There is a misguided movement in the United States that borders on age discrimination. Actually, it perfectly fits the definition of age discrimination.
It should not take someone in his early 40s to point it out, but a poll released by CBS last week found that nearly 75% of Americans — across party lines — support age limits for elected officials.
Americans don't agree on much these days, but they do agree that discriminating against people over something they cannot control is a good idea.
Of course this is antithetical to living in a representative democracy, where you’re given an opportunity to vote for your preferred candidate, regardless of age, gender, race, or anything else.
Would this poll have looked differently just a few years ago? I believe so.
In 2016, both U.S. presidential candidates were nearing age 70. And two years ago, the 2020 presidential election saw Donald Trump, the oldest person ever elected to a first presidential term, face Joe Biden, the oldest man ever elected president, who turns 80 in about two months.
Perhaps the country would be better off if Govs. Ron Desantis, age 44, and Gavin Newsom, 54, battled for the presidency in 2024. But is that solely because Trump and Biden are senior citizens? I think it’s actually due to their policies, divisive personalities, and lack of likability, with many using “they're too old” as a lazy crutch.
And just because Biden’s cognitive ability and energy level is dubious, that doesn't mean others his age are similar. Trump mostly has control of his mental faculties and high energy, as does two-time presidential loser Bernie Sanders, even if he's a dangerous totalitarian.
Let’s not forget that Queen Elizabeth, who died last week at 96, remained lucid into her final days.
The importance of life experience and perspective should be clear and an attribute.
Meanwhile, a banal American actress named Jennifer Lawrence recently expressed hatred for older people running for office in an interview with a popular fashion magazine. Engaging in a petty tirade about her "conservative family," the millennial specifically attacked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell because he “was alive and well and thriving when schools were segregated.”
Of course, that's an irrelevant point by an unserious person. McConnell is younger than Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sanders, and just a few months older than Biden. Somehow Lawrence did not mention the latter three in her partisan rant.
Age really is just a number, making such broad policies troubling.
“It’s an individual issue, because some people at age 70 are already showing their age, when it comes to mental acuity, agility, passion, and then some have not even started to show these characteristics,” Toni Friedman, a retired YMCA senior program director said. "So it’s hard to generalize. Every person ages differently based on many factors. I don’t think you can make a blanket age cut off for people who want to seek public office."
I agree. I simply want the person who best represents my beliefs. If he or she is only 38, like phenomenal U.S. Reps Mike Gallagher or Dan Crenshaw, that’s fine; and if he’s 89, like Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley — physically and mentally sharp and on his way to another election win in November — that's fine too.
An arbitrary age cutoff to appease capricious folks who disliked the presidential options in 2016, 2020, and perhaps 2024, is anathema to the democratic process and will stop quality people from holding office.
It also would not help the country any more than other unconstitutional ideas from the American left, like packing the Supreme Court, adding new states, abolishing the Senate filibuster, making college "free," or lowering the voting age so schoolchildren can determine our elections.
A.J. Kaufmanis a columnist for Alpha News and The Lid