The Old List
That’s what I’ve started calling the Beloit College’s Mindset List. It’s supposed to be a helpful tool for those who work in colleges and universities, but really its true purpose–and effect–seems to be to make anyone who isn’t 18 or younger feel old. Old. Older every year. Perhaps Beloit’s counseling services get a little bump after the list is released, thanks to middleagers who had a crisis after realizing they clearly remember the car they were driving when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister; the day they traded in a tube for a flat screen, or watching Saved by the Bell. This writer is too old to even have a Mindset List of her own; the first produced was for the class of 2002. (Ohio University, BSJ, 2000)
Yes, even our cheerful computer-girl up there seems to be saying “Ha ha! I’ve never used a card catalog to find a book!”
In a way, it’s funny that our culture reveres a lack of perspective and ignorance of societal touchstones (Jack Kevorkian, the KGB, a unified Korea), that this naivete is actually honored in our society, but this isn’t a sociology or philosophy blog, so take a big breath –sigh!–and read the list.
After that, women can cheer themselves up by watching the excellent Sarah Haskins take on advertising’s view of aging women (men will likely find Sarah amusing too). After all, there’s only one alternative to getting old, and it’s not a good option.
Tags: Students