Elders and Simplicity

I spoke with a group of older women the other day about the subject of elders and simplicity. My question was, is there a connection? Do elders have some special insight on simplicity? The most important idea that emerged was about bringing back civility. Most of us there had grown up in the 50s and 60s, a time when there was very little of the uncivil dialogue we're hearing today, with the right wing calling for violence against Obama or talkshow hosts endlessly attacking progressives. And the snide way people like Sarah Palin talk. (How's that hopey changy stuff doing for you" she asked Democrats.) And of course there's the actual violence -- like someone crashing their plane into an IRS building as a way of protesting!

South African Breyton Breytonback says that "Americans have mastered the art of living...with the unacceptable." Gradually we have accepted poisoned discourse. Maybe it's the job of elders, those of us who remember another way, to bring back congeniality, conviviality, and a concern for community and the common good.