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contentment, and not with the crash
of a broken drum or cracked cym–
bals'"
(The Adult Years) .
The affluent Western world has a
Iot to Iearn!
Where the West Went Wrong
Western culture today is youth–
oriented. The emphasis in entertain–
ment, advertising, lifestyle, clothing
and cosmetics is upon being young.
As one's years advance individuals
make special efforts to look and act
like young adults. Old age is looked
upon negatively.
Age is the crowning culmination of
life, the golden years. It should be
looked upon with honor, respect, even
awe. It should be an experience made
pleasant by the warm attention and
support of family members, especial–
ly children and grandchildren.
Today rapid technological and
industrial changes have revolution–
ized society and family. Before the
Jndustrial Revolution significant in–
ventions and discoveries were infre–
quent. Life followed a fairly predict–
able pattern. Most people were gener–
ally content to maintain ties to the
family circle, which in turn was tied to
the land. The extended fami ly unit was
anchored to a geographical area–
babies, children, parents, grandpar–
ents, relatives, all together. Witnessed
by all was the full cycle of life consist–
ing of its various ages: babyhood,
childhood, adolescence, adulthood,
middle age and finally old age.
The explosion of technology
brought rapid economic cbanges, a
shift from a rural toan urban society.
lndustry and money-making oppor·
tunities attracted young people to
cities. lmprovements in modes of
transportation made it easier to move
great distances from other family
members.
Rampant divorce, remarriage and
alternatives to marriage have split
the beleaguered family unit. To a lot
of children grandmother is now a
far-away voice on a telephone rather
than a present and real influence in
their lives.
In a culture that did not change
quickly life hada sense of continuity.
The wisdom of the older generation
had value to the younger generations
because it still applied to the experi–
ences in life. But technology pro–
duced such rapid changes in lifestyle
May 1980
that the experiences of one genera–
tion appear old fashioned to the
next.
Further adding to the problems of
many elderly people is the fact that
they have grown up in one mode of
life, on a farm, for example. When
they move toa strange city, they fail
to fit into the new environment.
Today's cities are not places where
a person can easily hold on to person–
al and cultural history. lnstead, one
feels compelled to conform, to blend
into the crowd. Personal identity is
threatened, when not totally lost.
After a while people begin to wonder
who they are and where their roots
are. This is especially hard on older
people who are suddenly called on to
revise the habits of a lifetime in order
to adapt to new ways of life.
Now, Add New Problems In
Western World
The psychological andjor cultural
stresses of the elderly are made worse
by a number of other problems that
are a very real part of existence.
A lifetime of improper diet and
injurious health habits has given
many people poor health by the time
they reach their latter years. The
younger generation fears being bur–
dened · with astronomical medica!
bilis or the daily responsibility of
having to care for an aged invalid.
tt
' 'A diligent, wage-earning,
productive worker in one
day's time, at age 65, too
often has become a
nonwage-earning
dependent-suddenly o/d,
cast out of the working
community.
"
' '
Many elderly who are physically
able to live independently are prime
targets for muggers and criminals.
The aged must constantly be wary of
where they walk, or the talkative
str~nger,
or the person at the door.
Physical danger is not limited to
criminal actiVlty. A new danger is
"parent abuse." In England it is
called "gram-slamming." In growing
numbers cases a re surfacing of teen–
agers or adults physically or psycho–
logically abusing elderly parents or
grandparents that they are unpre–
pared to cope with. Abuse may range
from beatings to heavy doses of seda–
tives. It is estimated that of elderly
people living with family members,
1
O
percent have been or are being
abused.
The technology- and industry–
based system with its built-in infla–
tion inflicts yet another hardship
upon the older generation: economic
privation. The real value of small
pensions or other fixed income, as
well as savings, is constantly being
gnawed away by inflation. The price
of food, rent, transportation and
medica! care steadily mounts. The
value of money shrinks. And the
older become poorer .
It is in the industrialized, money–
oriented cultures that the custom of
retiring older people from the work–
ing force is most abrupt and traumat–
ic. A diligent, wage-earning, produc–
tive worker in one day's time, at age
65, too often has become a nonwage–
earning dependent-suddenly old,
cast out of the working community.
Solvlng the Problems
The Law of God is summed up in the
Ten Commandments. The fifth com–
mandment strikes directly at the root
of problems the elderly face: the
attitude
of the younger generations
toward the older generation. The
fifth commandment requires of each
of us, " Honour thy father and thy
mother . .." (Exodus
i0:12).
That's where solving the problem
must begin- a change of attitude.
The younger generations can begin to
show sorne genuine honor and kind–
ness and care.
Your Bible shows how elders
should be respected, the place they
ought to occupy in a society orga–
nized God's way. Gray hair is to be
regarded as a "crown of glory"
(Proverbs
16:31; 20:29).
Younger
people are to rise up in the presence
of the aged (Leviticus
19:32).
Their
advice and counsel is to be sought
and heeded (Proverbs
23:22-23).
.The
aged are to be the wisest members of
(Continued on page 38)
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