(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Only Thing Limited about Biden is Our Limited Understanding of Aging [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-17 I don’t think so… The Only Thing Limited about Biden is Our Limited Understanding of Aging Unfortunately, certain preconceived ideas are part of the substructure of our knowledge base. Some of the worst of these tend to be imbedded in us at an early age and if not already limited in perspective, can become more so over time. Nevertheless, we rely on them to simplify our thought processes and arrive at conclusions more readily than if we had to parse ideas and concerns in their entirety. Because these ‘prejudices’ are so ingrained, they tend to have a ‘stealth’ aspect that keeps us from recognizing that we are employing them and that by doing so, we limit our perspective and comprehension. They can often lead to detrimental conclusions. This is certainly the case when it comes to our very limited take on aging, the parameters of which are fluid to say the least. Possessing the handy tool of measuring age by years, we are spared the complex labors of of having to adjust the actuality of aging as relative to each and every individual. In this way, when we address Biden’s age of 84 years, we think we have a handle on it. It is only through careful observation and non-prejudicial clarity that we start to gain an accurate understanding of his remarkable capabilities and powers. Working at the behest of the not so shadowy powers lurking behind the throne of Democracy, the right wing and much of the ‘mainstream’ media have skillfully implanted the narrative of Biden’s ‘infirmity’ in the predisposed minds of the public. It is a characteristic of humans that once such ideas take root, it can be very hard to weed them out of our poorly tended and overgrown ‘gardens’. This is particularly so when such sly nonsense insinuates itself with pre-existing misconceptions. There are many factors that effect aging, but they mostly fall into one of three categories: genetic propensity, beneficial mental attitude and proper body/mind maintenance. Eating well, getting enough sleep, exercising the mind and body, maintaining a positive mental outlook, managing stress, etc; all fit neatly into these categories. All three rely on making good lifestyle choices, to implement and maximize their potential. When properly done, they cross fertilize and become mutually enhancing. I speak from personal experience. At 72, I still actively train at boxing, perfectly capable of holding my own in classes with fit participants half my age. Boxing is highly demanding both physically and mentally and it only becomes fully manifested when the mind and body create a full interconnection. At our gym, which I attend mornings, Monday thru Friday, there are 4 rows of heavy punching bags totally 27 in all. As part of each class, our instructor asks us to side step from bag to bag, hitting each numerous times in a predetermined combo. I always go first, because I finish, on average, a full row ahead of the rest. Then while the rest of the class catches up, I’ll double back to repeat the first row, as I wait for them to finish and line up for the next round. For the entirety of my adult life I’ve looked younger than my age with the gap widening as I’ve grown older. A very common response to this is that “it’s in your genes”. This neatly bypasses any recognition of choice and design on my part, while absolving the commenter of not having made better life choices. But the truth is that for most of our collective history, the vast majority of mankind have not made healthy life style choices or even recognized it as an option, because, historically, for most of humanity, it has not been an option. In many ways we are still on the frontier of realizing our true potential when it comes to aging and Biden may indeed be a forerunner in this. From what little I know about his personal life, it appears that he takes proper care for himself and I suspect that he has always done so, as the likelihood of starting to later in life is in inverse proportion to age. Factoring as well into the relativity of aging, is what I call ‘divine energy’. Over my life, as a creative individual, I’ve become aware of the many health benefits of engaging the mind in pursuits we love. This can become more apparent with highly creative people and people involved in other high cognitive pursuits. Biden is nothing if not a master politician. The same applies for Nancy Pelosi and we have just witnessed her political apotheosis starting when she was well into her 70s and showing no signs of attrition. On the contrary, both she and Biden are at the height of their powers and Biden gets sharper and clearer every day. His recent SOTU performance should make this abundantly clear. My uncle, who was the last surviving eye witness to the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, lived to be 98. We both shared a love of repartee and when we were together the barbs flew. To the end of his days, verbally sparing with him was a real test of my skills and stamina. He was so sharp and fast, I could barely keep up. And he was brilliantly funny with not a trace of malice in his humor. He has been gone now for a decade and I’ve come to realize that not only were his mental powers not eroding, but judging from my own experience, if our ages had been reversed, he would have been the one struggling. Personally, I try as hard as I can not to let preconceived and prejudiced concepts rule my decision making or as here, rule the country. I understand the longing of others for young leadership, but I don’t think it is necessarily preferable as a generic choice. When I make my choices, I weigh the variables and focus on specifics. Occasionally, younger leaders have proved highly capably, as is the case with the retiring Jacinda Ardern, the Premier of New Zealand. But as many older leaders can be disappointing, so can many more youthful. We are still ‘paying off’ for Obama’s inexperience and naïveté. Ironically, this is partially offset by the lessons Biden learned as his Vice President. (The fact that the majority of Republican Presidents have been old, should not be taken in and of itself as an indictment of age, as they would have been at least as bad if younger. Bush Jr. was ‘young’.) When Biden is slandered for his age, nothing of real substance regarding his decisions and record is brought up to support this prejudice. Despite the dated concept of retirement at 65, the aging actually do not come with a biologically fixed ‘expiration date’ and lumping all ‘seniors’ into the same ‘home’ is a form of detrimental prejudice. Starting sometime back with the advent of pop-culture and the consumer cult of ‘the new’, a deep distrust of older people began to supplant the previous authority imparted to them by experience. Although I was never a believer in blanket ‘respect for your elders’, I never the less had nothing but the highest respect for elders deserving of so through their actions, achievements and wisdom. Choosing a political leader, or doctor, or comfortable shoe, for that matter, should be done on a ‘case by case’ basis and never because it is the current overriding collective mindset. Biden is well on the way to becoming one the the most beneficially consequential Presidents in our history. He has a record of accomplishments since taking office which already mark him as being ‘the right man ,in the right place ,at the right time’. He is deeply humane, honorable and highly capable. He is also into this for the right reasons and with his ego firmly in check. This makes him non-corruptible. For those who have a ‘problem’ with his age, rather than allowing prejudice to cloud their better judgement, they need to pinch themselves. Hard!. 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