Treating The Aged With Respect - Essay Example

The old adage is to enjoy life to the fullest, from the early years to the onset of the sunset years. This is equally applicable to anyone, whether rich or poor, as enjoyment of life can be quite simple. It does not take plenty of money to do so, although money certainly helps in so many ways if one can have it (and plenty of it if possible). There are advantages to growing old, such as experience and wisdom that supposedly goes with it; love and respect are the other things one can crave for.

American society is characterized by a hectic lifestyle and working schedule; everybody is either at school trying to earn a degree or working hard to earn enough for comfortable living and also at the same time attain that iconic American dream, to reach the middle class. Another dream is to have squirreled away enough savings for an enjoyable retirement to afford some things. This paper deals on the question whether Americans treat their aged with enough respect and love. Discussion Contrary to anecdotal evidence, Americans greatly honor their old relatives although it can be admitted that most of these younger people are often quite busy pursuing their careers that precludes them expressing their love and respect for their senior loved ones in the more frequent ways that most people normally expect.

But nevertheless, they express this through phone calls. They also send loving letters to them, and for those seniors who are Internet savvy, then they can also connect on the Internet through social networking sites such as Facebook. A point is that people mistakenly believe the seniors are largely forgotten in a fast-moving society such as America where everybody is in a hurry to get off to somewhere. From the viewpoint of the old and aged citizens of this country, they have the vantage point of having a lifetime of memories or a long list of experiences to comfort them in their old age.

They may suffer from some infirmity but that does not preclude them from enjoying life as long as they are not bedridden yet and can still pursue some activities of normal living (Cowley x). Seniors can also surprisingly be creative and inventive when it comes to meeting some of their physical needs without asking for help. These can be illustrated by taking their time when walking (very slowly so as not to fall) or find a new way of doing things only they can think of. What is quite remarkable is often their positive outlook on life despite advancing in years and facing the inevitable (Janis 5).

Most seniors tend to become deeply spiritual as they are in a stage in life prior to going into eternity. Today's senior citizens enjoy an active lifestyle unlike that of earlier generations of aged people who were confined to nursing homes and spend the rest of the day doing nothing or keep playing the same parlor games over and over throughout a day. The advent of modern medicine has made senior living worthwhile and older or retired people can go wherever they want to such as places as go on luxury cruise or enjoy a sunny beach environment in a tropical country.

These people go whenever they want to go with no one curtailing their activities. A positive attitude is the next best thing to having good health; it keeps the years away. The saying is to live and love well enough to keep mind and muscles going for a long time (Stein 52). Younger people show their respect for older loved ones when they visit them in nursing or retirement homes to enjoy being together with their aging parents or relatives. Moreover, they also show respect