Bill M. Beverly Essays (840 words) - Demography, Ageing,

Bill M. Beverly 0235193 English 101-F2 Short Essay Living to Die When it comes to getting older, scientists have tried to help people beat their inevitable destiny of old age. Scientific research shows the progress of extending human life using some of the newest medical science known to man. However, research also shows the regression of extending human life , especially the elderly. There are plenty of reasons why scientists should not succeed with anti-aging research to help the elderly . A few of these reasons are population increase, medical treatment cost, and generational chaos. In discussing the increase in population, this topic can be both positive and negative. Talking about the negative aspect brings up the issue of overpopulation on this planet. With the ever-increasing population, earth has only so much land with which to build. As people are born daily, the number of inhabitants grows exponentially. If the elderly is not passing on, where will the newborns grow, live , and work? The current working age has been raised from the age of 65 to 67. If scientists can extend human life, what will this mean for the younger working class? The elderly w ill choose not to retire at the mandatory retirement age. This choice w ill cause a gap in the generations to come . Who would then be accountable to pay for their retirement and medical expenses if they choose to live longer? Consequently, scientists should not succeed with anti-aging research to help the elderly because of the increasing of the population . The cost of medical treatment is already unaffordable. Add that to the new science of extending human life , and this becomes a bigger issue. Nursing homes, living facilities, and senior communities all have high cost and high burden to those elderly who still live including their respective families. The U.S. government cannot afford to pay for all the elderly that survive long after their expected death should occur. On top of this, the cost being spent on the medical research to extend human life is a number which cannot be calculated for normal people to comprehend . People think of life extension as a means of living forever, but realistically , people will eventually die. Families of loved ones in nursing homes would cherish the idea of their relative living a long healthy life , but , however loath the idea of the cost to keep them alive. Furthermore , modern medicine is used to help the elderly live longer even with an incur able illness. This concept will cause chaos throughout the generations to come. Therefore, s cientists should not succeed with anti-aging research to help the elderly due to the cost of medical treatment . The families of loved ones will suffer through the generational chaos which will be created when scientists succeed in extending human life. Nature always takes care of itself when people try to change how the planet naturally works . Dr. S. Jay Olshansky states "the evolutionary theory of senescence can be stated as follows: while bodies are not designed to fail, neither are they designed for extended operation". With that said, the society of the elderly will live on not allowing the younger generation to take charge in the workforce. With no passing down of experience and information , generations will suffer, work experience will be lacking, and the retirement age will once again be raised but this time to a much higher number than 67. If one person cannot learn a specific craft that is passed down from father to child, or senior to junior, then the craft itself will suffer due to older people remaining in th at particular craft. T h ere are companies that exist because of the generational passing down of specific crafts . How can the younger generation then learn the necessary knowledge which is handed down to fulfill their profession ? As a result, s cientists should not succeed with anti-aging research to help the elderly because of the generational chaos it will produce . P opulation increase, medical treatment cost, and generational chaos are just a few of the reasons why scientists should not succeed with anti-aging research to