Sometimes falling . . .

http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/1/26.full.pdf This article from "The Gerontologist" is about the different perspectives of old age cross-culturally which is more than relevant to a chapter about "Aging in Other Countries and Across Cultures." It does a nice job of looking at the issue from a more anthropological angle and bringing up specific cultural views that dove-tail nicely with sociological theories.

In many other countries, elders are respected more than considered a burden or "cute". This is definitely a viewpoint that I can get behind, not just because all people should be treated with respect but because people who have lived long lives will surely have some lessons to teach those of us who haven't.

As the world progresses, technologically, morally, etc., it seems like the older people in our society lag behind, and end up looking a bit simple, at least that's what the modernization theory describes. It's a problem because then people start to take pity on others who don't really need it.

"There was no respect for youth when I was young, and now that I'm old, there is no respect for age - I missed it coming and going." - J.B. Priestly (English novelist)
This quote sums up the ways that the views of aging have transformed in just a short time, within this man's life-time even. It's a bummer that the change has provoked a lack of respect in Western society.

The chapter in our textbook about aging in other cultures in particularly of interest to me because I'm a sociology major and as such I study the United States a lot but I relish in the opportunities I get to broaden my horizons with info or comparisons of other cultures. So much that we learn about in sociology is the things in our society that gets taken for granted by the majority of people but when we get to look at the same things, such as respect for elders (or lack thereof), in other cultures it resonates so much more because people will inevitably relate the concepts to their own frames of reference. I find it very important to understand the aspects of ones' life in context of humanity and not their specific circumstances.

There some more perspectives and more information about aging cross-culturally at these addresses :
http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/eoa_04/eoa_04_00387.html a summary of the study of modernization theory and critiques of the study.
http://www.catherine-b-silver.com/docs/Cross-Cultural%20Perspective.pdf a look at the attitudes towards old people in the US and Japan.