Cast aside and forgotten
- By Bhishmadev Seebaluck
- Published 3rd October, 2008
My dear Billy,
It's been the International Day of Older Persons the other day, and a number of activities have been organised by the Ministry of Social Security to show that government cares. And maybe it does too. If a comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth, it is also a rare and difficult attainment to grow old gracefully and happily; most people grumble their way to old age.
The road to old age is often paved with hard work, misery, hardship, contempt, disdain, sacrifice,disease, and there cannot live a more unhappy creature than an ill-natured old person who is neither capable of receiving pleasures, nor sensible of conferring them on others. Age is generally characterised by an irrational despondence of self-pity.
Before going any further my dear Billy, I'll refer to your poem “Youth and Age”, in which you compare the two stages of life and say that “Crabbed Age and Youth cannot live together.” Do you really think so? You do certainly revel in the joys of youth and condemn old age: “Age , I do abhor thee, Youth, I do adore thee.” That's probably why God never allowed you to become old,as He took you away from this earth at the young age of 52.You don't seem to realise that growing old is like being penalised for a crime you have not committed.
Of all the problems that demogra-phic shifts are raising today none is more serious or more troubling than taking charge of the elderly. Most of our senior citizens are in need of full-time medical care. One expert on aging says “The burden of caring for the elderly is the No.1 health problem in the world. It's being dealt with very poorly, mostly by hoping it will go away.
But it will not, because old age has no cure. Modern medicine has scored many triumphs, and increasing the life span of human beings is chief among them. Yet, science still has not developed many options for treating senility, hearing loss, impaired vision, weakening bones or the dozens of other natural shocks that people are likely to suffer from. Without substantial improvement in the quality of care for the very old, a few more years of life may turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing in countless cases.
Most
of the elderly are often relegated to a medical land where doctors attempt to treat their acute symptoms, but can do little to improve the nagging problems that destroy the quality of their lives. Many old people here and abroad spend their final years in utter loneliness without care or attention. The ravaging effects of aging are appallingly dehumanising indeed.
Search where you may, you will never discover anything as heart-rending as an old parent – your own father or mother – being cast aside and forgotten. Extend a thought to them and you show a fine humanity which is fast slipping away from a world invaded by materialistic ideals which are rushing it to its ruin.
Society should be educated in the necessity of taking care of its elders. If people refuse to do it voluntarily and wholeheartedly, laws should be enacted to compel children to take care of their aging parents, just as they are obliged to send their children to school.
In most cases these old people have spent their lifetimes fending for their children,providing them with all their needs, satisfying their caprices and fancies often at the cost of untold sacrifices; they have contributed to the development of the country and the progress of society, often to the detriment of their own health, happiness and wellbeing. It is only natural that society pays them back at least a little fraction of what they have spent in terms of blood, sweat, effort and hard work, so that they may not have to spend their last days in utter dejection and misery. There is an indescribable affinity of bondage that binds grandparents with their grandchildren. Parents should allow this to grow and develop for the better inculcation of values.
On the other hand, the state should not grudge senior citizens their little earnings or savings by taxing them or eliminating their old age pensions, my dear Billy. That's the greatest demonstration of organised, institutionalised inhumanity, callousness and brutality towards poor, helpless citizens whose only crime is to have followed the natural process of growing old despite themselves. It is nothing short of pickpocketing perpetrated by government. This act strangely resembles the assaults upon them by ruthless bandits who tie them to their beds and steal their belongings. The money that the state loots from them may be their only resource to fall back on later. It's their only hope for a rainy day.
It's been the International Day of Older Persons the other day, and a number of activities have been organised by the Ministry of Social Security to show that government cares. And maybe it does too. If a comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth, it is also a rare and difficult attainment to grow old gracefully and happily; most people grumble their way to old age.
The road to old age is often paved with hard work, misery, hardship, contempt, disdain, sacrifice,disease, and there cannot live a more unhappy creature than an ill-natured old person who is neither capable of receiving pleasures, nor sensible of conferring them on others. Age is generally characterised by an irrational despondence of self-pity.
Before going any further my dear Billy, I'll refer to your poem “Youth and Age”, in which you compare the two stages of life and say that “Crabbed Age and Youth cannot live together.” Do you really think so? You do certainly revel in the joys of youth and condemn old age: “Age , I do abhor thee, Youth, I do adore thee.” That's probably why God never allowed you to become old,as He took you away from this earth at the young age of 52.You don't seem to realise that growing old is like being penalised for a crime you have not committed.
Of all the problems that demogra-phic shifts are raising today none is more serious or more troubling than taking charge of the elderly. Most of our senior citizens are in need of full-time medical care. One expert on aging says “The burden of caring for the elderly is the No.1 health problem in the world. It's being dealt with very poorly, mostly by hoping it will go away.
But it will not, because old age has no cure. Modern medicine has scored many triumphs, and increasing the life span of human beings is chief among them. Yet, science still has not developed many options for treating senility, hearing loss, impaired vision, weakening bones or the dozens of other natural shocks that people are likely to suffer from. Without substantial improvement in the quality of care for the very old, a few more years of life may turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing in countless cases.
Most
Search where you may, you will never discover anything as heart-rending as an old parent – your own father or mother – being cast aside and forgotten. Extend a thought to them and you show a fine humanity which is fast slipping away from a world invaded by materialistic ideals which are rushing it to its ruin.
Society should be educated in the necessity of taking care of its elders. If people refuse to do it voluntarily and wholeheartedly, laws should be enacted to compel children to take care of their aging parents, just as they are obliged to send their children to school.
In most cases these old people have spent their lifetimes fending for their children,providing them with all their needs, satisfying their caprices and fancies often at the cost of untold sacrifices; they have contributed to the development of the country and the progress of society, often to the detriment of their own health, happiness and wellbeing. It is only natural that society pays them back at least a little fraction of what they have spent in terms of blood, sweat, effort and hard work, so that they may not have to spend their last days in utter dejection and misery. There is an indescribable affinity of bondage that binds grandparents with their grandchildren. Parents should allow this to grow and develop for the better inculcation of values.
On the other hand, the state should not grudge senior citizens their little earnings or savings by taxing them or eliminating their old age pensions, my dear Billy. That's the greatest demonstration of organised, institutionalised inhumanity, callousness and brutality towards poor, helpless citizens whose only crime is to have followed the natural process of growing old despite themselves. It is nothing short of pickpocketing perpetrated by government. This act strangely resembles the assaults upon them by ruthless bandits who tie them to their beds and steal their belongings. The money that the state loots from them may be their only resource to fall back on later. It's their only hope for a rainy day.
|
Typo/Layout Correction Found a typo? Or the layout seems messed up? Please send us your correction or the article link to help us keep this website as accurate as possible. Vous avez remarqué une erreur de typo ou de mise en page ? Veuillez nous faire parvenir votre correction ou l’adresse de l’article afin de nous aider à rendre notre site encore plus fiable. |
