Are we a senile nation at a young age? Perhaps, yes.

The current life expectancy average, globally, is 73.5 years. The males have a shorter life span at 70.8 years and the females (who dispatch the males with speed to the yonder) at around 75.6 years. In the last century this average was at a critical low of 29.5 years and earlier it was obviously significantly lower. Improvements in science and technology and in particular in medical and health sciences have made possible two things: the reduction in infant mortality rates and an increasing life expectancy through both research and pharmacology (medicines) and quicker responses to signs of diseases and ill health.

Life expectancy varies from region to region; as a sample, the average life expectancy in Africa is 62.7 years, while in the northern Americas it is 79.5 years. The Chinese average life expectancy is 79 years; hence if the leadership’s average age is above or close to 70 years they are referred ‘as young leaders’. I recall when Li Peng became prime minister at 65 years of age the media referred to him as the ‘youngest Premier of China’. Life expectancy, according to one study of the Gen Z that is (those born after 1997) may live up to a 100 years as against the average age of 70 years of the baby boomers and the 85 years expectancy of the Gen X.

Humans tend to show signs of senility at roughly the age of 65 plus years. The risk increases with each passing year. Alzheimer’s is the common cause of senility. This comes with loss of memory of immediate events. Depression and despondency also contribute to its onset. As a nation we forget the past and take no lessons from our own history. Senility is a trait, now.

What actually is senility? The loss of mental faculties due to weaknesses of old age. It is therefore “age” that induces senility. So how is it that a young nation like us is straining with signs of growing senility?

The earlier signs of senility include memory loss, lack of concentration, difficulty in focusing, having directed conversation and being confused about time and place, coupled with swinging moods. It provokes loss or problems relating to decision making and having trouble with memory.

Pakistan, as a nation, is exactly 77 years and 4 months old. Do nations also become senile? I believe they do. If not all of them, at least we seem to have become senile. The signs of senility are reflective in our every day behaviour.

This phenomenon of senility actually cuts through and pervades all segments of society. It is not just about political leadership’s signs of........

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