Call it a freaky coincidence if you like but I happened to run into one of Mr. Calvin Cheng’s sayings around the time of the anniversary of Exercise Swift Lion, which took the life of a dear friend and one of his men in Wairau, New Zealand back in 1997, when the barrel of the 155mm Gun Howitzer he was commanding exploded, killing him and the layer instantly.
Mr. Cheng,
being the “interesting” character that he is, decided to add fuel onto the fire
of a very real and contentious issue – namely the ability or rather that grim
reality that most of us are simply going to have to work till the day we die.
However, what
nature intended and what is natural are two different things. Back in the cave
ages, I’d be revered for making it to 48. Today, I’m wondering how I am going
to spend the rest of the 40 plus years I may have left. Short of a freak
accident, I’m probably going to see the decline of my body and mind and
somehow, what little I have left in my bank is going to have to last.
Believe it or
not – this is progress. Some of the best brains in history have struggled to
find ways to ensure that we are able to live as long as we can. The only predators
that humans face these days are other humans and most diseases can be cured. Just
look at how quickly it got us to find the vaccine for Covid.
There are even
silver linings in the historically low fertility rates that developed countries
are seeing. There’s a reason why people are not having babies like they used
to. Women, or the people who actually carry the babies are discovering other
things that give them fulfilment and although people are not having babies, the
ones that do get born are almost certain to see adulthood and to live well into
their old age.
Longevity is no
longer a sign that you have learnt the secret art of defying nature. Today, its
understood that people who live relatively prosperous and stable societies will
live to see their 80th birthday.
Given that we’ve
turned longevity into a normal thing, it should go without saying that we also
need to find solutions for the side effects. Retirement is one of them. Sure,
at one time, the concept of retirement may have been privilege because it meant
that you had defied the odds to live despite nature. Now, the situation has
changed (or at least it has since the Bronze Age). Living a long life is part
of the natural order and having the means to live that said life should also be
part of the natural order of things.
Whilst Mr. Cheng
may have secret fantasies of living in the Jurassic Age, I believe most of us
would rather not. We, as a race, have made great strides and should continue to
look forward to greater progress. Mr. Cheng should keep his fantasies of the
Jurassic Age to himself.
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