Does the saying "You should respect your elders" still hold true today?
Elders what does that mean?,for now lets look at it as meaning all old people as in the elderly.
When I was growing up it was pretty common to be told that one must respect their elders. I just accepted that this was the way that it was, however that was not what I saw happening. It seemed to me that once you got older you were seen as a burden and generally shoved to the back of the house or in to a nursing home.
I had only one grand parent alive when I was younger, my grandmother on my mothers side and she was amazing. Always happy, cracking jokes, I really did love to spend time with her, she was the one person I always felt safe with and knew that she would keep me safe. She went out of her way to help others and she looked after some of the older generation in her local village, up until she became too old herself to do so.I had a lot of respect for her. If all elders were like her then yes they do deserve the up most respect.
Are The Elderly Respected Within Today's Society
In different places around the world, (outside of the western world that is)communities look after the older generation.They generally live with their families and have a valuable place within society. A lot of the time they seem to help look after the children. But here It seems that once you finish your working life and are of no use to Western Society, as in not making any money or contributing in keeping the wheel turning you are not really due much respect. A lot of elderly seemed to get hidden behind closed doors or shoved into nursing homes.
I have worked in a few, in Ireland, the U.K and Australia and I for one would not like to end up there. They are unfortunately shown little respect and have no freedom, they eat, sleep and wash when they are told to. If you try and refuse you are seen as a trouble maker and your life will be all the more difficult for it. You are expected to just spend your days in front of a T.V and slowly let your inner flame go out. I had to stop working in these places because it broke my heart, surely no one should have to end their days this way.
I do understand that sometimes families are not able to manage and there is no other choice, but I have seen many elderly people placed in homes, whilst their families fought over their possessions and forget about them.
Today there is a bit of an obsession with wanting to remind young, there is a ton of money being spend on anti-ageing products, be it creams, lotions or plastic surgery. So many people are fearful about becoming old, instead of embracing this part of their live, people are fighting it. Too much youth worship if you ask me.I see this as one of the reasons why there is a lot of discrimination against the elderly. I really am not sure if many old women like to be called old dear or sweetheart, I Know I wouldn't like to be call those patronizing names. Overall I feel that our Elders are not shown a lot of respect within Society.
Elders/Wisdom Keepers Down through the Ages
There was a time in Western Society were one would have respected Elders within their community. These Elders were not necessarily old people, but rather people who would hold a lot of wisdom and whom the community would approach for advice or council. They would include both old and usually middle aged men and women. The term Elder was then met with respect and held in high esteem. These people earned your respect through their actions and deeds. The would strive towards building a better community for all. Yet they would be humble. These are what Elders are meant to be.
Then there is the magnificent non human elders of our world, the trees. To me it is really important to acknowledge these elders that have been around for hundreds of years and it goes without saying that we should all respect them, but the amount of old growth forest left in the world today is sickening.
Today, we are losing old growth forests to logging at an alarming rate. Eighty percent of the world's original forests have already been logged, and much of what is left of these precious resources is altered fragments. Most of the remaining large tracts of intact forests on the planet are contained in just three countries: Canada, Russia and Brazil.
https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/what-we-do/our-stories/3/99
Respect in general is something that is lacking today. There is an overall lack of respect for our planet and for all living beings. There is a lack of respect for young people, I see so much disrespect towards children, but that rant is for another day. There is such a huge lack of respect between men and women and between women themselves. So it's not really surprising that their is a lack of respect for the elderly in general.
On a personal note, I respect people who are kind, open, courteous and actually give a shit about the world and all of the amazing human and non human beings in it, who actually are actively making a difference locally or globally. I have no respect for those in power and those who preach, or try and force their way of life on me, be they young or old.
What do you think?
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