America’s 250th: A Time to Act. No Matter Your Age.
Question: How old is “old”?
Answer: It depends on who you ask.
The current average life expectancy in the U.S. is 79 years of age. But if you’re my oldest cousin who’s 79—and your mother is 99 and going strong—do you think of yourself as “old”?
The Social Security Administration defines “full retirement age” as 67. But if you’re 70 or 75 or 80, love what you do—and can’t imagine NOT doing it—do you think of yourself as “old”?
This weekend, America will celebrate its 250th birthday.
For a human being, that would be considered beyond “old,” but as far as countries go, it’s still a babe in the woods—especially when you consider that some countries in the Middle East are MORE THAN 5000 YEARS OLD.
And believe it or not, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, there are invertebrates in the Antarctic that can live as long as 15,000 years.
The fact is, whether we’re talking about people or countries or animals, age—and, more to the point, “old age”—is simply a matter of opinion. And perspective.
There are people I’ve known who were “old” in their 50’s—and others who are well into their 90’s who seem to be eternally “young.”
As I’ve said many times before, AGE is nothing more than the marker of time spent on this earth.
And as we celebrate America’s 250th birthday this weekend, I think it’s important for us to keep in mind that the average age of our Founding Fathers—those wise, visionary, “white-haired” men and women who fought for their independence from a tyrannical regime a semi-quincentennial ago—was only about 44.
Alexander Hamilton was just 21 years old—and Benjamin Franklin was 70. Both made history-making contributions to this country that remain in effect to this day: the United States Treasury, the US Postal Service, and more.
In 1946, President Harry S. Truman enlisted former President Herbert Hoover to chair the Famine Emergency Committee which was created to address the global food shortages that occurred after the end of World War 11. Hoover, then 71-years-old, traveled more than 50,000 miles and visited 38 countries in order to prevent mass starvation in the aftermath of the war.
In 1963, a 34-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have A Dream Speech” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
Throughout our nation’s history, both individuals and society as a whole have proven time and time again that patriotism, courage, vision, innovation, and a commitment to freedom, justice, and equal rights are neither limited to, nor defined by age.
Rather than pointing fingers or placing blame for our country’s problems, it’s time instead to extend an open hand to lift people up—and bring them along—as we focus on finding solutions to today’s challenges.
So as we turn the page on this next chapter of the American Story, we must remind ourselves that it’s going to take ALL of us—“young” and “old” alike—to ensure its strength, its freedoms, and its future going forward.
As Margaret Mead once said, “Never forget that small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
AND NOTE: she didn’t say one single word about age.