This blog post is reprinted with the kind permission of Grace Lee Boggs. It was originally published in the Living for Change Newsletter, published by the James & Grace Lee Boggs Center in Detroit.
The older I grow, the more I am convinced that the human race can only continue to evolve if we overcome the age segregation that has contributed so much to our dehumanization over the last few decades. When I was an undergraduate in the early 1930s, I heard Ira D. Reid speak at a weekend college conference and learned truths about the African American experience which I felt had been kept from me. At the time I was in my teens. So Dr. Reid (1901-1968), who was in his 30s and director of research for the Urban League, seemed much older and wiser than I would ever be. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
elders
generations
grace_lee_boggs
hope
intergenerational_conversation
reconnecting
wisdom
young_people
“Mentors and apprentices are partners in an ancient human dance . . .
the dance of the spiraling generations, in which the old empower the
young with their experience and the young empower the old with new
life, reweaving the fabric of the human community as they touch and
turn.”
—Parker J. Palmer
American author, educator, activist[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
community
empower
generations
old
young
By Shae Hadden
According to Dr. David Suzuki, “it is not
progress to use up the rightful legacy of our children and
grandchildren.” He opened the first Elders and the Environment Forum
on Monday in Vancouver, Canada with a keynote address that focused on
the role of elders in the environmental movement and how we can make a
difference:[ Read More]
Written by eldering at News
Tagged with:
david_suzuki
elders
environment
future
generations
relationship
By Jim Selman | Bio
Last evening we were having a lively family
conversation about life in general and Eldering in particular. We
talked about whether there is, in fact, a ‘generational divide’ and, if
so, what can we say about it. To my surprise, my children and my son’s
girlfriend all felt that there was less of a divide in the minds of
people their age than in the minds of people my age. I asked the
question, “What do young men and women talk to each other about that
you would be reluctant to talk about with people our age?” What they
said is that reluctance to have a particular conversation or to be open
has more to do with the culture of the participants than with their
age. They all agreed that they are more ‘open’ and authentic in urban
West Coast types of circumstances than when they travel to the Midwest
or the South.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Join discussion COMMENTS [1]
Tagged with:
communication
conversation
eldering
family
generations
Brave Nation,
an interesting five-part documentary series about committed
individuals—both young and old—who are changing the world, is now
available for online viewing. Each documentary includes conversations
about areas of common concern between two generations, and include
these notable environmentalists, human rights activists, artists and
journalists: [ Read More]
Written by eldering at News
Tagged with:
activists
documentary
environmentalists
generations
 By Shae Hadden | Bio
Traditionally, a generation was defined as the time between the birth
of parents and the birth of their offspring (about 30 years). Recently,
however, a more accurate definition would be a group of people born and
shaped by a particular span of time. The eras of Generations X, Y and Z
span much less than two decades each. And every generation experiences
life from a different perspective including changing societal values,
technologies and career options. These different perspectives are very
apparent when we communicate with each other. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
collaboration
generations
intergenerational
language
multigenerational
 By Jim Selman | Bio
A long time ago (in the late 60s I think). I read a book by John Gerassi called The Boys of Boise, Furor, Vice and Folly in an American City.
Basically, it was a shocking journalistic reporting of how a city’s
fears can create a kind of mass paranoia. Boise, Idaho isn’t quite the
Wild West, but to this day it has a kind of ‘cowboy’ feeling about it.
In the 1960s, same-sex anything (other than drinking and football) was
something that just didn’t happen. You’d rather be a Red than Gay in
those days—long before “Brokeback Mountain”. The book chronicles what
happens when Time magazine reports that Boise is a mecca for
homosexuals in America. The bottom line is that anyone and everyone was
a suspect, the City hired a Gestapo-type investigator, and
McCarthy-like prosecutions followed. If you want the details, get the
book. I am reminded of this because to my shock and dismay, I
read recently that child protection measures in the UK will be expanded
with the implementation in 2009 of the Independent Safeguarding Authority, which will increase the number of adults to be vetted by the criminal justice system to 11 million.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
child_protection
elders
generations
legislation
relationship
 By Lauren Selman | Bio
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, GO!!! At midnight, on July 3rd, over nine hundred
runners started off on a midnight fourth of July run in Seattle. Among
the runners were my uncle and I. As I stood in the crowd waiting to
start, I saw runners of all ages. From nine-year-olds to 85-year-olds,
all of us were crazy enough to be standing in Seattle at midnight in
short shorts and tank tops. It go me thinking. Here we were, all humans
of different ages, gathering around to run.
Now, this is nowhere near my first of this kind of run and the more I
thought about it, the more I realized that very often multiple
generations come together at sporting events.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
ages
commitment
community
generations
inspiration
integrity
sports
Barack Obama’s speech to the United States and the world last week moved
me more than any political oratory I can recall. It wasn’t just the
content of the speech I found moving but the quality of human being
that he showed us—a man willing to take a stand for his convictions and
tell the truth about a subject that has been an ‘elephant head on the
table’ for decades. He will have my vote and whatever the maximum
financial contribution allowed is to support his campaign. I was also impressed by the fact that many of the most positive comments after the speech came from conservative pundits.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Leadership
Tagged with:
dialogue
generations
leader
obama
racism
"When you find the right person, age doesn't matter." Intergenerational
relationships are not a thing of the past. They are actually alive and
well in North America. There is good coverage of the many people who
work and volunteer helping seniors. However, reports like this one out
of Tennessee show that women developing friendships across generations
can create a future not possible without intergenerational
collaboration. Common interests, mutual respect, and caring are the
foundations for invaluable friendships like these: relationships that
cross the generation gap, embrace differences and accept each person as
they are. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at News
Join discussion COMMENTS [0]
Tagged with:
age
collaboration
friendship
generations
|
RSS Feeds
