Our gerontocracy

Click to enlarge.

 

I find this chart evidence that we are a country disproportionately ruled by the old. And that's disturbing. Here I am in my 70s and 73 members of Congress were born in the same decade when I came along. Twelve more were born in the previous decade! 

It's possible that we pick up usable wisdom from living through so much, but sometimes it feels as if we've clogged up the arteries of society. The world has changed a lot; have we internalized those changes? Not always happily.

This tweet brought me up short:

64 of the 100 current members of the US Senate were born when there were fewer than 50 states. There is nothing special about that number.

— Connor Ewing (@ConnorMEwing) March 23, 2021

I remember vaguely when there were 48 states; Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the union in 1959. Interestingly, given subsequent history, Republicans thought Hawaii would benefit their electoral coalition, while Democrats counted on Alaska to vote their way. 

Many of us have no business thinking that adding the District of Columbia as a state would be so radical. Yes, I know -- it's about who lives there. But the country is changing ...