What About The Graybeards?
I watched with some pain this weekend, a clip on television of U.S Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, decrying in the well of the Senate, the “blood sport” of dog fighting, and the allegations concerning NFL player, Michael Vick.
The pain had to do with the inescapable conclusion that, as can be expected at the age of 89, professional duties are becoming more and more of a struggle for the senator. First elected to the senate in 1958, Byrd is the longest serving member of the United States Senate, and he is also the oldest member of the U.S Congress. Aside from some obvious physical afflictions, it is obvious that Senator Byrd remains, in many ways, mired in the 20th Century.
Initially I thought it might be time for some of the Senator’s close friends to “talk him off the stage”; after all, C-Span 2 footage also showed the Senator sawing some serious logs recently, while seated inside the senate chambers. But rerunning the clip a few times, I realized that Senator Reid, who was speaking at the time, was putting me to sleep too!
Having since studied a bit more of the Senator’s work, I’ve reached a conclusion that not-unlike the 75 million Americans who constitute the baby boom generation, we’re definitely getting older and missing a step or two… but we’re not irrelevant just yet. That said, rather than hang around until someone has to drag us drooling to a park bench, it may make sense for us to revisit our roles and remaining talents in the interest of optimizing our contributions and doing what is best for the organization.
Before leaving FedEx nearly 20 years ago, I suggested to the company founder, Chairman, and CEO Fred Smith, that we would do well to look for meaningful ways in which our “graybeards” might be productively and respectfully utilized in the business, rather than watch them being put out to pasture. I believed then, as I do today, that American business (indeed America in general) doesn’t show enough respect to our seniors, and, aside from making them Wal-Mart greeters, doesn’t use anywhere near enough imagination as it pertains to their continued involvement (if they desire it) in mainstream business and civic affairs. If for no other reason, we need to remember that the “war for talent” isn’t over, and these folks represent a sizable segment of the available work force.
As for Senator Byrd, when the people of West Virginia can find a suitable replacement for their senior senator, I’m sure they will do the right thing and pull the lever. In the meantime, it would behoove them (and us), to find a way to keep this guy meaningfully involved, if he wants it. Robert Byrd is without question one of the most knowledgeable and passionate defenders of the Constitution of the United States, a document which, in recent years, has been under considerable assault.
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