Longevity

Longevity has been a key part of some stories. One famous story is Dracula by Bram Stoker. Dracula had a sinister longevity. Another character to defy aging was in the Oscar Wild novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. Dorian craved longevity as a very good thing reserved for him.  But is it really such a good thing? Do we need to fully assess longevity as the human life expectancy is increased? The physical body is not the only concern with extended life.  

Each person is like a plant. We are rooted and grounded in the culture from which we spring. People who naturally seem to live long appear to be less myopically wedded to the culture from which they emerged. But for everyone else it is different. At some point, usually early in  life, a snap shot of the culture is coalesced in the rest of us. We may progress culturally in later life as things change. But once we are old, the coalesced earlier culture reclaims us. We reject or deny the culture as it has evolved. We become increasingly disgruntled. We live in the past. This may be a major contributing factor to a shorter life span.

As I watch today’s culture wars, I am reminded that the main proponents are older people. They coalesced at an earlier time. It was a time when the environment that gave rise to their preferred culture was different. The politicians fan the flames and use cultural preference as a vehicle for votes. Trying to bring back an earlier culture is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. To personally accommodate cultural change was the central theme of an award winning science fiction book by Joe Haldeman, The Forever War.

I suspect the bigger problem with longevity for most of us will be the loss of the familiar and comforting. I think psychological well being will be the greatest challenge to extending life. The mental unset will negate the joy of the physical strides.