Joe Biden is the Poster Child for Ageism Stereotypes
One of the few “isms” that is actually a reality in America is ageism. Ask any job seeker over 50, and I guarantee they ALL will have a story of age discrimination when interviewing. Talk to people who are younger and in a position to hire, and you’ll find a few who will talk candidly about why they don’t like to hire older people.
Frankly, some of these complaints are valid. There are some older workers who have skill sets that are obsolete, some are close-minded, while others have difficulty taking direction from younger people. However, the worst stereotype that organizations advocating for the elderly routinely encounter is the perception that older people are inevitably in a steep mental decline once they reach their 60s.
Aging and Cognitive Decay
In fact, in a 2002 study of cognitive decline in older Americans, researchers found that only 22.2% of those who were 71 and older suffered from mild cognitive decline, and only 13.9% were diagnosed with some form of dementia. The point is that in the study, 64% of those over 71 experienced no symptoms of cognitive decline at all.
There is no denying that the brain is impacted by aging. Nerve fibers wear down over time, which slows the speed of processing between neurons. This affects memory storage and retrieval as well as the ability to react swiftly in situations requiring quick answers.
On the other hand, dendrite branches (tree-like structures of brain cells) actually strengthen as we age, promoting enhanced connections between distant areas of the brain. Researchers believe this allows for greater understanding of issues on a global level, which explains why people seem to grow wiser as they grow older.
Joe Biden is the Ambassador of Ageism
Even if you despise Joe Biden and his destruction of America, it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for him during his “senior moments.” In the video below, you’ll see a variety of clips that show Slow Joe staring off into space while everyone around him is reacting to humor, mumbling incoherently, lying again about his son dying in Iraq, staring blankly and unable to exit a stage, shouting “God save the Queen,” when Queen Elizabeth had died eight months earlier, falling down stairs, and a variety of other gaffes, stumbles, creepiness and confusion.
The issues surrounding Biden’s age and mental acuity have become such an obvious problem, prominent Democrats like David Axelrod and Representative Dean Phillips suggest he step aside in favor of a younger candidate. Even the left wing media is piling on.
Woke leftists, probably the sleaziest group of people ever assembled under one banner, are trying to lump President Trump in with Biden by shamelessly cutting and pasting videos to portray the former president as also mentally impaired. There is even a dedicated hashtag: #TrumpIsNotWell on X.
Of course, in Trump’s case, this is bald-faced ageism that has no basis in fact whatsoever. Listen to any speech at a Trump rally, or watch the latest interview on Hannity, and any concerns about Trump’s command of the issues and the current geopolitical landscape evaporate immediately.
Biden is Doing Great Harm to the Perception of Older Americans
Despite the notion that people over 60 decline rapidly into a vegetative state, older Americans are thriving as never before. Many are surprised to learn that 51% of business owners are over the age of 55. Every day, more adults over 50 are starting a business, and the labor participation rate for those 75 and older is up from 5% in 2002 to 11% in 2022. Entrepreneurs over 70 are starting more new businesses than ever before.
That is why it is so distressing when the most visible octogenarian in the world has become the poster child for every negative myth and stereotype applied to older Americans. Every time Joe Biden speaks, he does damage to those over 60 who are looking for a job, starting a new business or trying to obtain financing.
Biden’s cognitive deficits have resulted in an increasingly vocal movement calling for age limits for those seeking office. A CBS/YouGov survey revealed 77% of respondents believe there should be age limits for elected officials.
Obviously, this kind of ageism is an expression of unvarnished discrimination of the worst kind. Would we ban all Latino candidates because of the criminal conduct of Bob Menendez and George Santos? Has there been any suggestion that John Fetterman should be banned from holding public office because of his medical condition, which has obviously impaired his judgement? Should former cancer patients be banned because they might relapse?
Instead of bans, it is absolutely essential that those who are past 60 monitor their cognitive capacity closely and display wisdom and selflessness in determining whether they are capable of holding public office. Among the many failings of Joe Biden, perhaps this is the worst. His selfishness in insisting on remaining president when he has demonstrated publicly on many occasions that he no longer has the capacity to carry out the demands of the job is utterly appalling. Every time he forgets where and who he is, Biden sets the battle against age discrimination back decades, and when other older politicians like Mitch McConnell have their own mental lapses publicly, the cry for age limits grows louder.
For the good of the country, and for the good of the millions of older Americans he damages with every new gaffe, Joe Biden should do the right thing and announce he will not seek office in 2024.
But based on this man’s history, he’ll do the selfish thing instead.
