Aarav Patel, Age 12
Celebrating Japan’s elder citizens
Last week, Japan celebrated Respect for the Aged Day. You can already tell by the name; it is purely dedicated to senior citizens. On this day, each person in the country 100 years old or greater is given a silver cup and certificate from the Japanese prime minister. This may just seem a little dumb to give someone a generic certificate(there are 80,000 Japanese citizens over 100, so it has to be) and a cup is not enough to give someone for their 100th birthday but has a significant meaning.
First off, you can just look up “silver cup cost” on google and see where your taxes are used for if you live in Japan. But also, it is important to notice that we need to reward people for taking good care of their bodies. If people are going to be getting Federal recognition for it and getting valuable items from it, then it will encourage more people to become healthier, more educated, and working more so that they can make sure they can afford healthy food. This should be mindless for governments because it will cause the economy to grow when it is at its lowest point.
But I also would like to make sure to emphasize to respect your great-grandparents/grandparents/parents and yourself for their knowledge and their understanding of the world they have been around for so long. America should make sure they respect every senior citizen for their wisdom and knowledge. Without it, we would not have the technology and equality(Not good, but better than 50-200 years ago). So, if you are part of a legislature or congress in your community, then introduce a new holiday, say August or so, because Grandparents’ day is not enough!