Words that don't work with Boomers

From Dan Taylor's Parent Care Solution Blog
[this week and last week, author Dan Taylor is our guest blogger; these are some of his past writings]

Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Words that don't work with Boomers

I love Dr. Frank Luntz new book, Words that Work (Hyperion Books 2007). In his book, Dr. Luntz talks about the way words are used to influence and motivate and the way they are used to connect thought and emotion. He talks about how to use the right words for the situation and how to choose the right words for the effect that one wants to create. If only Dr. Luntz had been in my grade school I think I could’ve skipped a lot of the “See Spot Run” stuff and gotten directly to telling Spot to stop creating spots on the floor for me to clean up.

As I read through the book I couldn’t help but think how the entire vocabulary of talking to people as they age has the collective aroma of formaldehyde and death. “Care Center, Assisted Living, Senior Care, Nursing Home, Special Care", are all terms that have negative connotations to them and even deeper negative connections. The language of Care is language about a useless past and a dismal future. It’s no wonder our parents don’t want to talk about aging with terms like these.

I think we should strike Geriatric from the dictionary. First of all, it sounds like some sort of insect that lives in the jungle or minimally, makes food rot when it gets near it. As much as I love the people who call themselves Geriatric Case Workers and Gerontologists I certainly don’t want to meet one or even have them over for dinner. I just can’t imagine being enthused as an older person by knowing that a Geriatric Case Worker is coming over this afternoon so a Gerontologist can assess what Special Care Center I would work best in.

Here’s the problem with this language: the language turns the older person into an object to be studied, evaluated, classified, catalogued and eventually filed away in a home somewhere. We wouldn’t even attempt this type of strategy with a young person graduating from college, an early 30’s professional, or a mature mid-level executive. All of the language used to describe those folks is really about their future. All of the language used to describe older folks is about their future as well…except the language just makes the future feel dismal and depressing. Language creates culture and the language we use for aging creates a fatalistic culture.

Why don’t we come up with some new words? As Boomers we could practice on our parents and embrace them fully as we age.

I’d rather have my Second Stage Life Strategist over for dinner than my Gerontologist anyway.

Posted by Dan Taylor

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