I’d like to start by noting that this is one of the most easily accessible books dealing with philosophy or religion that I have ever read, and I I were ever tasked with teaching a friend about Taoism, after a brief introduction to the context and concepts, I’d refer them to this book. “The Tao of Pooh” was short, easy to read and, above all, easy to comprehend.
The book helped me make perfect sense of the Uncarved Block, the Way, the Doing of Nothing and understanding your place, especially in the passages regarding the “Cottleston Pie” song. Everything comes through loud and clear in the explanation through this goofy little song that Pooh sings, and the narrator says, speaking about people knowing their places the way that fish and birds know where they should be, “you’d be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are (pg. 39).”
I agree wholeheartedly with the book in its view of America as a collective that doesn’t stop to smell the roses and consumes with reckless disregard for the environment. With so many people in America suffering from anxiety, cardiac issues and other stress-induced ailments, the advice “if you want to be healthy, just watch what a Bisy Backson does and then do the opposite (pg. 95).” However, the positing of Taoism as a “solution” to the “problem” of American culture reeks of hypocrisy. Surely Hoff utilizes the products of American industrialization, a process directly at odds with Taoism, and yet says that everyone should live the way he does. If Americans as a whole did so, the country as it is now would fall apart.
I’m not arguing against the average American adopting a taoist approach to their personal or professional lives. I endorse the concept, with the understanding that a mix of Taoist practice and the Protestant work ethic would be better for society than either in their purest form. My vision of this is similar to what one would see when one looks at European society, where siestas are encouraged and they work fewer hours a week than Americans, while still producing more on average. Quality of life and amount of free time is increased, but the same amount of work still gets done, keeping a burgeoning society running.
The point that you brought up about how Taosim (or any other religion) cannot “improve” any culture is very true. I like how you advocate for more of a mixture of ideals from various religions to improve both our personal and professional lives.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a lot of good points in this post. It is important to recognize some of the more useful aspects of American culture/industrialism when critiquing it. The healthy balance between these two extremes is the key!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your standpoint on Taoism not being the solution to American lifestyles being less than perfect. Your vision seems more realistic and I like how you incorporated a mixture of beliefs/practices that could be used to improve the American society. Your note of the hypocrisy made me more aware of the fact that Hoff wasn't just discussing Winnie-the -Pooh character qualities but rather attempting to criticize certain lifestyles without providing a realistic approach to solving them. Once again, your blog made me think about the assignment in a different light and I thank you for that!
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