Respect for the Aged Day
September 16, 2008
Today is Respect-for-the-Aged Day, and it is quite sad to hear depressing tales of grandchildren who steal from, or even kill their grandparents. And due to the shortage of young workers, the elderly are forced to rely increasingly on foreign workers to provide their nursing and home care. As long as the nuclear family displaces the extended family, and people live longer, the gulf between generations will continue to widen. And as the income gap increases, young low-income earners and the elderly will suffer the most.
In the October issue of "Sekai" magazine, psychiatrist Inada Nada and author Karin Amamiya have called on young people and the elderly to join hands to "change Japan," and are urging that more respect be given to the spirit of mutual assistance rather than the concept of self-responsibility.
In this summer's hit movie, "Ponyo on the Edge of a Cliff by the Sea," there is a nursery school situated right next to a nursing home for the aged. The director Hayao Miyazaki apparently believes that "mutual support between generations" begins with exchanges between children and the elderly. To respect the aged is to sustain the hope to live.
Abridged
SOURCE: Mainichi Daily News
---------------------------------------------------
More Recent Posts from Spotlight on Elder Abuse
No comments:
Post a Comment