I find it interesting how often I just accept was is being said without serious analysis and then find myself saying – well that makes sense when the “facts” have been disputed. I found this happening to me when I read one of the headline this week in the New York Times: Japan, Checking on Its Oldest, Finds Many Gone. I have no qualms about Japan having one of the oldest populations of citizens but really how many people can there be over 110? Well, apparently Japan thought she had more than 200.
The concern comes after it was discovered that the “newest” oldest person in Japan was found in his bed mummified and he had in actuality been dead for 30 years. This makes for great press but I wonder.
Should we be surprised? It is not difficult to extrapolate into our own back yards and see the pressures on our own system mounting. These new realities of longer lives will play themselves out in ways that we were not anticipating.
Some health experts say these cases reflect strains in a society that expects children to care for their parents, instead of placing them in care facilities. They point out that longer life spans mean that children are called upon to take care of their elderly parents at a time when the children are reaching their 70s and are possibly in need of care themselves.
Should we be surprised? Let us look beyond the cultural norms and expectations of the Japanese society for a minute. We, in the west, have been feeling the pressures mounting over the care of our own elderly. Elderly abuse exists everywhere and yet I do not see that much of it in the press. I have only questions and not answers to this dilemma. I am one of the fortunate ones with parents reaching 90 who also had the financial resources to ensure proper care. While I live thousands of kilometres away, I have a brother who believes it is not only his responsibility but his love to be there for our father. Many others do not have a similar luxury but it seems that many are under some illusion that things will take care of themselves . . . somehow. Perhaps winning the lottery? A number of years ago I read that 50% of people think they will get to retirement by winning the lottery. To be honest I do not believe this figure and can’t be bothered to check it out. However, it says a lot about our assumptions and belief systems.
Should we be surprised? It is time to wake up to the “truths” of our situation and admit that it is through our lack of diligence that we are where we are. “Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) What are the consequences when a nation or group or organization begins to pride itself of some achievement or value at the exclusion of current realities or common sense for that matter? We need to challenge these assumptions. We need to admit that some of our righteous indignation is merely a masked pride. We need to review our thinking for faulty logic. We need to consider seriously that we might be wrong.
As a side note, this morning I was reading that perhaps Lou Gehrig didn’t have A.L.S. or as it is better known “Lou Gehrig’s” disease after all. Seems athletes and members of the military who are repeatedly subjected to hard hits are likely to suffer later from what looks like A.L.S. Should we be surprised?
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