By skyforbes My understanding is that the older cultures that eventually became the western cultures (e.g., Saxons, Celts, Greeks, Romans, Slavs, et al) revered, respected, and cared for their elders not unlike how Asian and South American cultures did.
However at some point over the course of the history of the New World, that treatment of the elderly diminished on a cultural level (i.e., some may still do it individually, but as a society it's no longer the norm) even though Asian and Latin cultures still uphold the traditions of caring for their elders.
What happened? What caused that shift among westerners?