The morning of September 29, 2023, delicate, white roses awaited Dianne Feinstein on her chair in the Senate chamber, perched atop a plain black cloth. Those who passed by her seat that day paid respect to the absent senator as an unspoken truth lingered in the air: Feinstein would not be there to receive the flowers, for she had passed earlier that Thursday at age 90. For 34 years, she served the government as a champion of the environment, queer rights, and national security. Her potency is irrefutable. Yet, her legacy has been tainted by the public ridicule she endured in her last three years–a product of her overt dementia, as well as her age. Her age has given rise to concerns regarding the United States’ aging politicians and the repercussions of a country becoming increasingly gerontocratic.

In 2020, the Insider examined the influence of elderly folk in the states, compared to how many hold major roles in our government. They highlighted that men and women over the age of 65 composed only 16% of the population. However, over 50% of the senate was represented by the same age group. In another article published by The Washington Post in September, it was discovered that the median age for the Senate is sixty five and around fifty eight in the House. Our current US president is an octogenarian. The common theme is this: seats of power are being occupied disproportionately by the seniors of this country, firmly plantingAmerican congress as the second oldest government in the world.

Perhaps the median age of our government officials is a result of the myth that wisdom is a byproduct of age. ​However, in a journal published by the Oxford Academic in 2018, the author shared how it is thought that “... wisdom increases until late middle age and then declines.” Returning to the example of Dianne Feinstein, several of her colleagues remarked on her acuity, saying that they felt “[she could] no longer fulfill her job duties … [to] represent … California.” Everyone pointed to her deteriorating health and memory. Similarly, another senator, Mitch McConnell, has been mocked by the media for his memory relapses, with instances of him “freezing” in the middle of an address. It would seem that, even if wisdom does increase with age, so do problems with cognition, therefore rendering any accumulated wisdom inaccessible. Thus, “increased wisdom” does not provide adequate justification for the excessive senior representation in our government. That said, the dominance of aging leaders can also be attributed to their wealth and higher access to resources. The Insider noted that “the typical family in their 60s and older had much higher net worth than families under 35. This should not be particularly surprising, as older Americans are more likely to have a lifetime of savings backing them, while young adults are just beginning their careers.” Higher access to resources allows for older politicians to better fund their campaigns, giving them an edge over the youth in the political arena.

There are detrimental consequences tethered to an aging government. Gerontocracy is a threat to national security. In an article published by The Intercept, author Ken Klippenstein cited a study released by the RAND Corporation’s National Security Research Division which stated that these individuals “could become a security threat if they develop dementia and unwittingly share government secrets.”

Death of a leader during their term could also have far reaching repercussions that reverberate through generations. Take for instance the year that the United States lost a major, democratic supreme court justice: Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg was lost at age 87 due to complications of recurrent pancreatic cancer. Not only was her death a tragic loss for our country, but its untimeliness created imbalance within the supreme court. Prior to her departure, the court was upheld by four members of the liberal party and five of the conservative. In the years leading to 2020, several concerns were brought up by the media regarding RBG’s increasing age, and even former president Barack Obama attempted to convince her to step down. When she passed during former president Donald Trump’s term, an imbalance within the supreme court was created as he appointed a new conservative justice. Today, there are six republican justices, substantially outnumbering the three democratic ones. Such is an unfair representation of the diverse political viewpoints of Americans in the court.

Lastly, it is important to note how bewilderingly dissimilar the cultures of different generations can be. Age has a heavy influence on people's perspectives. One specific example was shared by the New York Magazine, which noted that “older legislators … have a different understanding … [and] different priorities than younger generations. This is most apparent when it comes to climate change — an issue young people are statistically more likely to be concerned about.” Our current politicians' inaction forces the youth to inherit a devastated Earth, making climate change the "Hot Potato" that they just want to pass off.

After all, it is the future of these younger generations that are truly being impacted, yet they are the ones who don’t have an equal say in how these issues are addressed by the government. This begs the question – is the United States truly a fair democracy? Can we really claim that all voices of our nation are equally represented?

We as a country could not do without seasoned, composed, experienced leaders with a clear understanding of the past and a distinct vision for our future. Yet, it is impossible to not question the capacity of our octogenarian leaders. It is the responsibility of our leaders to put the country first and step down graciously before they leave the government in a crisis. The white roses on Dianne Feinstein’s chair may have been a symbol to honor her legacy. However, beneath their pure petals, they bore a warning.

Information retrieved from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Insider, the San Francisco Chronicles, and the Intercept.