Dear CCI Followers,
Our COVID lockdown seems to be opening up some priceless introspections in many of us––those that previously were tightly locked in place. The longer the virus continues, the more it causes us to evaluate what and who we really are, to look at the reasons for our societal indifferences and malaise for so long, and all importantly… the unwillingness of our leaders and institutions to give up their seats and bring up those with younger mentality to lead our nation.
Julius Krein forces us to take a look at these factors, even to see ourselves as the Soviet Union when it was in decline. Might this be one of the reasons why some, particularly our leaders, are so frightened of Vladimir Putin? As a 50-to-60 year old decision maker, Putin doesn’t diagnose or handle international relations in a way that our older leaders understand. Putin encourages a “multi-polar” world, not a unipolar world to which we are accustomed and continue to force on our allies through NATO.
As an Octogenarian, I welcome the changes that appear to be surfacing. Fortunately CCI’s chief supporters are two or three decades younger than I am. I see great need in replacing myself! How to do this is another question. But it must happen sooner than later! More to follow.
I believe change is ahead.
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
America’s Unhealthy Gerontocracy
June 25, 2020
By Julius Krein
America in its present state of decline increasingly resembles the late Soviet Union, but one of the most unsettling parallels is its unmistakable slide into gerontocracy. From Trump to Biden to Sanders to Pelosi to most of the Senate, one might think that the biblical three score and ten had become a mandatory minimum for holding office in this country. By 2024, for twenty-four of the previous thirty-two years, America will have been led by people born in or before 1946.
While gerontocracy is most obvious in politics, it is present throughout American life. The average ages of university professors and administrators, banking executives and corporate CEOs, and many other leading figures have all been steadily rising for some time. Perhaps Silicon Valley has been so successful precisely because it is the only place in America where people who are not on the cusp of senility can get promoted or raise capital. Conversely, perhaps the pharma lobby is so successful because it is not only the biggest donor but probably the largest vendor to the assisted living facility that is Congress.
The fragility of this gerontocracy has been ruthlessly exposed by the Covid-19 epidemic. The crisis has also shown the damage that can be caused by a ruling class more qualified to be in long-term care than to hold important and intensely demanding positions.