I feel guilty at how our society treats old people

I am saddened by the situation of elderly people in our society.

Not only do we have problems with ageism in the workplace against those who still have their faculties and who can work at that age; but also a pervasive marginalising attitude towards them generally. Many elderly people end up liviing alone away from the rest of the family; only visiting on occasions or on holidays. For a lot of them, their company is either a spouse or a television set. Is this really what we owe the people who once raised us? The people who taught us how to speak, what values to have and assisted us in many matters throughout our lives - end up living on their own. Should this have to be the case?

My grandmother is very old now, and for many years she has lived on her own in an apartment with nobody else. She suffers from angina and arthritis and other ailments and there are some things that she cannot do with accuracy and reliability anymore. We have paid money to build an extension to our house, an extra bedroom and downstairs toilet so that she can live with us. We feel guilty for her living by herself for so many years; particularly when she has gotten to the age where she needs family support.

Thinking about it; why did our grandmother and grandfather have to live so far away? You know, in pre-war times here in the UK; some communities lived among each other - the grandparent looked after the children while both parents went out to work. People co-operated more to get jobs done but also spent more time socialising together at meals, discussing things and so forth. Even married couples often moved only next door and sometimes (especially amongst asian families) lived together with their parents in the same house to save financial expense but also as a support network.

I think for various reasons in our time; we need to try and bring back some sort of extended family. We shouldn't be so quick to leave our parents behind particularly if we find a job in our own town or city.