Age and Power

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Let me begin by saying that this post is likely not about what you might think it will be about given the title. I’m not going to discuss the world’s predilection for geriatric and patriarchal leadership—although that is a subject worthy of exploration. I’m also not going to discuss how some older people feel as though they’ve become invisible in our youth and beauty-oriented culture—although that’s also a worthwhile topic of exploration. Strangely, both realities are true. We have many aging and aged people in power, and they’re keeping the world stuck in ways of being that no longer serve us. We also tend to eschew the true wisdom of the elders in favor of what is young and energetic, and exciting. However, what I really want to talk about in this post is how aging can give us power to serve this world in meaningful and productive ways rather than self-serving and destructive ones.


The author and his spouse at a vigil for Alex Pretti.
Photo by Hayley Jarman

For the most part, I came of age as an activist during protests leading up to and during the Gulf War. You might say then that I reached maturity during the Black Lives Matter protests in and around Ferguson, Missouri after the killing of Michael Brown. I in no way want to imply that I was a leader in the movement, but I did take part in enough protests then to know the danger that many people put themselves in and the sacrifice that many did make.

Protests were going on every night at times. People planned and implemented creative actions to bring awareness to those of privilege and complacency by disrupting business as usual and, as was often said, “shutting shit down”—roads, cultural events, etc. The middle-aged, middle-class, white guy that I was felt he had too much to lose to take part in these non-violent protests with the level of commitment that so many others displayed. I had an employer that likely wouldn’t have appreciated me spending time in jail. I had a mortgage and car payment. Yes, I was afraid.

I’m now newly retired, though, and no longer beholden to anyone for a salary to sustain me. I don’t have a reputation I need to protect. I also have the time I felt I didn’t have before. And as I sit here writing these words I’m thinking of all the times I’ve read of protest actions planned and implemented by aging and aged individuals. I’m thinking of those who’ve put their lives on the line protesting non-violently against the School of the Americas, nuclear facilities, war, unjust policies, etc. I’m thinking of all the times I saw gray hair and older faces amongst those being arrested and dragged off.

You know, I’m still a little afraid at the prospect of such hardship. But I’m also aware that I have more power in that regard than I did before. And, you know, I’m now afraid of having the power to be an agent for peace and goodness but not using it.



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This post is in the Power, Practice, and Peace series.

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Copyright 2026 by Mark Robert Frank

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