Modern society worships success. Narcissism often predominates. Winners in all fields, whether athletic, economic, political, artistic or scientific, are idolized and adulated. Our elites are our new gods. They readily receive praise and rewards when they are at the peak of their careers.
Inevitably, as everything is impermanent, their star ends up fading with time. The wear and tear of power tarnishes the image of the politician. Injuries slow down top athletes. The public quickly tires and demands the renewal of the next generation, although the great classics resist the wear and tear of time better. The most inspired believe that they are the only ones who can save humanity in these times of existential crises.
Too many of our exceptionally gifted citizens come to identify themselves only with their reputations or their official functions, while they will always remain human beings, fathers, mothers, friends, caregivers. They wrongly imagine that their resignation or withdrawal from public life will mean the end of their useful existence on earth.
Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau and François Legault are among the politicians who could leave public life with their heads held high following their accomplishments and focus on their own well-being and that of their families rather than facing the current omnipresent harsh criticism.
Celine Dion has nothing left to prove and has no absolute duty to perform on stage despite her muscle spasms. Tiger Woods has no obligation to inflict suffering on a golf course on his body decimated by injuries. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in her late eighties, had no business sitting as a justice on the United States Supreme Court while undergoing chemotherapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer.
This is not about sinking into ageism. Society must appreciate the essential contribution of our elders, such as Guy Rocher, Janette Bertrand, Robert Charlebois and other personalities who continue to positively fuel public debate, but without giving themselves undue obligations and unnecessary stress.
How can we make the most gifted in our society understand that their withdrawal from public life can sometimes be beneficial to their own well-being and that of the population at large, and that it does not constitute a repudiation of their past achievements? Many luminaries can undertake a very productive semi-retirement without imposing on themselves the stress of excessive responsibilities and obligations.
A few competent and democratically elected Quebec mayors have had the intelligence to resign in the face of threats and disrespectful remarks from particularly acerbic citizens to protect their mental health, their safety and that of their family. Letting go and seeking voluntary simplicity is possibly more beneficial than seeking glory and celebrity at all costs.
Would you accept surgery for a brain tumor by a 78-year-old surgeon with a hesitant gait and cognitive lapses? Would you accept entrusting the reins of the United States to Joe Biden in these times of climate existential crises and threats of nuclear world war?
It is absolutely necessary to make our ruling elites understand that sooner or later they will have to step down, make way for the next generation and contribute differently to the progress of society. It is wrong to believe that one cannot taste happiness without being continually in the limelight and in search of ever-ephemeral glory. Daring to let go is possibly the best path to happiness and the best effort for the common good.