How American Values Inform Senior Living Community Decisions?

by Kevin Smith Author

While the population of the United States continues to get older, its culture remains the same. Americans still revere independence, individuality, and property ownership. These qualities are core to the average American's identity, and they form the basis of the nation and come from a time when these qualities were fundamentally needed to conquer the wilds of the U.S. territory. The right senior independent living community in Johnstown, PA, is essential for older Americans to continue to be able to identify with who they are as well as the values they grew up with.

Culture Changes Slowly

While the pioneers and those in the Old West required independence to survive and the valve springs out of the American Revolution, it doesn't necessarily serve the individual in the U.S. of today as well. People are dependent on the government for roads, safety, law, and order. The economy has become so interwoven, that each person is dependent on others to provide a living through the purchase of goods and services. America has become an interdependent nation while people have failed to realize it. Instead, smaller families with fewer emotional attachments have left parents and grandparents without the resources to retire with grace.

Community and Health

While many old age homes take away a person's ability to establish an identity through individualism and independence. There are many communities that can provide an aging population what it needs to live a happier, more fulfilling, longer life. When communities choose to help people retain their already formed identity while providing those people with the opportunity to connect with others, the older people thrive and are healthier. As Carl Fredricksen in "Up" showed, even those who are ultra-independent need to have other people in their lives.

The Choice

Growing older doesn't necessarily mean having to give up your identity. The right senior independent living community in Johnstown, PA, will help you retain those parts of your life that you covet most while also providing you with what you need to be happier and healthier. A good community will have a place where residents can gather and participate in activities that they choose. It will also respect the need for privacy and independence. Sometimes, it's a difficult balance to strike, but for a country as indebted to individuality and independence as the U.S. it is often needed to remember where we came from and treat people accordingly.