I was reading an article about the possible problems that could happen if we cure aging. Stem cells are offering quite a lot of tantalizing avenues for things we could do to extend the human lifespan. If we learned how to manipulate our bodies properly, we might be able to end death via old age. There might not be an 'old age' anymore.
The problem is, this could possibly lead to an elite elder class who never lets go of their wealth, power, and influence. Okay, granted, that's kind of how the world runs now, but at least the old people who have power now eventually die. What if they didn't? What if the Supreme Court justices we have no were the last ones we would ever have? What if the Pope who was just elected was the last Pope to ever be elected? What if all the old ways of thinking about things just never ended?
I'm 39, so I kind of see both sides to the argument. On one hand, I'm young enough to realize how frustrating it would be if the older generations never went away. It would be so difficult to get anything to change if the same thought processes, the same conventions, and the same ideals continued to prevail. There could be a stagnation of human progress and that is terrifying. The younger generations would be forever held down by the Parents.
On the other hand, I'm old enough to be somewhat offended by the younger generation's resentment of anyone older than them. When many of them discuss older people, they discount their wisdom and experience. They don't honor what they've been through or see them as having any worth at all. A lot of them believe it would be better to just kill all the old people and not even worrying about trying to extend the life span. They'll probably feel that way until the moment they are confronting their own mortality.
I guess on a personal level, I find the idea of ending the aging/death cycle to be quite full of interesting possibilities. It would freak us out. We're not raised to be immortal or even all that long-lived. We don't have the mindset for it. There are a lot of things we put up with in our lives because we know they won't last forever. Eventually we'll die or the other person will die and we'll be free. I think if we were able to cure old age and dying, there would be a lot of divorce, a lot of people walking away from their current situations, and a lot of suicides.
I think a lot of people would find themselves alone as well. Some of them would do it because they wanted it that way. After all, many people put up with others simply because they don't wish to grow old and die alone. Other people would be alone because while their personalities are tolerable for a few years, they're too shitty to handle for hundreds. These people would either have to get over their lack of social skills or learn to embrace their new solitude.
After a while, there may not even be any future generations. Immortal people would have very little compulsion to breed and very little drive to actually make the sacrifices needed to raise children. I'm guessing that religions would fade away as well, because immortals have very little need to worry about an afterlife and all the religious people would have denied themselves the longevity treatments (can't go be with God if you're never going to die).
Would I allow myself to stop the aging process? My first instinct is to say no. I wasn't raised to think in those terms and adjustment would be very difficult. Then again, I have to keep in mind that after all while, I would adjust. I would come to accept this new situation and find the beauty in it. So, maybe I would.
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