What defines an ‘oldie’?

I was brought up to respect my elders, but sadly this practice seems to have fallen by the wayside and not necessarily by the youth of the country. Open any publication and read a news article on older people and you will often see the terms ‘oldie’, ‘old people’, ‘old codgers’ and even ‘old farts’ used to describe a generation, which, in my opinion deserves more respect. The achievements of older Australians are regularly reported as miraculous given the age of the participant, rather than being a celebration of the achievement itself.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we have a generation of people who gave up their youth and, in some instances, their lives to make Australia the country it is today. While many bemoan that Australia and its society is going to hell in a hand basket, there are some people, of which I am one, who believe that the older generation deserve thanks for enabling us to be the country we are.

Older people do deserve to be treated better; they deserve better health care, a better Age Pension to help them live a decent standard of living and recognition that they matter to this country. The Labor Government may or may not hold the view that ‘old people don’t vote Labor’, but this is no reason to overlook the needs of a valuable generation.  Personally I believe that older Australians make an educated decision when they vote, understanding the true value of democracy. They vote for the party they believe will give them a voice, but sadly this often fails to materialise.

I don’t believe this is limited to the political realm. With Australia Day approaching it’s time for society at large, the media included, to celebrate older Australians for the remarkable people they are, not the age to which they have lived.