Good, powerful essay. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
I'm an in-between. I turn 50 this year, so I'm not an aged sage yet. I read your articles for the wisdom of aging well, because for me, it's coming.
That said, I did want to comment in the "don't put it down" part of this dynamic. The sad fact is, media has been saturated for years of callous dismissal of the struggles of younger generations by older generations. There's been a lot of vitriol saying, "you don't matter Snowflake" for them to pick up with very little push back from others of that cohort. Perhaps I'm more aware and sympathetic to both because it's my parent's generation making those comments to my daughter's generation and my daughter's generation reciprocating the callous attitude. Some have picked up those laid mines and the message that they don't matter exploded across their consciousness. They're the ones now saying, the elderly should be willing to die to save the economy.
So while I agree with what you and Diana said, the other part of that is what goes around comes around, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and the first step in avoiding a trap is knowing it's there.
It's not enough to not pick up the hate others put down. We've (regardless of age) got to be more thoughtful of what we put down. Otherwise, we'll all be walking through a perpetual minefield and that's no good for a quality life either. For anyone.
So here's to living life well, being tolerant and invested in all, and creating a better life for those who follow to the best of our abilities.