"My question is that why does Western society display a deficit in the process of respect and regard for their elders?"

Assuming what you've written is true, here are some possible reasons:

• Old people tend to be weak and vulnerable. It makes people uncomfortable to be around people like that because it reminds them of their own weakness and vulnerability.
• Related to that - we all will be old someday. We are given a glimpse of our futures.
• Many people are resentful of their parents and other authority figures.
• Old people may be seen as an economic liability. This is true both within a particular family and in society as a whole.
• Many of the values that grew out of an extended family don't apply anymore.
• Changes in demographics mean there are more old people taking up more resources.

NOW GET OFF OF MY LAWN !!!!

Old people tend to be weak and vulnerable. It makes people uncomfortable to be around people like that because it reminds them of their own weakness and vulnerability. — T Clark

Yes; but, it is assumed that women never retire, only males do due to the above. Hence, isn't your comment distorted by male masculinity or it being diminished with age, to some extent?

Assuming what you've written is true, here are some possible reasons:
Old people tend to be weak and vulnerable. It makes people uncomfortable to be around people like that because it reminds them of their own weakness and vulnerability.
Related to that - we all will be old someday. We are given a glimpse of our futures.
Many people are resentful of their parents and other authority figures.
Old people may be seen as an economic liability. This is true both within a particular family and in society as a whole.
Many of the values that grew out of an extended family don't apply anymore.
Changes in demographics mean there are more old people taking up more resources. — T Clark

This is a very Nazi-ish or at least Randian way of looking at society. What does that say about the educational system and mass media?

"Yes; but, it is assumed that women never retire, only males do due to the above. Hence, isn't your comment distorted by male masculinity or it being diminished with age, to some extent?"

I'm not sure I understand the distinction you are making between men and women. I think the reasons apply to both.

"This is a very Nazi-ish or at least Randian way of looking at society. What does that say about the educational system and mass media?"

I wasn't making a political statement. I was just enumerating some possible reasons for the disrespect for old people @wallows was discussing.

My point was that if people really feel this way about the elderly, then there must be a lot of Nazi-esque themes in our society.

"My point was that if people really feel this way about the elderly, then there must be a lot of Nazi-esque themes in our society."

I'm not sure what that means. The reasons I listed are common, everyday motivations. Using a term like "nazi-esque" makes them seem more alien than they are. We should save comparisons to Nazism for special situations. Otherwise, we run out of words when something really bad happens.

Those ARE really bad and ugly reasons for despising the elderly. Makes me wonder if the fascists that General Smedley Butler warned about really didn’t take things over after all.

I'm not sure I understand the distinction you are making between men and women. I think the reasons apply to both. — T Clark

Well, women are known in the field of ethics for their sense of care and compassion that is a somewhat inherent feature of women rather than men. I am only contesting your stipulated definition that seems to be guided by some masculine guiding principle or force.

I am only contesting your stipulated definition that seems to be guided by some masculine guiding principle or force. — Wallows

I picked up on that, too. Makes me suspect he’s a Fox News watcher.

I picked up on that, too. Makes me suspect he’s a Fox News watcher. — Noah Te Stroete

That's irrelevant, but his point is still valid. If you want to go way back then you could even call it a Spartan mindset.

If you want to go way back then you could even call it a Spartan mindset. — Wallows

For sure. Athenian vs. Spartan. Nazi vs. Liberal democracy. Asshole vs. Artist?

Yeah; but doesn't the state of being "mature", surpass or transcend those superficial divisions?

No. Philosophies have a “feeling” to them. Some lean Athenian. Some lean Spartan. Kind of like your choice of masculine vs. feminine.

No. Philosophies have a “feeling” to them. Some lean Athenian. Some lean Spartan. Kind of like your choice of masculine vs. feminine. — Noah Te Stroete

Well, I don't think it's a strictly either or situation. Maturity can manifest in wisdom, which is timeless and surpasses 'feelings' or intuitions.

My question is that why does Western society display a deficit in the process of respect and regard for their elders? — Wallows

↪T Clark Those ARE really bad and ugly reasons for despising the elderly. — Noah Te Stroete

Noah, you intensified a "deficit" of respect to "despising" the elderly. Wallows and T Clark didn't use terms close to "despising".

I wasn’t suggesting a dichotomy. Hence, my use of the term “lean”. There is a spectrum. @T Clark seems to lean authoritarian/Spartan/Randian/Nazi as opposed to Liberal/Athenian/Artist.

Noah, you intensified a "deficit" of respect to "despising" the elderly. Wallows and T Clark didn't use terms close to "despising". — Bitter Crank

You’re right. My bad. But, I stand by EVERYTHING else I said.

Asshole vs. Artist? — Noah Te Stroete

Artists can't be assholes? Come now.

Artists can be assholes in a non-authoritarian sense. They can be rude. But I suppose you might say Hitler was an artist. Touché. That doesn’t negate the essence or tenor of my point.

I could be wrong about @T Clark. Maybe he fears that’s how the elderly are perceived. Or maybe that’s how he perceived the elderly before he became one.

Many people are resentful of their parents and other authority figures. — T Clark

True enough, but it tends to be most intense during one's youth.

Many of the values that grew out of an extended family don't apply anymore.
Changes in demographics mean there are more old people taking up more resources. — T Clark

A lot of resources are required to get a person from conception to age 21. Even more resources are needed to educate through the BA, MA, or PhD. Those resources were provided by the preceding generation (not just the parents). One can get a PhD in molecular biology because the molecular biology building and faculty and associated labs are in place.

The bulk of medical resources spent on the elderly, to pick on that one area, are applied during the last few months or last year of life. The reality of these terribly expensive last months is that the medical industry is heroically extracting as much money as possible from terminal conditions. When my 102 year-old father was in the hospital, the doctors were suggesting various (expensive) procedures they could do--all pointless. It was, bluntly, time for hospice care. Cancer patients with more or less terminal conditions are frequently given heroic surgery, chemo, and radiation for very little gain in quality life, and considerable discomfort. A good cancer can easily yield half a million dollars in income for a hospital (and all the good care providers involved).

The amount of money billed and collected during the last year of life is often more of a curse than a blessing. The elderly ought to be more resentful of the practice than they are.

My question is that why does Western society display a deficit in the process of respect and regard for their elders? — Wallows

I am not sure they do. If you look at our various social problems--very inadequate housing for the poor, deteriorating schools, an underclass, environmental neglect (and abuse), food-borne illness (because food has too much fat, sugar, and non-nutritious additives in it) and so forth, it would appear that disrespect and low regard is an equal-opportunity problem.

it would appear that disrespect and low regard is an equal-opportunity problem. — Bitter Crank

That’s true. As someone on disability, I can attest to a general deficit of respect thrown my way. I’m sure @Wallows knows about this. Then again, I don’t think it would matter much even if I were gainfully employed. Like you said, disrespect is pandemic in our society.

I could be wrong about T Clark. — Noah Te Stroete

You could be. I don't know what T Clark was like when he was 40. But he seems to be more of a Liberal/Athenian/Artist than leaning authoritarian/Spartan/Randian/Nazi.

Everybody here is a liberal Athenian, but you know, sometimes we just have to stomp on a few faces to get things done (sick joke).

You probably know @T Clark better than me. I maybe got a faulty impression.

Sick joke? You mean like a Nazi? I suppose we all have an inner Nazi to some degree.

I am not sure they do. If you look at our various social problems--very inadequate housing for the poor, deteriorating schools, an underclass, environmental neglect (and abuse), food-borne illness (because food has too much fat, sugar, and non-nutritious additives in it) and so forth, it would appear that disrespect and low regard is an equal-opportunity problem. — Bitter Crank

How so? I'm not apt enough to see the merit to that conclusion.

That’s true. As someone on disability, I can attest to a general deficit of respect thrown my way. I’m sure Wallows knows about this. Then again, I don’t think it would matter much even if I were gainfully employed. Like you said, disrespect is pandemic in our society. — Noah Te Stroete

Ehh, Wallows just feels old already. As if one were to give a fixed income living, house, and caring mother is enough for this bloke.

That’s true. As someone on disability, I can attest to a general deficit of respect thrown my way. I’m sure Wallows knows about this. Then again, I don’t think it would matter much even if I were gainfully employed. Like you said, disrespect is endemic in our society. — Noah Te Stroete

Every society on earth puts together reasonably flattering images of who, what, and how they are. The facts my not square with the reality.

In general, Anglo-American society (the one I am familiar with) has never extended much respect to the (absolutely or relatively) poor, the 'failure', the defeated, the minority, the deviant, the marginal, and so on. Respect has been reserved for those with property, wealth, success, the victor, the dominant class. My guess is that we (Anglo-Americans) are not all that unique. (Check out White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg.)

It is understandable that in ghetto culture, "respect" is such a big issue. People who are residents of the various ghettos "don't get no respect" so have to be hyper alert to interpersonal signs of disrespect. A well-respected, financially secure, socially established person can afford to disregard personal slights.

I suppose we all have an inner Nazi to some degree. — Noah Te Stroete

Jawohl, mein guter Mann.