WE WERE HERE FIRST

WE WERE HERE FIRST

There is no enduring custom in America to honor our elders. No rite, no reverence, no rule. Instead, a grotesque reversal of roles has crept into our culture, one in which the children have appointed themselves as the parents and the elders are cast as helpless dependents in need of scolding, managing, or babysitting.

This is not just misguided. It is insulting. It is an abomination.

To be old in America is to be condescended to. The language used is soft, sing-song, and patronizing as if we were toddlers who needed their shoes tied and their meals cut. The tone is one of pity. The advice is unsolicited and often absurd. The universal assumption is that aging robs you of intellect, insight, independence, and basic human worth.

Let’s be clear: this is a myth.

Most elders are not suffering from cognitive collapse. Many remain sharp, witty, thoughtful, and fully engaged with the world around them. More importantly, we bring to the table something our critics lack. We have lived, built, endured, lost, loved, raised families, led careers, and shaped the very systems in which today’s “advisors” operate.

To those who treat us as simple-minded burdens to manage, ask yourselves: have you published books? Commanded troops? Run businesses? Drafted legislation? Healed patients? Represented clients in court? Fought for civil rights? Changed lives?

Because we have, and we did it before you were born.

This ageism masquerading as concern is often nothing more than fear and ignorance in disguise. It allows the young to feel superior for a moment while conveniently ignoring the fact that their parents and grandparents paved the roads they now drive on, literally and figuratively. They forget that we’re the ones who paid for their education, carried their worries, and absorbed their tantrums with the patience they now lack.

So here is a radical suggestion: turn the tables back. It’s time we remind the younger generation that wisdom does not shrink with age. It accumulates. Respect is not optional. It is earned, and we have earned it in full. Guidance, when it comes from those who’ve lived through war, depression, love, loss, and change, is not to be mocked. It is to be sought out and treasured.

Children of America: you may hold the car keys now, but we built the road. A little humility would serve you well. And a lot more respect is overdue.

We are not your children.
We are your elders.
Start acting like it.

William James Spriggs