Wendell Berry's Rule #12

As always, with thanks to visionary writer, Wendell Berry who wrote these provocative "Rules for a Sustainable Community" that are presented here as excerpted from the poster of the "Rules" published by Yes! Magazine:


"See that the old and the young take of one another.  The young must learn from the old, not necessarily and not always in school.  There must be no institutionalized "child care" and "homes for the aged."  The community knows and remembers itself by the association of old and young."

This "rule" is quite thought provoking and not immediately, to me at any rate, obvious in its application. 

As for "no institutionalized homes for the aged" I have some doubts about that.  I think every situation is different.  I just returned from visiting my Mom in England.  She is 94 and Dad passed away last year after a very long number of years declining.  Mom took care of him at home.  With a large family of children and grandchildren nearby, she was never alone, for very long.  Visitors came and went.

After Dad died, Mom was naturally lonely.  She WANTED to go into assisted living and she would not have wanted to move in with one of my sisters.  She absolutely loves where she is living, and I must say, it's like at 5 star hotel. She does not need nursing care, just not to have to clean, cook, laundry etc.  She is very happy, says she is, often.  Loves her room, says all the staff are lovely and take good care of her and she has friends and entertainment.  The extended family are only minutes away from the facility and come and see her every day.

Surely, that is a good arrangement.  But I do agree, that "sticking" our old people somewhere against their will is a frightening thing.  In England, the National Health Service emphasises keeping people in their homes with professional care, if needed, rather than nursing homes.  And it is actually more economical to do so. 

We all know that an honest conversation is needed in this country about health care in general and care of the aging, in particular.  The conversation we are having is not an honest one because it is dominated by the needs of insurance companies and other segments of the capitalist economy.  Within our own communities, perhaps this conversation could be had at the local level and creative ideas come out.