One of the biggest cultural gaps I find being an American in Japan is old people. As much as they get on my nerves I do admire the old cockroaches. Constantly bumbling around, yakking at the top of their lungs early in the morning, completely self-absorbed… gawd, they can be annoying! On the other hand, being over 80 years old and having the energy of a teenager is something I rarely see back home. It highlights the cultural difference in attitudes regarding age.
For the sake of simplicity, the U.S. has two basic cultural foundations that inform the society. Christianity speaks of original sin while Atheism is the Darwinian/Freudian model that life is a meaningless accident, the subconscious is a harbor for suppressed emotions, and entropy is the rule. At the core of both models human beings are viewed as inherently flawed creatures.
In a country where religion is minimal, fundamentalism is unheard of, and Zen Buddhism is the dominant spiritual philosophy, the picture is entirely different. All species including humans are viewed as an expression of the divine source. It’s a well known fact that Orientals generally have longer life spans and retain full mental and physical capacities for much longer.
Another significant cultural difference is the food. Some of the funkiest, nastiest, smelliest stuff the old farts eat is also the healthiest. You don’t see them guzzling soda and candy bars. In contrast, the younger generations are eating more Western junk food, less traditional food, and have health problems the likes of which the older generations have never experienced. And these old timers still drink like fish!
When I see elderly Americans it’s depressing. Many are consuming handfuls of pills daily, oxygen tanks are common, and there’s often a general air of sadness about them. We’re taught to respect older people- is it because of knowledge gained or do we feel sorry for their decay?
The old bats in my western Tokyo neighborhood are a pain in the ass. They have full mental and physical faculties and not enough to do, so they bumble around driving everybody crazy. The local hospital has a sign in the waiting area that reads, “Seniors, please don’t have your picnic here.” But at the same time I admire them. I want to be that healthy and energetic when I’m that age and thanks to them I know I can be.
