Education exists mainly in what we have unlearned --Mark Twain

To “unlearn” is to deliberately put aside our uninformed ideas and long held assumptions to intentionally seek knowledge and a better understanding of who and what we have persistently placed in a box. It takes active consideration and diligence to seek answers to questions we may not want to ask or have been taught to ignore.

I won’t lie though: it is often hard to release our grip on the ideas we have held to so tightly. Places like the Tolerance Museum in Los Angeles can often help in this “unlearning” process. By showing us what atrocities have resulted from various past acts of intolerance, the museum forces us to recognize the intolerance that exists in our own lives today. It teaches us to debunk the stereotypes, set aside our assumptions, and engage in intentional learning about others.

And while the Tolerance museum does a number of things that effectively take each of us out of our bubble and teach us about the injustices that have occurred in the past and are still occurring in the present, perhaps something that was under-represented in general and is a reflection of its under representation in our culture today is age intolerance. Although age discrimination is a less popularized form of intolerance and certainly an injustice that gets little coverage by the media, a time of economic downturn, evaporating retirements, and fewer jobs have made this type of prejudice a major challenge in many homes.

Indeed, ageism is a form of prejudice that has slowly crept into our society. We hardly notice anymore the small stabs about older people or the constant mocking of the younger generation. It is one thing to notice a difference while celebrating a person’s unique ideas and experiences, but it is an entirely different thing to assume things about a person’s abilities or character because of their age.

I began this column as a cry for my own voice. It has been squashed and squandered along with many of my peers’. We have been silenced, as older, “more mature” adults tell us we lack the experience, the understanding, the knowledge, and the age to have any real, valid opinions or ideas about life. However, in my quest to find my voice and use it again I have found myself not only speaking out for my own rights, but for those of others--the older generations too. My generation and theirs have this in common: throughout the week our thoughts, experiences, beliefs and ideas are played down, discouraged in conversation and rejected in the work force, political field, and even in the Church.

The younger generation is thought to be out-of-the-picture because we are too young and too inexperienced to understand all of the aspects of a situation or problem. The older generations’ ideas are called invalid because their information is considered “outdated” and “old news”. Because these two assumptions presuppose and make generalizations about so many individuals, the underlying problem isn’t any different from other forms of prejudice that lead to stereotypes and discriminatory practices.

There is so much that can be accomplished if we “unlearn” the stereotypes and get past the labels so many of our minds quietly assign to people. Once we let ourselves let go of those naive ideas and stereotypes we once held, we have the opportunity to really see each individual and what he or she can bring to the table. A working knowledge of the new, creative and updated combined with an understanding of past accomplishments, historic successes, and proven approaches can lead to a more complete education, work force, and innovative solutions to the problems this generation faces.