I didn&#x27;t really respond as I would have liked to this comment.<p>It&#x27;s not anything about older people among us lacking in some way.  What I meant with, &quot;how fucked up is that?&quot; has more to do with our crappy political dialog.<p>Truth is, younger people should be engaged more than they are and they should be hearing what older people have seen and learned too.  That experience is a net benefit to everyone when it&#x27;s shared and there is a dialog about it all.<p>I&#x27;ve lived my life doing this, nearly always having mentors and trusted others older than me to consult with.  It&#x27;s a huge benefit.  All started with literally, &quot;the old farmer up the road&quot; when I was a kid.  That guy would just tell me real stuff that really mattered.  Got more out of helping him out for the day than I probably even know.<p>And I would just show up too.  &quot;Need some help?&quot; and off we would go.  Doing whatever, and once we got comfortable, task at hand moving along nicely, I could just ask stuff.  Truth is, I know he loved that, and would tell me all kinds of things, sometimes challenging me in various ways too.  Always wanted to know outcomes as well.  When I saw some success or other, I would share it back and see that grin...<p>The political process itself is solid.  I&#x27;ve no real complaints, other than some abuses we can and should be more concerned about.<p>But the dialog is horrible.<p>That&#x27;s what I was getting at, and I just didn&#x27;t put the effort into it that I should have.