For Shona: Honour and help our elders – it just might change your life – Comox Valley Record
Oct 16, 2023
When I hear an Indigenous person refer, with obvious respect, to their Elders, it warms my heart.
It wasn’t so long ago that our culture also honoured its elders. As children, we had to treat our parents and grandparents with respect. So, what has happened?
Was it societal fear of the “grey tsunami,” or a kind of dream world of eternal youth? Certainly, our society is afraid of, and averse to aging. We cannot seem to accept or decline our own mortality.
And the technology is constantly oriented to younger and younger children, and less user-friendly for elders. Many seniors do not have computers and cell phones, but to navigate the challenges of our “modern” society one can no longer rely on businesses or government offices having a human being at the end of a phone line, ready and available for help. With the advent of tech tools, we have seen the decline of human help, and this is leaving many older people unable to obtain the help and services that they need.
