Learning about independence from alien movies
By Alexandra Newman
Somehow, every year, I end up with the column that runs on the weekend of Independence Day.
In 2023, I wrote about my grandparents remaining independent in their home as my grandpa was on hospice care. In 2024, I wrote about a gentleman enrolled in the MI Choice Waiver and Integrated Care at Home programs through Area Agency on Aging (AAA) which keeps him independent in his home in Paw Paw.
In 2025, I talked about a campaign our national organization, USAging, launched celebrating independence at all stages of life; and I asked readers to consider how they wanted to spend their later years.
So, on this fourth (and 250th) Independence Day, I thought I’d change it up and talk about something a little different: aliens.
Just kidding – kind of.
The mission of AAA is Offering Choices for Independent Lives – so I would be remiss if I didn’t at least talk a little bit about the concept of independence. This holiday is basically what we’re all about.
For as long as I can remember, my favorite movie has been “Independence Day.” What I loved about it, even as a kid, was the power of people working together for a common cause – defeating the aliens.
While the world has yet to face a serious threat from extraterrestrials, it does have to work together from time to time. And so do individuals or small groups of people to gain independence.
On the hyper-local level, organizations like AAA are helping people with independence daily.
This could look like helping to arrange long-term in-home care support. Or it could be advising a resident of a nursing home on how they might be able to move out and back into the community.
Sometimes it looks like our Matter of Balance classes, which help people feel more confident on their feet, leading to a renewed sense of independence.
Independence can be felt through our volunteer programs, for both the volunteers and the people they’re helping. A helping hand taking the trash down to the end of the driveway once a week or a ride to the grocery store.
The adage, “it takes a village,” is true for aging and for battling aliens.
As Bill Pullman’s character in “Independence Day” says in his speech before the big battle, “We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests.”
Independence doesn’t mean pulling away from everyone and doing everything by yourself – it means working together for a common cause. It means asking for help when you need it, because you’ll help them when they need it. It’s seeking out resources like classes, hobbies, or clubs to enhance your life. It’s calling to check in on a friend just because.
In the second, much less critically acclaimed “Independence Day Resurgence,” we are introduced to a restored civilization, one where relative peace among nations exists following the human race’s victory over the aliens’ attacks 20 years prior.
Media that depicts future utopias, like Star Trek, are some of my favorites because they examine what is and isn’t working in our current world, and how it could be better if everyone worked together for the greater good.
It’s wonderful to be part of a team here at AAA working toward that utopia in Southwest Michigan where people show up for their neighbors and can live with independence and dignity across the lifespan (and, I’d like to think, be able to kick some alien butt if needed).
The Generations column appears each weekend in The Herald-Palladium.