[Bruno]

Originally Posted by stephencp

I find it interesting that most of the people who are supposedly on a "higher plane" in these kinds of anti-parent threads would be happier helping homeless people, starving children or trying to save the environment than helping their own parents/family (assuming that they are in fact on a "lower level".) Why is that???

Stephen
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Because there are too many people who belief they can't possibly learn ANYTHING from anyone who is less knowledgable/intelligent/experienced than themselves.
There are different ways of increasing knowledge. Off the top of my head:

1. Through transmission (teaching)
2. Through research
3. Through reasoning(deductive/inductive)
4. ???

These people are usually afraid they're "submitting" to someone with a "lower" rank, and feel like their own social value is being lowered. It triggers their selfdefense:

• Ignore people with lower rank
• End the discussion by stating their own rank (I AM "responsible"/"your father"/"the teacher"/"in charge"/etc.,etc.)
• Protecting their sacrifices (I have "carried you around for 9 months"/"spent X years in college to learn these things"/"worked with important people"/"trained X years to get here")
• Reject arguments that make sense ("You're right, but guess what: I'M THE BOSS!","This is MY house! I make the rules here!" )

Moving from hierarchy to democracy
I think this kind of behaviour is the downside of hierarchical systems and people who cling to them. However, in the past fifty years societies have been moving from hierarchical structures towards more democratic structures.

In hierarchical systems, votes from higher ranks are assigned a greater value by than lower ranks. The outcome is "intelligent" ,but does not have to be "fair". Unfortunately, the assumption that someone with higher rank must be more intelligent doesn't always ring true. This system does not guarantee support.
People also tend to identify themselves with their rank so much, that they start believing their value relative to the system is also their intrinsic value. Not true. A different system could put the same people on other (or the same) ranks.

Democratic systems assign an equal value to all votes. There are no ranks involved. The outcome is "fair", but does not have to be "intelligent". All benefit, or all suffer. This system guarantees support.

Bottom line.Neither one of these systems can guarantee the best possible (objective) outcome.

Back to your question...
Stephen, you almost answered your own question.
It's easier to accept the help of a successful business owner, than the help of a homeless person. People simply avoid guiltiness. There is no guarantee that the business owner can't become homeless, or a homeless person can't become wealthy after (s)he has helped you out. The only thing that REALLY matters to you is whether the person is willing and able to help you.

Event though most people are unable to help their parents, it doesn't hold for everyone. Some people have been able to do that. From what I have been able to recognize, it happens more in families that are extremely poor or in families where one of the parents are missing.