Older Americans Month: Age is just a number? – Speak Your Piece – May 20, 2025

Before it’s over, let’s talk about Older Americans Month, which is being observed nationwide and in Bucks County in May. 

This year’s theme is Flip the Script on Aging and we can do that by drawing attention to the perceptions and misconceptions we have about aging — where discrimination lurks — and also highlight the contributions of older adults.

We discussed older Americans and this special month on “Speak Your Piece” and what keeps us going. Consider the ongoing political, post-election controversy about former President Biden’s possible age-related decline and his ability to run the country for the last four years. There were the old-man jokes, name-calling, the disrespectful video clips and serious concerns about ability. But the main focus was on the number.

And although President Donald Trump is two years younger, his age and abilities also were raised by Biden defenders and Trump opponents. Again, it’s the calendar number that gives rise to the discrimination felt by older Americans. The supporters of Older Americans Month deserve a salute for acknowledging the value of a life long-lived and well-lived.   

As statistics show, Americans are living longer and healthier, so we need to flip the script on old-age.  

Did you know that in the U.S. the number of people living to 100 has almost doubled in the last 20 years — with centenarians making up 0.27% of the population in 2021? 

According to Technology Networks, there were 89,739 centenarians in a population of 336,996,624 people and the increase is expected to continue with people 100 or over making up 0.1% of the population by 2054. 

In 1950, there were about 2,300 Americans 100 or over, according to the Pew Research Center. 

Today, older adults are protected by law from age-related discrimination, called “ageism,” which applies to those 40 years-or older.  They’re protected in workplace, social, and health-care settings. 

This month we especially honor the contributions older adults make in our community and culture, to families, as volunteers, or on the job. But it’s also incumbent upon us to challenge the stereotypes applied to older people and provide opportunities in Bucks County and beyond to people as they age.  

“Age is just a number,” my mom would say, as we often wondered about the mystery of her own age.   

Pat Wandling hosts “Speak Your Piece,” from which this commentary is adapted, weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.