No Life After Forty?

In today's episode of ABS-CBN's Correspondents by Ms. Karen Davila, she depicted the fate of workers, over forty years of age, who had been terminated from work. The program relates the predicament of those who will be out of work and are beyond forty years of age. Most factories and offices had limited (is this by law, by common policy, or speculative assessment?) their employees from as young as nineteen years to forty as the oldest. This makes those who are eighteen and below forty-one and above discriminated from earning a living in factories and offices.  

Somehow I do not agree with this. While I would agree with limiting how young one should be able to work, limiting how old those who can work must consider other aspects like; experience, health, mental alertness (psyche?), motivation, and even responsibility (among others). I believe that we should be more considerate (or appreciative) of those who have had experienced working. Unless companies are more concerned about longevity, compensation, and strength, the mature workers are hands down better workers than the young inexperienced and less mature ones. Not that I underrate and disregard the younger workers, but it is very unfair to disqualify anyone because of age, much more of old but still capable age like those just above forty.

We always say, "Life begins at forty!". Just for trivia, John Lennon actually wrote a song for Ringo Starr when they turned forty in 1980 (Ringo in fact reached another milestone in fulfilling another song, "When I am 64", in 2004!). Lennon sung a demo of the song but he meant to give the song for Ringo who was then producing an album. Ringo was not able to record it and the death of Lennon in December 1980 shelved all plans. It was eventually included in John Lennon Anthology album. In the song, John correctly pointed out that "age is just a state of mind". It is a measure of one's life here on earth. Doctors, psychologists, and other experts may have theories and facts about the state of one's person at a certain age, but they are never conclusive for everyone at all times. It would be unfair, unscientific, and illogical to absolutely rely on those findings. At most, they should merely be guides for future decisions.

John Lennon even said, I think, in jest, that if life begins at forty, then he had been dead for thirty-nine years? While in the song he expressed his seeming regret for the years that passed and hoped that he life would be better after forty, we can all agree that reaching forty years is a milestone these days. Much more, to many, to be forty means basically lots of experiences, strength, lots of lessons learned, lots of motivations, lots of wisdom, vigor and vitality!

I juts hope that in evaluating employees or prospective workers, experience, health, maturity and other more important qualities to work would be given preference than age. "Life begins at forty." actually means that a person had gathered so much experience and had matured both physically and psychologically that he is very fit to work using his God-given and experience- developed skills. That, I believe is the best combination of the most efficient, productive, and reliable worker.