Why So Many Old People?

2017 WI State Democratic Convention

Go anywhere that progressive activists congregate- the state Democratic Convention, Fighting BobFest, local Dem Meetings, or Congressional Town Halls. Who do you see there? Lots of old people!

Why are there so many senior activists compared to younger folks? It is primarily for the same reason that we find the majority of volunteers in any organization to be older. Seniors simply have more time. We are mostly finished raising our families. We no longer spend every waking hour helping with homework and housework. We no longer spend our entire weekend shuttling kids from soccer to music lessons to slumber parties.

Most seniors are not working a full time job. We now have time to give back to society. We have more time to keep current with political events. We have more time to influence the direction of our country through the political process. We have more time to be involved.

While working, many of us kept our political opinions to ourselves. After all, if our boss was a right-winger, it would be better not to express our progressive politics too vociferously. (I certainly did not write a lefty blog while working!) Older people are no longer restrained by career considerations. With retirement comes a new-found freedom to express our opinions and to take positive political action.

Seniors are more financially involved in politics, too. Many of us have more disposable income now that we paid-off the mortgage or have downsized our home. We have traded expensive work clothes for comfortable jeans. Once on Medicare, our medical expenses go down. We have more money that we can donate to progressive causes. We become a large source of campaign funding for liberal candidates.

The fact that seniors are more politically active than the young makes us a critical demographic group. We vote in numbers way out of proportion to our share of the population. In the 2016 presidential election, 70.9% of citizens over 65 voted, compared to only 46.1 % of those 18-29. While we need to get the sorry voter participation rates up for younger people, we must continue to address the concerns of seniors. We need to cultivate the huge reservoir of already-steady older voters.

Many older progressive activists fought the Culture Wars and other political battles during our youth. We do not want conservatives to undo all of the progress that America has made in the last 50 years. Environmental protections, civil rights, women's rights, privacy rights, workers' rights, and diplomacy vs warfare are all under attack from today's right. Many seniors feel a need to stay involved to protect the gains that we made so long ago.

Seniors are especially vulnerable to recent Republican efforts to undo the social safety net and cut earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare. Many retirees under 65, including me, depend on the Affordable Care Act for access to health insurance. These are life-and-death issues. It is no wonder that so many seniors take an active role in progressive organizations to defend these important programs.

I frequently attend political meetings where someone, usually pretty old themself, laments the fact that there are few young people involved. I always think, "So what?" I don't feel bad that the burden of progressive activism falls on the shoulders of older people. That's how it should be. Seniors have fewer family responsibilities and career restraints. They have time to devote to political causes. They realize what is at stake for our country. Let's stop worrying about all of the gray hair and take advantage of this powerful source of senior grassroots energy !