This doesn't really surprise me. I think we mellow out a lot as we grow older and can't be bothered with prejudice of any stripe. Prejudice is hard work -- it takes a lot of energy to hate - and there are so many more productive ways to use one's energy.

Thanks, Jan, for reminding me how much my diverse friends have added to my life! I would have been so much poorer intellectually and emotionally without them.

It would seem to me that for those of us who are even marginally rational thinkers, and capable of even the most rudimentary, basic and fundamental understanding of how our choices impact both ourselves and those around us - and potentially have even longer-reaching effects - this presidential election leaves us with only one choice, really. We may not LOVE Barack (or maybe we do; we all have our own opinions, obviously) but he is the ONLY candidate that offers even a glimmer of hope that the American condition can improve. McCain gives us old people a bad name, you know? And I, for one, am pretty tired of living modestly so that we can foot the bill for all those multi-millionaires who keep getting tax breaks at our expense. Beyond all of that, I want also to comment on this whole gay marriage thing. Why do we - as human beings - feel the need to control the hearts and minds of everyone else? Don't we have enough trouble figuring out our OWN place in life - how WE believe that WE ought to live, or can feel decent about living? How DARE we try to legislate what other human beings should feel for each other, and whether or not those feelings - and their commitment - should or shouldn't be legal? Oh, give me a break! I come from years and years in the field of human services, and have done a lot of consulting work for women's shelter programs. 99 and 9/10's % of women in those shelters were there because of abusive relationships with - you guessed it - men! So much for one man - one woman marriage, in my humble opinion. My own first husband was an abusive narcissist. Good riddance to him! I'm not suggesting that every gay and lesbian relationship has been forged in heaven - gay and lesbian folks are only human, after all - I can only tell you what I've observed in some 30+ years in the field. And that observation is that, whatever your chosen lifestyle, you're the one who has to live it, so why not "live and let live", as my dad was fond of saying. I'm going to shut up, now because I can feel myself leading up to a discussion of war and separateness and power and corruption, and who knows where I'll go from there? As always, Ronni, a very timely and important discussion on your blog today. I'm addicted.

ALL very interesting, folks! Another connection to consider is that people of any age who are dualistic thinkers, i.e., things are sharply divided into right/wrong, black/white, male/female, etc. have a harder time seeing reality in the ways many of us who are more "soft-edged" feel, that there are grey areas in life, and (who the hell) are we to think we have a corner on reality or how it yin-yangs??

My field, that fo intercultural communication, studies and practices tryhint to see things purposefully from the perspectvie of the other, and understanding our own vision filters, fixed beliefs and values, and how our cultures create those. We have a term, "silo cultures" (sorry I don't have the reference at my fingertips just now) for those cultures which are more rigid, like a grain silo, rather than permeable or flexible.

While I understand and believe in my perspective, we should strive to at least understand where our 'others' or other communicants who feel differently than we do perceive and act in their cultures.

The thing is, we're all members of many different cultural distinctions. I can be a member of female culture, finding resonance wiht others of the female persuasion worldwide, or I might be seeing things through the eyes of a female, Caucasian West Coast rural elder with a handicap, born to lifelong Republicans. (However, your truly is actually a roaring progressive Democrat.)

Think how we are indeed colored by our experiences, the perceptions which shape or distort or clarify "reality" as we know it.

Then the wonder is often that we can communicate well at all with those much different than ourselves! Yet we know that from science to society, things are often better with diverse inputs, and solutions or perspetives are best informed by a wide variety of possible information.

Some in our culture seem unable to accept those who are different in any way. Others of us value the differences in people. There are so many reasons why intolerance and discrimination occurs. I think the best way in which to eliminate it is for individuals in varying groups to know each other.

I hardly think the subject raised here is "a little frivolous" as one reader comments. I would not like to see matters important to this elder group marginalized, especially since such an attitude may have been a contributing factor leading to behaviors that caused a much younger friend of mine to prematurely leave this life.

I find the demographic analysis and information quite interesting, especially considering the marriage rights issue that will be on our California ballot this fall. I've been following the development of both pro and con activity on this ballot issue here in my home state. I would anticipate this subject will continue to receive more attention in other states in our country in the future.

I'm one of those people "...born in the 1930s (for whom we don't have much data." I believe I've always been tolerant and appreciative of differences in individuals partly based on values taught me by my mother. Aging hasn't hardened my views. Perhaps similar tolerance on many issues is characteristic of my age group.