Dear Readers,
I was telling a friend about last month’s large family gathering at which I was assigned to sit at the kids’ table.
“Oh, how sad!” the friend remarked. “Ageism is alive and well!”
Was she implying the seating arrangement was some sort of insult, some sort of demotion for me? Had prejudice reared its ugly head because of my age — er, well, my advanced age?
When people offer me rides to book club or other events, am I to assume they are not being kind so much as they are being cautious: “Wow! Someone her age should NOT be driving on public roads!”
I did not mull over this for very long; instead, I decided to err on the side of assuming only the best intentions of others.
And yet, it did get me thinking . . .
Chronocentrism
Since moving to this area less than 20 years ago, I have witnessed the construction of many new office towers, apartment complexes, parking ramps, and stores only to then witness the demolition and replacement of some of those very same buildings! There was nothing “wrong” with any of those structures except for the fact that they were getting “old.” (Obviously, the criteria to meet the definition of “old” varies widely).
And every year, without fail, it’s “out with the old and in with the new” when it comes to fashion. In a galaxy far, far away, a few fashion gurus come up with must-have new clothing designs, and through mendacious marketing make us believe we don’t dare leave the house in last year’s antiquated styles.
This expensive and wasteful razing of useable buildings and landfill-filling of wearable clothing is exacerbated by the fact that the replacements often lack the artistic detail and the beauty of the originals.
Perhaps what we are experiencing is not so much “ageism” as it is “chronocentrism,” defined by Wikipedia as “the assumption that certain periods (typically the present) are better, more important, and a more significant reference” than past periods. It would follow then that it’s not necessarily earlier generations we disrespect and disregard; perhaps we are actually rejecting everything from earlier eras including ideas, beliefs, cultural concepts, morals.
Society vs the Church
Sadly, dear Readers, we all have many friends and family who have left the Church because they bought into the mistaken notion that science and religion are in conflict. In certain circles today, society worships science instead of the creator of science; religion is old, science is new. Like so much else from the past, some consider religion to be outdated, irrelevant, and obsolete.
(Ironically, I’m writing this on Epiphany Sunday, the feast which commemorates how the Magi went searching for the Truth “not in spite of science but because of science!”)
And now, here we are, faced with another new year. What mandate-to-eliminate will 2025 bring?
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches on the soul,” wrote Emily Dickinson, and my soul was indeed tickled to find hope in a YouTube video I discovered just yesterday!
In a recent episode of the Word on Fire Show entitled “Five Reasons to be Hopeful in the New Year,” Bishop Robert Barron gives us numerous examples of how not everything from the past is dead and gone; many things from long ago are alive and well and getting weller (please allow me the liberty of coining a new word there).
The bishop begins by explaining the difference between optimism and hope, an important distinction.
One of the oldest books in the world is the Bible and statistics show, according to Bishop Barron, that in 2024 Bible sales were up more than 22 percent while the number of “nones” (those claiming to have no affiliation with any religious tradition) appears to have peaked and is on the decline.
In Bishop Barron’s Minnesota diocese of Winona/ Rochester, vocations to the priesthood are up almost 50 percent.
Bishop Barron also points to the world-wide enthusiasm for the restoration, not destruction, of a 700-year-old building. For the past five years people of all faiths from across the globe have come together to support the rebuilding of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, even agreeing that most of the “old” 12th century craftsmanship, techniques, and materials should be used.
At the same time, here in our own diocese, the very old St. Bernard Church on Atwood Ave. has been saved and is being transformed into our new cathedral!
You might want to watch the full video on your own: www.youtube.com/watch?v=shrn0x4IZ3w
Overall, the message that “Everything old is new again!” is a hopeful one! (Of course, we can’t get carried away here! There some “old” things such as panty hose, Easy-Bake Ovens, and Spam — both the kind in the grocery store and the kind in your email — that should be left in the rearview mirror!)
Truth be told, I really enjoyed my meal at the kids table last month. Kids can be oh so much more fun than adults.
My youngest grandson organized a competition to see who could come up with the best milk moustache. I was awarded first prize. Always nice to start the new year as a winner!
Linda E. Kelly is a memberof Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison.