Moral Strangers: Living the Good Life?

One of the publications I receive is the periodical from Yale Divinity School called Reflections. The theme for the Fall 2013 edition is “Test of Time: The Art of Aging” in which Stanley Hauerwas has a contribution that is rather penetrating both sociologically and practically. His essay is titled “How to (Not) Retire Theologically.” Since I’m retired, live in a retired community, love theology, and know of Hauerwas’s writings, I turned first to his essay. In it he observes that retired communities have actually contributed to a society of “moral strangers.” Hauerwas writes:

In 1960, builder Del Webb tried to remedy the sense of loss associated with retirement by creating Sun City in Arizona. Sun City expresssed Webb’s creative idea that after a life of work a person should be rewarded with a life of leisure. Florida and Arizona became destinations associated with the formation of cultures for the elderly that were based on play. The result not only isolated the elderly from those who “have to work,” but the elderly now were identified as those who have to work very hard at playing. The resulting isolation of the elderly indicates that we now live in a culture that believes we have no stake in developing people of wisdom and memory necessary for the sustaining of good social order.

Perhaps the climax of these developments was the creation of the American Association of Retired Persons as a lobby on behalf of the elderly. The elderly, the retired, have now become an interest group to lobby Congress to get their fair share of the resources to which the young might lay claim. No longer can the elderly and retired be thought of as people who have wisdom crucial to the discovery of the common good across generations, because now the old and the young are fundamentally moral strangers to one another.

Regardless of what you think of the phenomenon called “retirement,” Hauerwas may be on to something. Has the “wisdom” gained from our years (however modest) been held hostage by a commitment to a life of leisure? Is the “common good” of society compromised by living such a secluded lifestyle that so many worked so long only to enjoy with so few?

Not only are the “young” in traditional neighborhoods missing out on some wisdom imparted by elderly, but the retired fail to experience the abundant joy of investing in things that last; namely, relationships with the next generation. I’ve lived in my retired community now for more than 8 years and I have a hard time recalling when children or grandchildren have visited (except on very rare occasions with just a handful of neighbors). This is not to say that familial relations are estranged (I do not know) or that visits do not occur when I’m unaware. Even so, it seems there is little impact on those outside our demographic, because hardly anyone speaks of their extended family or service-based activities. And yet it’s never hard to find a conversation about golf scores, travel excursions, favorite restaurants, or backyard landscape renovations. These encounters seem only to reinforce the findings of Hauerwas.

In thinking on this I could not help but recall an insightful clip from the popular kids show Veggie Tales (which our grandson regularly enjoys). It’s about living in a “gated community.” As you watch, note how the retired persons intentionally ignore or at least fail to acknowledge those living outside their blissful oblivion of leisure. It’s a creative commentary on the very concerns raised by Hauerwas.