Human Worth with Age

In my opinion, today’s society has a horrible view of a person’s value based on age. The worst consequence of this is that great power (money) is granted to old people. Presidents, leaders, CEOs, coaches, etc. are all old, and we chose to put these people in charge. I believe society assigns great value to old people for two reasons: firstly, we’ve always been told to respect them. Secondly, society believes experience trumps all. Society does not believe that mental ability can worsen over time. I believe it diminishes alongside physical ability; when we get old, we lose the ability to learn – connect thoughts, separate thoughts, recall thoughts, and create thoughts. Einstein was only 26 years old when he had his “miracle year”. To me, the world made more sense when young people ruled nations. Ancient Egypt had the right idea. When has anyone old ever done anything impressive or valuable for society? Has anyone old ever invented something? I’m not just talking about productivity, but also recollection ability – old people don’t win on Jeopardy. Only old people have power in this world, and they constantly make bad decisions for the populace. The elderly demand great respect, but that doesn’t make them invaluable.

In today’s society, a newborn is regarded as the most valuable thing ever, as if it is impossible to produce another one in 9 months. Religion probably has a lot to do with this. To me, a newborn has been prepped for surviving the real world for 9 months. A high school graduate has been prepped for surviving the real world for 18 years. Thus, I see the death of a high school graduate as being 24 times sadder than the death of a newborn. What’s wrong with seeing a newborn as a priceless gift from God? Millions of dollars are spent fixing birth defects. This is also true for old people. No one can accept nature; no one can accept death, and everyone wants medical intervention. The Spartans had the right idea; they killed the weak and deformed newborns. You probably think I’m a horrible, soulless person. I don’t look at someone born with medical intervention any differently than anyone else. How would I even know, right? I just always look at the bigger picture rather than focus on the single baby; I consider everyone affected. And if a newborn costs a million dollars to fix, a lot of people are affected: if the parents are rich, they can pay for it. But these days, parents aren’t rich and call upon the government for financial support, in which case every tax-paying citizen is ever-so-slightly affected. Or, the parents may call upon their health insurance company, in which case every customer of that company is ever-so-slightly affected. Not to mention the great care and money that is required to raise a mentally-handicapped child, such as sacrificing a sibling’s dreams. So abort and retry because it’s best for everybody. Babies demand great care, but that doesn’t make them invaluable.