Every Veterans Day, in cities and towns across America, men and women who served our country stand a little straighter as the flag passes by.
asserted
flag → serve → country
Some fought in Korea or Vietnam; others stood watch through the Cold War.
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others → fight → War
A precious few fought in World War II.
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few → fight → II
Then the parade ends, and all too many of them go home alone.
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many → end → them
We rightly honor their service.
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We → honor → service
But they are only part of a larger generation of Americans who built this country.
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who → build → country
Last month in Pittsburgh, I hosted a Senate Aging Committee field hearing with my Pennsylvania colleague Sen. John Fetterman.
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I → host → colleague
As we examined programs that keep older Americans connected, the hearing raised a larger question about the dignity and compassion we owe our elders.
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we → examine → elders
Across America, our aging population is often described as an economic burden, especially in Rust Belt states like mine.
Older Americans now outnumber children in 11 states and in nearly half of all US counties.
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Americans → age → counties
We hear warnings of fewer workers, higher taxes and rising health-care costs.
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We → hear → workers
But focusing on them misses something essential: Our 61 million older Americans are a treasure, and one of our nation’s greatest sources of strength.
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Americans → focus → strength
Too many, however, are being left behind.
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many → leave → ?
At our Pittsburgh hearing, I shared a story from Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley, which delivers food and a smile to 2,000 homebound seniors every day.
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which → share → seniors
When a volunteer’s regular client didn’t answer his door, she went around back and found him lying on his kitchen floor.
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him → answer → floor
She rushed in, called for help, and asked if he was hurt.
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he → rush → help
“It’s OK,” he said calmly.
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he → ’ → ?
I knew you were coming.”
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you → know → ?
For seniors living alone, that reassurance can matter as much as the meal itself.
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reassurance → live → meal
Spouses pass away.
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Spouses → pass → ?
Children move.
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Children → move → ?
Driving becomes difficult.
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Driving → become → ?
For many seniors, the world gets small, fast: Nearly one in four Americans 65 and older is socially isolated.
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Americans → get → seniors
Addressing this challenge is a national imperative for three reasons.
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Addressing → address → reasons
In places like Pennsylvania, they worked the mills and mines, served in uniform and built the churches, union halls and VFW posts that hold our towns together.
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that → work → towns
When steel collapsed, many stayed and rebuilt.
They gave us more than structures and institutions; they passed down the values that made America great — hard work, faith, family and service to one’s neighbors.
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America → collapse → neighbors
At a moment when those values are under siege, their example matters more than ever.
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example → matter → siege
Second, keeping seniors connected is good policy.
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keeping → keep → seniors
Social isolation is associated with roughly $1,600 in additional Medicare spending per person annually, while a private nursing-home room now costs nearly $130,000 a year.
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room → associate → 130,000
Helping seniors stay healthy, independent and engaged benefits them, their families — and taxpayers.
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seniors → help → them
Third, it’s our moral obligation.
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it → ’ → ?
I’ve always said you learn a lot about a country by how it treats its veterans.
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it → say → veterans
The same holds true for its elders.
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same → hold → elders
Sen. Fetterman and I both have aging parents in rural Pennsylvania, and we’ve seen the challenges firsthand.
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we → have → challenges
Americans believe in paying it forward to the next generation — but as Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke observed, “People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.
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who → believe → ancestors
We have an obligation to those who came before us, too.
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who → have → us
Answering that call is a team sport: Families, community organizations and every level of government must play a role.
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Families → answer → role
I’ve cosponsored bipartisan bills to renew the Older Americans Act, which supports meals and transportation for seniors, and to improve loneliness screening through the SENIOR Act.
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which → cosponsor → Act
The Senate passed the Older Americans Act bill unanimously in July; the House should follow suit.
But legislation is only part of the answer.
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legislation → pass → answer
Our Pittsburgh hearing brought Republicans and Democrats together with researchers, volunteers and county officials responsible for senior services.
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hearing → bring → services
We need that same cooperation nationwide, and at all levels of government.
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We → need → government
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
