Thanks to scientific and technological innovation, life expectancy has increased markedly in Taiwan. This, combined with a declining fertility rate, means society is aging fast. But we have also discovered a troublesome reality; our society has ignored and even avoided the problems of the elderly.
Social change and the loss of the traditional value of filial piety have weakened the parent-child relationship. The fear of being unable to insure against old age by raising sons, therefore, has led to the belief that the increasing elderly population will become a serious economic problem. Many of my younger relatives and friends are trying very hard to figure out how savings and insurance plans can ensure them a secure retirement.
Subsidizing the elderly is not a problem. The problem is that our society has gotten the wrong idea about the stipend program for the elderly. Our society now believes money can solve the elderly problem. Such a false impression has gradually pushed the problem off the agenda of public debate.
In the same way that disadvantaged groups need money for social security, care for the elderly also requires funds. Because funds for social welfare are limited, consideration should be given in government policies and legislative oversight to prevent the elderly from taking up an excessive amount of the money. Under the work of a "benevolent administration," elderly people have received "care in the form of money." But because the elderly feel that they have already profited at society's expense, they no longer dare to contend for the focus of public debate with other social problems such as national health insurance, the unemployment of middle-aged workers and educational reform. Elderly people, therefore, have become socially marginalized. They have become the silent majority because the administrative and legislative departments settled the elderly problem with a monthly stipend of a few thousand NT dollars.
I suspect that the decision to grant senior stipends was a snap decision taken by politicians, who place personal gains above public interests, to seal the mouths of the elderly. The politicians also pinned down and deceived society's opinion of the elderly.
When a retired professor killed himself, we finally saw loneliness gnawing at the elderly. When a senile woman infected with AIDS went without food until she died, we saw alienation, caused by discrimination against the disease, depriving her of the will to survive. And because an old man who lived alone sexually assaulted children and another one killed a rival suitor of the person he loved, we finally learned that the elderly still have passion and the ability to commit crime.
Take a look at the examples of an unemployed person deserting the senile father, a nursing home tying up the elderly to control them, and a political figure and his stepmother filing lawsuits against the senile father for improper handling of family property. We finally realized that care for the elderly takes no account of social status. Even a retired president's books gave us an insight into an old man's painful struggle with the loss of power. All these examples truly reflect the complex needs of making proper arrangements for the elderly in an aging society.
Social change and the loss of the traditional value of filial piety have led the elderly to be cast out of the support system. They have withdrawn from the contest of vigorous, healthy, mainstream values. They have slipped from the network of human relations. The elderly problem also intensifies the feelings of loss and anxiety as the role of the elderly changes in society. If the elderly also lack emotional support, the result is self-destruction and the destruction of others.
Our society has simplified explanations of the elderly's odd language and behavior. We are also biased against their behavior. For example, we would label an old sex offender as an "old lecher." An old person who is unwilling to hand over authority is called an "old rebel." Such simplifications of the elderly will retard society's thinking about old age. Not only will we treat the elderly unfairly, but we also will miss the opportunity to make preparations for our own old age. Our society will need to pay a bigger price for the elderly problem in the future.
It is therefore critical that the government, experts and the media pay attention to the elderly problem. Hopefully every old person and those getting old will think carefully about the challenges of the aging process. We need not be pessimistic and view the aging process as a dreadful disease. But, we should not be too optimistic that everything will take care of itself when the time comes. After all, society's view of the elderly and the elderly's view of themselves can be mutually beneficial.
We are all on the road to old age. Those who prepare for their old age may still stagger along but not fall over.
Kuo Hui-hsin is a lecturer in thanatology at Pingtung Community College.
Translated by Grace Shaw
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