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0 pointshedora3y ago0 comments

We’re facing some massive generational crises at this point, and it feels like the only solution is to wait for the current leadership to die off, and hope the gen x’ers fix it.

The WWII generation fixed the ozone hole, but their kids didn’t lift a finger for global warming.

Subsequent generations are scrambling to pick up the pieces for our kids, while crap like this, and our rapidly collapsing democracy keep sabotaging our efforts. Heck, in California, we’re actively causing psychological harm to an entire generation of kids (with masks) because of a tiny minority of anti-vaxxer school teachers.

Of course, progressive boomers exist, as do idiotic younger people. However, the current generation of leadership in the US has completely failed us.

Anyway, it’s not surprising to me that that crowd decided to shunt healthcare resources away from their (great) grandkids and into elder care.

0 comments

cogman103y ago

While I think SOME longevity in congress/the senate is a good thing (You get more done). I really wish we had something like an age cap.

It's really crazy that the only way it seems like we can get these senators/congresspeople out of office is death from old age.

The fact is, your mind DOES deteriorate when you get older. That's why so many phone scams are special built to target older people.

A change I'd make to the constitution is that "nobody over the age of 70 can hold a governmental position".

throwawayboise3y ago

Mandatory retirement is a thing in a lot of professions. Should be in government as well.

hedoraOP3y ago

I'm increasingly thinking politicians should not be allowed to make decisions that won't impact them. We've got people that will be dead in 20 years preventing action on global warming.

They won't live long enough to have to deal with their consequences of their actions, and they clearly don't care if they burn the planet down before their kids inherit it.

I think this translates to an age limit of 65-75.

More importantly, I think this should be applied to voters as well.

manmal3y ago

Please, don’t spread ageism. Yes, brains perform worse in many kinds of ways when they age. But that’s highly variable. And there are narcissists and sociopaths in every age group.

cogman103y ago

The kinds of ways matter. A primary way the majority of brains start to show age is in trust and risk assessment. [1] [2]

I agree, someone with a compromised ability to evaluate risk is probably more than capable at doing most desk jobs. However, the last thing we need is politicians who's aging brains have been compromised in evaluating future risks. Putting someone most likely to send scammers gift cards in charge of foreign policy and assessing climate change risks is simply a recipe for disaster.

It doesn't seem all that crazy to demand that the ~300 people running the US not be at an age where mental decline is common.

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-older-adults-... [2] https://neurosciencenews.com/ventromedial-prefrontal-cortex-...

1 more reply

bsedlm3y ago

> We’re facing some massive generational crises at this point, and it feels like the only solution is to wait for the current leadership to die off, and hope the gen x’ers fix it.

oh man, I choose to laugh so I don't start crying hahaha.

I want to turn this into an argument of why age-reversal and other longevity research is such a bad idea (personally, I think it's kind of evil; but maybe I've seen too many villanous cartoon characters throwing everything under the bus so the can live forever).

wardedVibe3y ago

I mean, making sure Putin doesn't live forever seems like a pretty high priority to me.

There's also the fact that science might lock up, since old scientists have more reputation at stake in the old theories (there's an adage "science advances one funeral at a time"). We're not ready as a species for immortality

BLKNSLVR3y ago

That quote applies to many (all?) disciplines:

"X advances one funeral at a time".

ISL3y ago

The WWII generation may have worked to fix the ozone hole, but they also unknowingly created it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorofluorocarbon#History

karmelapple3y ago

And all of the generations helped create climate change, yet we're not doing all that much to comprehensively combat it at a government level.

whimsicalism3y ago

> The WWII generation fixed the ozone hole, but their kids didn’t lift a finger for global warming.

Let's not pretend these are comparable challenges.

> our rapidly collapsing democracy keep sabotaging our efforts.

When people say stuff like this, are they being hyperbolic or do they actually mean it? How long is the democratic tradition in the US that is collapsing?

rurp3y ago

We just had a candidate openly try to steal the last presidential election and face no real consequences as a result. In fact, it likely strengthened his position. 10 years ago I would have thought the end of American democracy was extremely unlikely, now though we're only a few small steps away and that bridge could be crossed at any point.

This isn't some outlier event either, democracy has been receding around the world for years. I really, really hope the trend reverses itself, but am scared at how real the threat is.

whimsicalism3y ago

I don't think we were even remotely close to somehow Trump remaining on as president.

> democracy has been receding around the world for years

I am skeptical. Majoritarian democracy in the US has only really existed for 40-50 years and I perceive it as continuing to expand both here and abroad.

1 more reply

germinalphrase3y ago

If they’re not being hyperbolic, they might be reacting to stories like this:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/j-michael-luttig-op-ed-ja...

antod3y ago

> Let's not pretend these are comparable challenges.

Not only that, but global warming was an already known problem at the time CFCs and ozone were being solved.

usrn3y ago

It's possible we have too much democracy. A lot of stuff got changed because we thought the previous configuration didn't make sense but it may have been that way for a reason.

JaimeThompson3y ago

Which things do you thing should change back and what should they change back into?

whimsicalism3y ago

No more election of judges.

Campaign finance restrictions.

Referenda that can't be overriden by legislature should require 50% of eligible voter population to support, not 50% of voters in that particular election.

No special elections.

I-M-S3y ago

End to NIMBYism. Current homeowners should not be able to block new developments and encase a neighbourhood in amber.

3 more replies

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

cogman103y ago

While I think SOME longevity in congress/the senate is a good thing (You get more done). I really wish we had something like an age cap.

It's really crazy that the only way it seems like we can get these senators/congresspeople out of office is death from old age.

The fact is, your mind DOES deteriorate when you get older. That's why so many phone scams are special built to target older people.

A change I'd make to the constitution is that "nobody over the age of 70 can hold a governmental position".

throwawayboise3y ago

Mandatory retirement is a thing in a lot of professions. Should be in government as well.

hedoraOP3y ago

I'm increasingly thinking politicians should not be allowed to make decisions that won't impact them. We've got people that will be dead in 20 years preventing action on global warming.

They won't live long enough to have to deal with their consequences of their actions, and they clearly don't care if they burn the planet down before their kids inherit it.

I think this translates to an age limit of 65-75.

More importantly, I think this should be applied to voters as well.

manmal3y ago

Please, don’t spread ageism. Yes, brains perform worse in many kinds of ways when they age. But that’s highly variable. And there are narcissists and sociopaths in every age group.

cogman103y ago

The kinds of ways matter. A primary way the majority of brains start to show age is in trust and risk assessment. [1] [2]

It doesn't seem all that crazy to demand that the ~300 people running the US not be at an age where mental decline is common.

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-older-adults-... [2] https://neurosciencenews.com/ventromedial-prefrontal-cortex-...

1 more reply

bsedlm3y ago

> We’re facing some massive generational crises at this point, and it feels like the only solution is to wait for the current leadership to die off, and hope the gen x’ers fix it.

oh man, I choose to laugh so I don't start crying hahaha.

wardedVibe3y ago

I mean, making sure Putin doesn't live forever seems like a pretty high priority to me.

BLKNSLVR3y ago

That quote applies to many (all?) disciplines:

"X advances one funeral at a time".

ISL3y ago

The WWII generation may have worked to fix the ozone hole, but they also unknowingly created it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorofluorocarbon#History

karmelapple3y ago

And all of the generations helped create climate change, yet we're not doing all that much to comprehensively combat it at a government level.

whimsicalism3y ago

> The WWII generation fixed the ozone hole, but their kids didn’t lift a finger for global warming.

Let's not pretend these are comparable challenges.

> our rapidly collapsing democracy keep sabotaging our efforts.

When people say stuff like this, are they being hyperbolic or do they actually mean it? How long is the democratic tradition in the US that is collapsing?

rurp3y ago

This isn't some outlier event either, democracy has been receding around the world for years. I really, really hope the trend reverses itself, but am scared at how real the threat is.

whimsicalism3y ago

I don't think we were even remotely close to somehow Trump remaining on as president.

> democracy has been receding around the world for years

I am skeptical. Majoritarian democracy in the US has only really existed for 40-50 years and I perceive it as continuing to expand both here and abroad.

1 more reply

germinalphrase3y ago

If they’re not being hyperbolic, they might be reacting to stories like this:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/j-michael-luttig-op-ed-ja...

antod3y ago

> Let's not pretend these are comparable challenges.

Not only that, but global warming was an already known problem at the time CFCs and ozone were being solved.

usrn3y ago

It's possible we have too much democracy. A lot of stuff got changed because we thought the previous configuration didn't make sense but it may have been that way for a reason.

JaimeThompson3y ago

Which things do you thing should change back and what should they change back into?

whimsicalism3y ago

No more election of judges.

Campaign finance restrictions.

Referenda that can't be overriden by legislature should require 50% of eligible voter population to support, not 50% of voters in that particular election.

No special elections.

I-M-S3y ago

End to NIMBYism. Current homeowners should not be able to block new developments and encase a neighbourhood in amber.

3 more replies

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse