People who have seen thier "better days."

There's nothing more disconcerting than turning on the radio on the way home and listening to someone rationalizing for their listeners reasons for not providing health care for people and I quote: "...who have seen their better days." The rationalization is that, as one would expect, the money would be better spent on children.

More distressing is, once the program host shared this profound wisdom, the number of listeners who called in and agreed. The tension between providing for children versus providing for older adults is nothing new in human history. Let me suggest that this conflict is not one of capacity to provide, but one of will. Watching the government print trillions of dollars and extending bailout money to banks and corporations shows that if we, as society have the will to do something, we will do it.

The issue then is not do we have enough money. The issue is do we have enough heart to care not only for children, but for older adults as well. We owe our older population a debt of gratitude for providing for our home, our education, and our quality of life.

Theologically speaking, the Ten Commandents address the care of our parents. The first four commandments instruct us in how we are to relate to God. The next five commandments instruct us on how we are to relate to each other.

Starting the second group of commandments,is the commandment to "...honor our father and mother:"

"Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." Deutronomy 5:16.

When I hear pronouncements like the one I referenced in this blog, I can understand why God would highlight the care of parents. When we prioritize need for support, the elderly will naturally fall to the bottom of the list. Why? Because we can see no apparent return on our investment, (ROI).

Knowing how we think, God then places this commandment first in the series of how we relate to one another, and different from the other commandments, God adds two promises, and if I may paraphrase: "Take care of your mother and father, and if you do, I will make sure you have a long and prosperous life, and not only for you, but for the nation in which you live.

Of course, some people will think that this is simplistic, but I do not. I think it is this simple. I believe if we made the care of our older adults a top priority, many, if not all, of our social ills would vanish. Why? Because, first it would force a change in our own thinking, and God would indeed fulfill His promise to us.

However, reading the history of the treatment of older adults does not leave me optimistic. But you never know, we might actually be the first society in history to take God at His word. As for those people who are described as "...having seen their better days," you know well that you are living in your best days now.

What do these kids know anyway?