedded or motivated by fear or greed, is a wedge being driven between parents and children and between grandparents and grandchildren. If we don’t address ageism, we will all continue this ‘circumstantial drift’ toward making age a political constituency that has older people competing with younger people over scarce resources (or whatever the coin of the realm might be on a given topic). At a time when
By Jim Selman | Bio
I was sent this extraordinary video produced by the AARP communicating in a simple and straightforward way that if we don’t change the direction we’re going, we’re apt to end up there. It is one of a number of dire predictions about our common future. Yesterday, Al Gore declared climate change irreversible and challenged all of us to transcend short-term concerns and agendas and unite with the world in dealing with this looming calamity. There is so much bad news about
Business leaders, HR professionals, policy makers, educators, and social sector practitioners from Asia, the U.S. and Europe will be gathering January 8-9, 2009 in Singapore for this conference to increase the awareness of employers in the Asia-Pacific region of the issues and best practices in preparing for an aging workforce. Co-hosted by AARP and the Council for Third Age, the event is part of a series of symposia that examine how retirement and the needs of older persons are being addressed
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) will be launching an intergenerational driver safety program in Tennessee in January 2008. The class is designed for teens to share with their grandparents or another person over 50. Teenagers can enrol for free; older persons for a $10 fee. There is no test to take to be accepted into the program. Participants will look