No, I do not. Capitalism rewards economic contribution; thus, we greatly neglect the elderly.

Not at all. People in the past have helped to make us what we are now, and have much experience and wisdom to be learned from. If we had more respect for our elderly we would be a better society in general.

No! Western culture tends to view the elderly as a burden and an inconvenience! The family unit in general is not as solid as it is in say, Asian cultures. The strong streak of independence that runs through our thinking is definitely an influencing factor. We tend to encourage the break up of the family as part of the natural course of life, whereas the Asians will tend to work to keep it together as long as possible. Where we will be more likely to bundle our elderly off to rest homes and retirement villages, they would live with them under the same roof, sometimes three or even four generations together.

yes,i sincerely believe so. take for example here in the u.s.there are special programmes designed to benifit the elderly. it's better to send off the elderly to retirement homes than to leave them home all by themselves.in the retirement homes they remain healthier,happier and they live longer.at the touch of a buzzer,medical help is there in one minute.in the morning they have a bath,breakfast,their therapist is there to see them, later they congregate to look at tv with friends.later on is lunch,perhaps a trip to the cinema and it goes on and on.i don't know of a single person who can provide all that professional care to their own parents,much less the elderly. in order to live a successful life here in the u.s.you have to work.please,someone tell me how it is possible to be at work and still care for the elderly effectively. someone mentioned asian cultures,well perhaps in asia things are different.however,i doubt it because i don't see them having the resources.

Respect they deserve.... Hmmmm. I wonder if just living to be old is a respectable thing in and of itself or if the individual who is old still has to "earn" that respect by _________- Fill in the blank. You know its great if somebody lives to 109 years of age. Kudos on them, but if they spent their lives in pool halls and bordellos do they still deserve the kind of respect you give to 50 year old School teacher Marm who gave up a potential marriage (Or any self sacrifice) in order to still teach hundreds of kids? ======>>> Treatment of the Elderly. I do not know how all Western Nations tend to the needs of the elderly, I do know that the USA attempts to address those needs with social and financial and medical programs from both Government and private organizations. This wasn't so true just 100 years ago when the "burden" of the elderly was solely upon the children and if the elderly didn't have children or family they were left high and dry. 100 years ago retirement at 65 was for those who could afford it (upper middle class and rich), there was no safety net of the Social Security plan, no Medicare. By and large I believe we treat our elderly better than in generations past.

No. I think we like to *think* we do. We pay a lot of lip service to it. It is a lovely notion. But when you actually look at how the elderly are treated by the government, by society as a whole and by individuals in daily interactions, you will see that we ignore them and sometimes even abuse them.

No-one deserves respect, you have to earn it

Who in western society gets any automatic respect? And should they?

And you think they deserve respect why? Because they're old?

No. Unfortunately, the elderly, the young and the disabled are not treated with the respect they deserve(We all deserve at least a minimal amount of respect). Unfortunately, these are three parts of society that are put on the back burner because they are not seen by some as viable members of society. All three groups are viable and all have valuable lessons to teach the rest.

traditionally, i think so. hispanics are western culture right and we uphold our grandparents with great respect. -specifically american culture however. no i don't think so at all

No. People are a disposable resource to the West, particularly, the elderly