This speaker is talking about ______ in the US.

The feeling of individual independence and self-sufficiency is so strong in the United States that often either parents or their grown children choose not to live together. This phenomenon results from the following feelings and attitudes in the US:
   1. Parents do not like to feel dependent on their children; they claim that they do not want to be a burden, even if they would like very much to be with their children.
   2. One generation often feels that its style of living is different from another generation’s style. No one wants to intrude or be intruded upon.
   3. Children often do not feel an equal share of responsibility toward their parents. One child may resent another’s reluctance to help, provoking misunderstanding and bitterness. Not all of the children may be financially capable of contributing an equal share to the cost of their parents’ care.
   4. Children usually rationalize that the care in a convalescent hospital is better than what they could provide in their homes.
   Once the decision is made not to take a parent into the home, children often feel guilty. In fact, they may even dread occasional visits because they pity and identify with the parent. Seeing old people forces them to realize that they will someday be faced with the same situation.