Traditional political wisdom claims that anyone who is not a radical when young and a conservative when old is an idiot. In the modern era I would further subdivide a normal life into four 20-year stages: childhood, young adult, middle-aged, and elder. Plus, beyond 80, “coda.”
Any true moral or philosophic guide must realize that it needs to be flexible. Even simple rules like “do not lie, cheat, or steal” vary by circumstance. And few circumstances change as much for us as human beings as simply aging.
I’m not going to attempt to generalize too much, nor to try to be too specific. Obviously, the young are more adaptable and more restless than older folks. And they are afflicted by many other attributes, often driven by age-related hormone issues.
What is sad in all this is advice to a person in any of those subsets to pick an inappropriate philosophic guideline and stick to it, thick or thin. Nothing is more ridiculous than a youth playing wizened guru, nor an ancient wreck pretending to be as young as springtime.
Life can be long, and should be varied, and points should never be awarded (internally) by being consistent. For all the blather about capitalism and religion, the real key to Western economic and cultural dominance has always been a belief that an individual could change and start over.
When we do, we should find some position that agrees with our situation, and adopt an outlook which serves our current existence.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 