Let’s talk about elderly men this week. I just want to take two seemingly unrelated events and see whether we can learn something useful. When should the elderly retire or be told they better take it easy?
Remember that scene in The Green Hornet where James Franco dismissively told Christoph Waltz: “Retire and do the things old people do.” Waltz just took out a gun and killed Franco’s two bodyguards.
That’s one answer old people can offer.
Asiaone picked up a sad Shin Min Daily News story about a 73-year-old taxi driver who died while giving a statement to the police.
He had been backing up his vehicle and apparently hit another car, the driver of which was not happy and was swearing at him.
As the cabby’s statement was being recorded, he gradually turned pale and squatted down to lean against his car before suddenly collapsing to the ground.
Many netizens immediately responded, saying this was Singapore after all, no more, no less, where the elderly are forced to slog till they drop.
Some, however, replied that the cabby died doing what he loved: “Better than rotting alone in a small flat and only noticed by your neighbours when they detected a foul, rotting smell after many days.”
Still, the question arises: Should there be an upper age limit for taxi drivers? It is not about the driver alone; it is about his being a danger to others – passengers and other users of our roads.
Here’s the not-so-comforting answer culled from Wikipedia: “For Class 4, 5, bus and taxi driving licences, annual checkups are done from 70 years old all the way to 80. The upper age limit is 81.”
Now that’s an interesting number: 81. That is the age of US President Joseph Biden. He will be 82 in November should he continue to be the Democrats’ Presidential candidate.
I was watching The Rest Is Politics podcast earlier last week. Katty Kay, a BBC journalist, and Anthony Scaramucci, the ex-Trump spokesman now turned critic, were discussing Biden’s disastrous performance in the first Presidential debate between him and the Republicans’ Donald Trump.
At one point, Kay held up a placard which said: “28/82”. I’m going to confess first that she spoke so fast that I did not fully catch what she was trying to say. But I think she was saying this:
Come November, the 28 European nations – representing the so-called Olde Worlde – will be watching in horror the prospect of an 82-year-old male being elected leader of the again, so-called New World.
The fact that his rival Donald Trump is 78, who is now reportedly leading in the polls after Biden’s debate debacle, will be no consolation given the current global challenges, ranging from the climate, Gaza, Ukraine, Russian aggression, US-China trade war and rivalry to Taiwan and North Korea.
The Democrats are now having a massive swirling debate on whether Biden should drop out of the race and let another person with a new vice-presidential candidate take over to challenge Trump and his vice-presidential candidate.
A number of influential voices have called for him to step aside.
In this breaking news story, Biden is reported to be adamant about staying in the race, with some noises emerging about a push for Vice-President Kamala Harris, 59, to take over – preferably as the de facto or quickly sworn-in new President replacing Biden after he steps down while still in office.
So, it would be President Harris versus President Trump.
A Wall Street Journal poll found that Trump was leading Biden 48% to 42% among voters nationally, while the latest New York Times/Sienna College poll had the former president ahead of his successor 49% to 43%.
This is what an ABC News analysis said: “Until recently, uncertainty (about the alternatives to Biden) was enough to hold calls for a new Democratic nominee at bay.
But just as uncertainty creates more downside for a party, it also creates more upside. Given what Democrats have now realised about Biden, they may be willing to take that risk.
Bank on Harris stepping up, re-energising the Democrats and using her communicating skills to publicly expose Trump’s lies.”
Life is about renewal and realisation of one’s mortal limits. Know when to call it a day, whether you are a president or a cabby. Let others younger than you have their turn.
Tan Bah Bah is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a magazine publishing company