"Honor your father and mother" is a dead letter in the religious world, and in the West in general. The general attitude in the religious world and the West is that parents at best are no more than friends and most of the time much less. Even major philosophers say openly that since one never asked to be brought into this world , therefore one owes no debt of gratitude towards one's parents. However you can ask on this. What is you are walking by a river and a little girl is drowning in the river and you just walk by and you say, "She never asked me to save her." Well you would say that is wrong. And what if you did save her? Does that means you never did her a favor because she did not ask for it?
This is in stark contrast to China and Confucius where filial piety is not just an obligation, but the prime obligation. No wonder China is on the rise, and the West is sinking.
