The cartoon vividly presents a picture how three sons and a daughter treat their old, helpless father. They each stand in a different comer of a football field. The eldest son kicks out the father, who huddles up like a ball. The other children are prepared to ward him off. Cruelly, none of them is willing to receive their father.

The picture is thought-provoking, and what it illustrates is a common phenomenon in today’s society: many grown-up children refuse to support their aging parents. While they enjoy a comfortable life, their parents are neglected and reduced to utter poverty, as these elderly people have grown so physically weak that they no longer have the means to support themselves. I think these children have betrayed their own conscience and therefore may subject them selves to social contempt and criticism.

According to Chinese culture, to be kind to one’s parents is the height of virtue. We owe so much to our patents in that they not only gave us life but have done much in brining us up. It is against nature for us to shirk the responsibility of taking care of our parents when they are old. Rather, we have the duty to pay back their love by making their later years enjoyable and happy.