Originally posted by angel7030:
if my father give me to be PM, i also guai guai listen to him, what you expect?
How about hum7030 guai guai accept a torpedo up its cunt?
huh!! why me again??
Some how, I have a queasy feeling that some 'well-providing' parents
might be presumptuous if not imbalanced in their life priorities.
Using the example of farming for fruit, it doesn't matter how much
water/ fertilizer a farmer gives the plant, without adequate sunshine (=
inculcation/ 'light'- see following) the plant will never fruit, if
ever it even properly grows.
That said, a child's neglect for his / her parent could be simply have
been due to a parent's inadequate inculcation ('light'- pls see above)
of values in the child such that the child, having had little guidance
in his/ her growing years, now fails to understand the need to care
adequately for his/ her parents, having received previously only a
superficial show of affection.
The 'slogging' of the parent could be born out of social pressures/
norms- eg. many Singaporeans both of today and yesteryear strive for the
5Cs- Car, Cash, Condo, Club, Credit cards (in no particular order).
Following such social norms, the parents likewise strive to achieve
these particular status symbols; their children enjoying a
materialistically good life being merely consequence of the parents
abundant/ obscene salaries.
Do note that more often then not, health, the environment, others
welfare isn't included amongst the 5Cs- (e.g. the Country club is for
amusement, showing off and use of the jack pot room lah- ditto the other
C's).
The parents might be well paid employees, whose job scopes either demand
little concern about global affairs, or preclude them from such
concerns: e.g. employees of BP might be too 'busy'/ disadvantaged should
they raise 'unprofitable' issues such as related to 'global warming',
oil spills from 1km below sea level etc, this results in individual
having hearts too hard to adapt with the ever changing times.
In this fast paced world of constant change, many issues compete with a
person's ability to provide for one's parents. Whilst the child might
have been fortunate to have been brought up in a materially robust
household, his perspective of his status within the parent's hierarchy
of priorities might have been only a lowly sixth C- 'Child'. His being
adequate provision attributable mostly to the 'overflow-effect' related
to the robustness of his parents salaries- the preceding 5 Cs being
priority, the neglect of his emotions and personal concerns resulting.
Unfortunately, due to changing world circumstances, that child is now
unable to draw a similarly generous salary nor adapt to changing social
norms. Holding sacred the same hierarchy of priorities he was brought up
with, his parents are correspondingly ranked 6th- after the car, condo,
card, cash, club- as before/ respectively.
The now breadwinner might have kids of his own and thus unable to cope
with the demands of a demanding spouse, bills etc etc. Without a
sustained emotional bond, the child is unable to empathize with the
needs of the elderly (nor most other persons for that matter). Though
his expense on his parents as a proportion of his full salary might be
equal to what he originally received (e.g. 10%), this becomes grossly
insufficient in light of the diminished nature of his drawn salary and
the high medical/ upkeep costs incurred by an uncooperative, sick
elderly- as such, a rethink and reorganization of the family's
priorities and finances is in dire need.
So it is the plight of the pitiful old who squandered their early
fortunes upon the 5Cs, only to receive relatively little from a child no
less 'filial' (in regard to his/ her particular upbringing)- just a
sorry 'family misfortune' that their child now earns less then what
his/ her parents earned before/ expect to earn.
So is this the plight of the average Singaporean,
I don't know, U tell me.
All said, I still stand by my earlier post [link] that the NFC 'filial piety' ad is misinforming in its omission of the fact that dementia is a disease that "is NOT part of normal aging"~ Video 'Going Home' [video excerpt].
The NFC, if not confident of producing a 3-generation ad, ought to take a
leaf from the 2006 2-generation ad of the Petronas 2006 CNY greeting:
'Rich son poor son': "Love of the family is life's greatest blessing"[video]- sweet and simple wins the day.
Sources/ References:
- [Singapore Polytechnic 2009]: "Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and is NOT part of normal aging."~ [video]: 'Going Home' - Award: First Prize; Produced by Kirill Tee, Directed by Vinn Bay.
- [Petronas CNY2006]: 'Rich son poor son': "Love of the family is life's greatest blessing"[video(English subtitles)]
- SG National Family Council's Family campaign 2010: 'Filial Piety: Father and Son' [video]
- [ST5July2010]: Educate people about filial piety, don't demand it [link]
- [ST23Jun2010]: Does ad convey right values? [link]
People make mistakes all the time.
Some mistakes are inevitable.
Some mistakes are unseen / unnoticed.
It's ok, it is part of life.