Theelderlyhaveaccumulatedalifetime'sworthofexperience,however,manyyoungpeopleoftenregardthemasirrelevant,embarrassing,andoutoftouch.AsfarasIamconcerned,thetraditionalChinesevirtuetorespecttheoldpeopleneedstobeemphasized.
Firstly,theelderlydeservetherespectduetotheireffortinbringinguptheirchildrenandtheircontributiontosociety.Weshouldalwaysbearinmindthatwhatwehaveandenjoynowwascreatedbytheagedpeopleintheearlydays,astheoldChinesesayinggoes,"Onegenerationplantstreesunderwhoseshadeanothergenerationrests,"Secondly,familyisoneofthebestplacesforlearningvalues,soeveryfamilyshouldinspireyoungermemberstorespecttheolderones.Itisimportant,therefore,tosetanexampleathomebytakinggoodcareoftheelderlymembers,sothatchildrenlearntoadoptthissamepractice.Familiesshouldmakeapointofincludingandinvolvingtheoldermembersinthefamilyactivitiesanddecisions.Inthisway,familieswillexemplifytherightvalues,andyoungmemberswilllearnfirst-handonhowtorespecttheelderly.
Perhapsthemostimportanttestofasocietyisthewayindividualsbehavetowardsoneanother.Andspecifically,howthatsocietytreatsitselderlymenandwomen.Ifyoungpeopledonotrespecttheelderly,thewholesocietywillbeamesswithoutrespect.Therefore,theelderlyshouldberespectedbyallofus.(244words)
