Ignoring what will become of us in old age has dire consequences

The one thing we don’t educate ourselves about is the inevitability of having to cope with the ageing process, writes Terry Prone.

This is not about Donald Trump. Isn’t that good news? Nationally and internationally, I figure we’re trumped out. Never has more space in mainstream and social media been devoted to anything. Never have more tears been wept, more dire prognostications prognosticated, more analysis devoted to the inexplicable. Although, on the tears, maybe the demise of Princess Diana occasioned as many as has the US presidential election victory of The Donald. Floods, there were, back then. A tsunami of bawling and a glut of garage flowers. Things would never be the same again, they said, through their gulping sobs. Never.

And you know what? Things were exactly and precisely the same after Princess Di died as they were before. Things have a marvellous capacity not to live up to dire prophecies of radical change. Entropy terrifies, and that’s behind the Trump reaction. But it also motivates. People recreate order out of chaos and, if the wind is in the right direction and the force is with us, we’ll all be grand, even if the orange guy with the hair is in the White House.