Senior citizens bring great benefits to society:
Nowadays, interns are generally young students working for a certain period of time to gain job experience.
In “The Intern,” a Hollywood comedy currently playing in theaters, Robert De Niro stars as Ben Whittaker, a 70-year-old retired corporate executive, who has applied for a senior intern program. De Niro puts on a masterfully restrained performance as his character is assigned to work for a young female CEO of an Internet startup.
Initially, Whittaker is disliked by people at the company, but he gradually becomes the vital linchpin of the organization. He shows real sympathy for the young CEO’s problems and offers fatherly advice about life to his colleagues.
He listens carefully to what other people say and never tries to attract attention. I hope to become such a lovable old man, even if Whittaker’s office romance is too good to be true.
In a recently published report, the World Health Organization says that elderly people make significant contributions to society. Older people play important roles in their families and communities that cannot be measured by money, to say nothing of their tax payments and consumption, the report says.
In calling for a change in thinking about the elderly, the report maintains that spending on health care, nursing care and other welfare programs for older people should be regarded as an “investment” rather than a “cost.”
Japan can be a model for other countries in this respect. Various efforts to extend healthy life expectancy are being made nationwide, while the number of working seniors is growing.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan has called on Japan to share with the rest of the world information about its efforts.
But Japan also sometimes offers not-so-good examples of the influence of older people.
In the new National Stadium debacle, a “top heavy” decision-making process was blamed for the adoption of a costly design that had to be dropped after a public outcry.
The evils of the excessive influence wielded by political heavyweights, including former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, were involved in the matter.
Around the world, old people are expected to show wisdom based on their rich experiences in life. But experience sometimes begets arrogance.
The caustic Japanese term “rogai” (old harm) refers to problems caused by old people. But senior citizens can also bring great benefits to society, which could be called “roeki” (old good). Doing so requires humbleness.