The Sleeping Giant of Elder Power
- Katharine Esty
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
A Call to Action to those over 70
Most people I’ve been speaking with these days feel scared, worried, and even despairing about the direction of our current administration. However, after the first No Kings protests on June 14, 2025, I, along with many others, began to feel a glimmer of hope. Since then, the number of protests has been growing, along with increasing participation from the public.
My corner of the world.
Here’s what’s happening at my corner of the world. Twenty-five weeks ago, Betsy Comstock, a fellow resident at my retirement community, began protesting the current policies of our government. Every Friday morning from eight to nine, she stands with a homemade sign on the sidewalk in front of the nearby hospital. At first, there were only one or two other protesters, but as word spread, others began to join, including me. We hold signs like “No Kings” and “Reclaim our Democracy.” Many people wave at us as they drive by, and a few give us grumpy looks or the finger. According to Betsy’s observations, we are receiving more waves these days.
When it’s too cold or icy, I have to admit I skip the protest. However, when I do go, it feels good to be doing something, no matter how small.
But you may be asking, “Are protests really effective?”
For many years, both before and after the war in Iran in 1985, people in my town would walk around the flagpole on Main Street carrying peace signs. I used to think their protests were a waste of time and that they weren’t really doing anything.
However, I have changed my mind. Based on my study of history and my experience as an organizational change consultant, I am convinced that protests are effective in building momentum and raising awareness about important issues. When it becomes clear that growing numbers of people are committed to a cause, as seen during the American Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement, the likelihood of achieving successful change goes way up.
My path to activism
My commitment to social justice was jump-started in 1962 at a church supper in Amherst, Massachusetts, when Martin Luther King Jr. spoke passionately and persuasively about nonviolent, peaceful protests. I remember it had taken a huge effort to be away from my two small children that night, but King’s speech was transformative, reigniting my dormant commitment to social justice.
I took my first step, organizing a tutoring program at a middle school in a low-income district. After that, I pursued further education, earning a Master’s in Social Work and a PhD in Social Psychology. After spending a few years at an organizational change consulting firm, in 1983, two other women and I founded our own company, IBIS.
The company was dedicated to assisting organizations in effectively managing diversity within their workforce. Initially, we focused on women and Black individuals. Over time, we expanded our scope to include other types of diversity, such as ethnic diversity, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities. We developed some of the first online diversity training programs and authored a book, Workplace Diversity. I retired from IBIS in 2006, but the firm continues.
The killing of George Floyd in 2020 set off a nationwide outcry about racism in our country. In response, almost every university and every corporation expanded their staff and budgets for DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives. Diversity firms flourished far beyond anything anyone had foreseen.
War on Diversity and Immigration
But that is all history now. The present administration’s goal of demolishing DEI programs of all kinds has unfortunately been achieved. Today, there is little demand for diversity consulting or training. Most DEI firms have disappeared or redirected their offerings. Additionally, our government is rewriting Black history and censoring books related to diversity. Many women, as well as Black and Brown individuals, are being dismissed from high-level positions in the government for flimsy reasons.
A Call to Action
Our country is in crisis. Those of us who oppose the policies of the government need to do more than protest, though protests are useful. Our goal should be to encourage older people to take direct actions of all kinds. The midterm elections of 2026 are particularly important. We need to take back control of the government at both the federal and state levels. We will need hundreds of thousands of volunteers to work on political campaigns and to ensure that the elections are fair.
You ask, where will we find all these volunteers that we need?
The answer is people over 70.
We older people are underutilized. We have the potential to play a significantly larger role in the crucial work of resisting the authoritarian tide that is sweeping across our country.
Most people still don’t realize how being older is vastly different from what it was just fifty and sixty years ago. There has been recent media discussion about the new old age. But you may still be asking, “What exactly is new?
What’s new about the New Old Age?
People are living many years longer than in the past. In the US, life expectancy was 65 when I was born in 1934. It is now 81 for women in the US and 76 for men. Today, there are about 57 million of us in the US who are over 65.
Modern medicine has helped many older people to lead active and productive lives well into their eighties. We can replace our knees, hips, and other body parts. We can be energetic and competent workers.
Many of us older people now have time to volunteer, often a first for us in our long lives. Older people bring our institutional knowledge, our personal financial resources, and our years of experience to our pursuits.
So let’s get going. Let’s rouse the sleeping giant of elder power. Let’s translate our outrage and concerns into practical action steps. Let’s all write more postcards, attend more protests, get out more votes, and vote ourselves. Let’s volunteer to support qualified candidates running for office. Let’s barrage our representatives with calls to respond to our needs. Let’s contact media companies to report on our efforts.
And, if you are in my neighborhood, I invite you to join us on some Friday morning. You’ll feel better, too.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu
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