--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not (and will not) have the…" description: "\"“We do not (and will not) have the resources to properly care for our increasing elderly population, yet we insist on medical intervention to keep them..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/caitlin-doughty-12025_aging_we-do-not-and-will-not-have-the-resource_381643.jpg" --- # We do not (and will not) have the resources to properly… ![“We do not (and will not) have the resources to properly care for our increasing elderly population, yet we insist on medical intervention to keep them alive. To allow them to die would signal the failure of our supposedly infallible modern medical system. The surgeon Atul Gawande wrote in a…” quote by Caitlin Doughty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/caitlin-doughty-12025_aging_we-do-not-and-will-not-have-the-resource_381643.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/caitlin-doughty-12025_aging_we-do-not-and-will-not-have-the-resource_381643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/caitlin-doughty-12025_aging_we-do-not-and-will-not-have-the-resource_381643.jpg) > ““We do not (and will not) have the resources to properly care for our increasing elderly population, yet we insist on medical intervention to keep them alive. To allow them to die would signal the failure of our supposedly infallible modern medical system. The surgeon Atul Gawande wrote in a devastating New Yorker article on aging that “there have been dozens of best-selling books on aging but they tend to have titles like ‘Younger Next Year,’ ‘The Fountain of Age,’ ‘Ageless,’ ‘The Sexy Years.’ Still, there are costs to averting our eyes from the realities. For one thing, we put off changes that we need to make as a society. . . . In thirty years, there will be as many people over eighty as there are under five.”” [Caitlin Doughty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-doughty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author critiques society’s denial of aging, arguing that over‑medicalization and fear of death prevent necessary social reforms for elder care. **In simple terms:** We avoid aging realities, over‑medicalizing elders, which blocks needed change. Key Takeaway Confront aging openly and plan humane elder care. Themes aging healthcare societal denial ethics Mood concerned critical thoughtful Type social ethical policy When to use this quote - policy planning - family caregiving - healthcare budgeting - public discourse Key Concepts demography medical ethics public policy Questions to Reflect On - What policies could balance care and dignity for the elderly? - How can societies shift attitudes toward aging? A Different Perspective Economic constraints and cultural taboos may hinder reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ## Related quotes > [As the nation's elderly population grows, dozens of industries have tried to harness the political might of older Americans for corporate goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/as-the-nation-s-elderly-population-grows-dozens-of-industries-have/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [“The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-scott/the-checklist-manifesto-by-atul-gawande/) [S.J. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-scott/) > [If you have all seniors, then it probably doesn't mean much because those guys aren't going to be back. 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They ask each other, "Hey, what you want when you die?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-doughty/he-explained-that-he-talks-about-death-all-the-time-with-his-friends/) [Caitlin Doughty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-doughty/) > [“Many children and grandchildren of immigrants, have, like Sarah, found themselves severed from their family’s cultural rituals. 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Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We do not (and will not) have the resources to properly care for our increasing elderly population, yet we insist on medical intervention to keep them alive. To allow them to die would signal the failure of our supposedly infallible modern medical system. 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