Expository Essay: The Elderly

Introduction

The issue about older people and how they are treated in the contemporary society has no doubt hit different heights particularly compared to the traditional societies. There have been varied opinions concerning this topic where people have had to raise their views on how today's system has segregated the older people from their normal lives and sidelining them from their beloved ones. In the book "In the world until yesterday", Jared Diamond raises specific issues of urgencies that needs to be looked at through a fair comparison of how the older generation was treated in the traditional world and in the present days, especially in the United States. This paper intends to discuss Diamond's comments as well as elaborating on the society that could improve the life of the elderly in the societal settings.

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The Evolution of Elderly Care: From Pastoralist Societies to the United States

While the modern world can boast the level of transformation particularly on the aspect of technology in terms of improving the lives of the older people through recreation and modern health facilities, it would be fair to say that those tribal societies that constituted all walks of human society are far better than what we have today (Ted, 1). There have been many attempts to get rid of the older people particularly in the traditional societies such as those of the pastoralist where old individuals were seen as incapable of coping with the life that involved constant movement (Ted, 2). In this regards, there have been some efforts made by the United States in the name of securing a future for the elderly by coming up with a system that segregates them from other younger generation which is a complete misplaced ideology.

The Role of Older People in Modern Society: Challenges and Opportunities

There has been an obvious set of reasons why the emergence of variation among societies in their treatment of old people has been rampant in what Diamond calls the world until yesterday. Apparently, some of these reasons are that the elderly could be used as an asset in the line of babysitting where they have a lot of experience in (Ted, 2). Although the world has made a big stride in modernizing literature, the old individuals are still resourceful in this field bearing in mind they might have what we do not have, not forgetting the level of respect they received in the traditional societies. Nonetheless, despite the overall sidelining of the old people, the modern world has brought some positive impact with it (Albom). Some of the changes for the better include a longer life and a better health care. However, the level of denial that these old individuals have experienced is immense, especially where they have limited chance of securing a job.

Primarily, despite the whole aspect of segregating the old people, modern world experience is still tipped to improve the lives of these set of individuals. Nonetheless, there has to be a way of making the current system more inclusive and considerable (Ted, 4). Making the elderly interact with their families is an important aspect considering they have a good parenting aspect that could be useful to their grandchildren. Grandparents do not quite the job of caregiver on the basis of money (Albom). This is a good point of consideration in redefining their value in the American society.

Conclusion

In the nutshell, it is evident that the level of elderly segregation is a reality that people ought to face it in the contemporary world. In this light, it is important to re-design the current system that would see the elderly people be involved more in adding value to the society. This will not only show some level of respect to this set of people but also add value to the modern societal setting.

Works Cited

Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: An old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson. Hachette UK, 2009.

Diamond, Jared. The world until yesterday: What can we learn from traditional societies?. Penguin, 2013.