Good Son Fights For All Neglected Parents

To quote Confucius, "Filial piety is the root of virtue and the source of civilization.”

It is importance to honour and respect our parents, who have brought us to this world and provide us with their unconditional and unlimited love, care and concern. When we are young and innocent, it is our parents who took great care of us, from providing us shelter to feeding us food; we are given meticulous care inside out. When our parents aged, it is only right that we take on the responsibility of providing and caring for them, like how they did when we were young.

In today’s society, filial piety is a fading virtue. This is evident by the fact that the law has to be implemented to ensure that the defendless elderly are taken care by their children. This is saddening to hear as filial piety should come from a willing heart and not on forced will.

“Love cannot be a legal obligation, and genuine concern cannot be commanded by a court order.” - Alice Chen Yan

Despite the government implementing the Maintenance of Parents Act to help the elderly people, there are still cases where people abandon or ignore their aged parents. Hence, the government has come up with strategies such as television advertisement, to promote filial piety. But will such commercial have any impact on young people and adults?

I believe a more effective method would be imparting filial piety at home and learning it through social interaction. Schools should get children involved in more community projects, such as visiting old folk's homes regularly or helping the less fortunate to clean their homes. Interacting with less-privileged Singaporeans, especially old people who have been "dumped" at homes would create awareness and have a deeper impact on young people than a television advertisement.

As the saying goes, “treat others the way you wish to be treated.” One day, we will definitely grow old as well. Would you want to be abandoned or be treated with warmth and love? The decision lies with you.


Done By: Kwek Wan Ling
Admin Number: 103503L

Credits:
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100624-223717.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Classic-of-Filial-Piety&id=2119747