"Til Death Do us Part"

             Growing old today does not mean the same thing as it did for our parents or grandparents. How we define our own aging may not even be the same as what our definition was when we were younger. As with anything else in our lives, the physical process of, and the attitudes toward growing older has changed with the times. It is because aging is inevitable factor in everyone's lives that the issues surrounding growing old are of major concern. Issues such as; changing health care needs for seniors; women's poverty; and the need to restructure the Canadian Pension Plan in order to successfully provide for future recipients are discussed frequently by our policy makers and by those in the media. There are many other issues that also deserve much attention and scrutiny by seniors and those who are responsible for making policies on the behalf of seniors. These include: workers in an aging work force, life in long term care institutions, ageism, abuse of the elderly and issues concerning the native elderly in Canada. While some of us dream about growing old with grace and dignity, the realities of aging however, are often full of heartache, physical pain, and mental anguish. If education is the key to a long, healthy, happy life, than educating the young about the facts of growing old could change society's perception of senior citizen's everywhere.
             Old age cannot specifically be defined because it does not have the same meaning in all societies or even by all people in the same society. If you were to ask a five year old child to define an "old person", the answer would probably describe a grandmotherly/grand fatherly figure- grey hair, wrinkles, walking with a cane. On the other hand, if you were to ask a person who is 55 or 60 years old, that person may describe someone who is 85 or 90 years old. In Canada and the United States those 65 years and older are considered to be senior citizens.
             Over the past few hundreds of years...

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"Til Death Do us Part". (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 10:45, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/14785.html