By Robert Weiner and Kailynn Bannon
One of the main concerns voters have entering the 2024 election is Donald Trump's and Joe Biden's age. Trump, 77, and Biden, 81, have both been criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike. This discrimination of older individuals presents questions not only of sound science, but societal ageism and legal limitations of employment age discrimination acts.
When the Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments in 1977, 359-2 in House and 89-10 in Senate, Rep. Claude Pepper and President Carter met at the White House with the House Select Committee on Aging.
"Ageism is as odious as racism or sexism," Pepper said.
The bill was signed into law on April 6, 1978 after receiving support from President Carter. One of the amendments passed was the abolishment of all mandatory age-based retirement or employment discrimination in the federal government. In addition to no Constitutional upper limit prohibition, the same law should be the message for the upcoming presidential election.
Since Trump is only about three years younger than Biden, the Republican media has clearly figured out how to put Trump in a better light.
When the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was originally put into place in 1967, it was to ensure that workers over the age of 40 had an equal opportunity to retain and regain jobs.
If the government were to create a nearly impossible amendment that puts an age limit on the presidency, it would judge a candidate based only on their age rather than their potential to carry out the job.
Age discrimination exists for the younger generations too. Deon Tedder was only 33 when sworn into the Senate District 42, making him the youngest person in the South Carolina Senate. He was endorsed by Congressman Jim Clyburn and announced his campaign for reelection.
Even though these laws were put into action decades ago, ageism is one of the more widely abused forms of discrimination.
"Ageism is really one of the last acceptable 'isms' that society tolerates," said Heather Tinsley-Fix, a senior adviser at AARP, for USA Today. "We're generally speaking of a society that really values youth, not only physically, but in these beliefs that everything good is young."
Similar to sexism and racism, ageism discriminates against someone based on something they can't control, and solely relies on the age of a person without proof of their work ability. With the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, everyone in the workplace is given equal opportunity on the basis of age.
Voters' fears stem from the concern that older age will affect how equipped both candidates are to lead the country. However, science shows that age does not directly coordinate with cognitive decline.
For example, last year Clyburn was named one of the Biden campaign's national co-chairs. Even at 83 years old, Clyburn is effective at portraying facts and history often on television.
Aging often leads to difficulty with memory recall, articulation and mixing up proper nouns. These are all normal signs of an aging brain, and do not relate to a person's ability to function or perform tasks. That's why those elected for president have long had their physical and mental abilities tested rather than an evaluation based on age.
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