In this ever evolving modern world, technology, science, the way people think about things, and even people's personal values are subject to change. In countries in the East such as China and even Singapore, the traditional Confucian value of filial piety has been under compromise.
The lack of emotional and financial support provided to elderly people by their working children has given rise to many consequences. Some people leave their elderly parents to live in nursing homes, causing them to have to live out their last few years in an environment devoid of love, and those are the lucky ones. The more unfortunate are abandoned in tiny flats without a basic allowance to even provide for three meals a day, and no company or sources of entertainment. Left starving and depressed, they eventually die alone, unnoticed until the smell of their corpses makes their neighbours go to the police.
Though this may seem exaggerated, these cases do happen in our society today. The main reason people give for this is that they are busy or unable to take care of their parents due to work commitments. I think this attitude is probably due to the fact that today's modern world emphasises upon work efficiency so much that people gradually start to throw all their personal values out the window. This, along with increasing influence from the West where it is commonplace for parents to fend for themselves after their children have grown up, causes people to feel that it is fine to not support their parents.
I feel that this attitude is very wrong. I feel it is someone's duty to support their parents who have sacrificed much time and money for decades on their upbringing, at least to repay them. Also, it is downright cruel to leave an old person with deteriorating health and decreasing mental ability to have to still work for their food and even just their survival.
I think this is mostly a moral issue, which can be solved by good inculcation of values like filial piety at a young age. This could probably greatly improve the situation, but for those who still take the immoral path, a law is still necessary simply for practical reasons. At the same time, those who feel strongly that theirs is a special situation, should have the chance to apply to relieve themselves of the responsibility, though there should be clear guidelines on this, and the remaining cases reviewed on a case-by-case basis. A few resources such as well-equipped nursing homes should also be prepared in anticipation of this eventuality.
2 comments:
I am surprised that there are no comments as of now.
Some people do not bother to take care of their parents, especially in the Western / evolving societies. This I understand.
But the problem lies with whether one has the ability to take care of the parents. Even if piety was in every fibre of the child's moral being, if one has no means of taking care of the elderly, one cannot do so.
I have seen cases in which people cannot take care of the elderly because they are already struggling to feed their children. They work part time jobs, full time and there is absolutely no chance to take care of the elderly.
Besides, I'm sure the elderly would want to see their children living out a good life, even at their own expense. I believe most parents would not want to be a (selfish) burden to their children.
Summing up: In some cases where the elderly gets thrown out, the child is forced to do so.
I think that it is true that in this ever changing and developing society, people tend to lose sight of what is really important and disregard those who had once taken care of them before. But what i think is that people still have that loving caring nature in them, and it is not that its been lost. But instead their priorities have been changed.
But what i dont agree with isaac is that we shouldnt prepare for the worst and create homes for the parents, but instead educate the adults on how they should take care of their parents. At most of they don't want their parents to be living in the same house, they could supply them with a house and minimum income?
What is the case in Western societies is that the parents, who are more than capable of taking care of themselves, "free" the child so that he can live his life in whatever way he chooses. but in singapore or in the East, the parents have spent their life savings on bringing up their child, and therefore are forced to leave, to let their child not worry about them.
Summary: the child still cares, but doesnt show it and takes parents for granted.
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