Our culture of care for the aged is a culture of devaluating negativity towards aging. It undertakes to resist development of elderly people, framing life of the aged as progressive debilitation and deficiencies. Our prevailing attitude is that age is to be resisted by preventing it, treating it like a disease or dysfunction, or at least arresting its progression. The aged are defined by what they were but no longer are, rather than being defined positively by what they are. This is perverse and extremely destructive to personal well-being.