ABSURDITIES - USA vs Asia

AMERICAN LIFE TODAY

Or how rules and regulations are making life miserable for many Americans

               Do I think there should be a “baby on board” law to ensure that parents put their young children in regulation car seats in the back rather than on their laps? Yes.  My mother told me that when I was still a baby (this was in the 1950’s), my father was driving and I was sitting on her lap. I had just lain down flat to go to sleep when the car was rear-ended. My mother’s body folded over me – if I had been sitting up, I might have been crushed. This recently happened to a father in Hawai’I whose child died in his lap – and who will spend the rest of his life regretting that he did not follow the child-seat law.

               But do I think that I should be terrified of being arrested for jaywalking or hanging out a convenience store or smoking in a bar? Do I think that the over-worked and underpaid police forces should be constantly on the lookout for infractions of the law? Or that decent working people should be constantly thinking about whether or not they have a non-working horn on their car or if they have left a shopping cart in the wrong place?

               Legislators and politicians have attempted to “idiot-proof” American society.  Long ago, it reached a point of absurdity.  The USA is one of the most regulated countries in the world; it is often called “the most litigious society in the world;” lawyers make millions and the courts have backlogs of years. My point here is that I believe the country is over-regulated and that situation has led to a rampant and destructive paranoia. And it hasn’t stopped the unfortunates, the idiots, and the few bad apples from accidents and injuries.  

Medicines that could save lives are denied because of side effects caused by improper use; obstetricians refuse to deliver babies because they may be sued. There needs to be a better, more reasonable balance between law and order, between care and prevention and trust in common sense -- otherwise it seems American life increasingly resembles the paranoid worlds of the old Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.  We are afraid at a time when we need courage. All the laws in the world offer no protection if we live in fear.

 

nagoyahoo.com

               This thought first struck me when, in the early 1990’s, I attended an outdoor performance of ukai in Kyoto, Japan.  As the sun was setting, friends brought me to a crumbling cement pier beside a river on the outskirts of a city known for its preservation of traditions.  As we drank our “Calpis” yogurt drinks purchased from a street-side vending machine (showing trust that customers will help themselves and not harm the machines), little boats began to move out on to the river .

               Each boat held eight passengers and a cook / guide / sailor who anchored them just above a cement waterfall, where they swayed a little precariously in the torrent.  On an open charcoal grill, the cook prepared a feast of seafood and vegetables.  Bottles of beer were opened and passed around. Clearly, a good time was being had by all.

               As the evening darkened and the passengers set down their chopsticks, a larger boat coasted out from the dock to just below the waterfall. On this boat were several strapping men dressed oddly in grass ‘hula-type’ skirts.  They uncovered cages and brought out pitch black cormorant birds with gold rings around their throats. Stars popped out above us. The men loaded wood into steel baskets that were suspended from cranes. Teetering on the bows in their grass skirts, they set fire to the wood, then swung the baskets out over the water.

               At once, fish began to jump from the water, attracted by the firelight. Now the cormorants went into action, diving into the river and coming back to the boat to present their catch to their masters. The fishermen chopped bits of fish into bite-sized pieces and fed the birds their reward. They dove back into the river to fetch more fish. The fishermen tossed the rest of the fish over to the cooks who grilled them fresh and served the passengers.

This tradition of ukai  cormorant fishing has been practiced in Japan since at least the 8^th century.  It can still be seen at Arashiyama and Uji near Kyoto, at Gifu near Tokyo, and according to the Visit Kansai website, at a total of 12 locations around the country http://www.visitkansai.com/attractions/uji.

               The boat passengers and pier-side watchers all applauded loudly as the program drew to an end and the boats prepared to return to shore.  I got up from my perch on the crumbling concrete pier and was suddenly struck by two thoughts.

First, as my friend informed me, this tradition of cormorant fishing at night by firelight is yet another example of how  Japanese culture has both preserved and developed over a thousand years and how it stems from the even earlier 5000-year old Chinese sources.  Western – and especially my own American culture – is only a few centuries old.  Are we toddlers by comparison? On what basis can we say something that has been practiced for centuries is “wrong?”

Second, there was nothing in the entire performance that would be LEGAL in the USA. OSHA would shut down the whole program for inadequate seating on a dangerous pier. No inspector worth his salt would allow boats to be anchored at the top of a dangerous-looking waterfall.  Barbecues and wooden boats don’t mix well, and the potential was there for the grill to spill hot coals on the passengers if it tipped.

Worse yet, as most Americans would probably agree, wearing a grass skirt while starting a fire is never a good idea, nor is standing on the edge of a tipping boat. And the ASPCA and PETA would be up in arms over the cruelty to the birds.

I have lived overseas now for almost 7 years and just returned to Asia from a few months trip back to the US for the first time in years.  Being back in Asia has given me a huge sense of relief and release. While in the US, I became increasingly aware of the many “DON’TS” in American life. People grabbed me when I attempted  to cross an empty street and warned me I could be arrested. Cashiers looked askance if I approached their counters from the wrong side. Police sirens screamed through the streets day and night. Things that are simple in Asia – getting a prepaid cellphone number or getting an internet connection were bewilderingly complex in the US.

In the air – and on ads everywhere – there seemed to be a clear message of my personal failures. I failed to wear the right clothes, drink the right soda or fancy coffee, eat the right healthy foods, or respond to the authorities –  officials at the motor vehicle department when I went to renew my driving license, doctors when I went in for a checkup, police when I called them because after a month of listening to a baby scream as though being tortured – in quite the expected ways. American society seemed to me to be wearing a giant frown. No wonder so many people I met seemed depressed or crazy.

And the prices were ridiculous. I went to the neighborhood convenience store to get food for breakfast: a half-gallon of milk, a quart of orange juice, a dozen eggs, and 1 pack of cigarettes (yes, I still indulge). Grand total: $26.00. Back in Asia, the same would cost $6 - $10 max. More than anything, I hated the feeling that I was being reduced as a person and valued only for the amount in my bank account – which was rapidly emptying.  

I have lived in a variety of Asian societies where I see people living a pretty good if subsistence life. They may be only paid 3 ringgit or 35 baht per hour but they wear a smile and clean clothes. They are proud of their country, their family, their cultural group or their school, their temple or mosque or church. Even the lowliest seem to have found some dignity as participants in a group that values and supports them in various ways. Across the board, I am treated better here than at home – perhaps in part because as a foreigner it is expected that I have deeper pockets but also I seem to be esteemed for my age and education, for my acts of kindness and honest smiles which burst through the barriers of language and culture.

The longer I step outside my own society, the more I am dismayed at its essential flaws.  Violence, murder, perverted love affairs, and the tracking down of criminals dominate the entertainment. Advertising bombards the country with propaganda about what people should do – or buy. The news is all bad – the shuttle flights have ended and there’s no new goal being promoted, the housing market has tanked, there are no jobs available, the president has failed to turn the stock market around.  

Blame and shame show up in so many of the conversations I have had with my fellow countrymen, and worst of all is the sense of hopelessness. For every effort to start something new, or take another approach, there is a reminder that this or that is against a regulation or a law. Big Brother is watching, and the criminal element is stealing our identities.

America, so many seem to be saying, has lost its edge and therefore, we should all just surrender and despair at our individual failures to buy the right thing. People seem cynical, distrustful, despairing. Makes me wonder what has happened to the “American fighting spirit?” I just hope and pray that Mr. Obama’s “Yes, we can!” message can catch fire again over some cause that unites the country. (Pres. Kennedy got us all caught up in the "race for the moon." Later, it became "the race for space." It seems so sad now that the Space Shuttles are grounded that there's no new frontier being touted for us to conquer...)

I retain some faith in the intelligence and problem-solving ability of our current president but I think he is fighting formidable apathy. With all the brain-power in the country, we need to educate and support each other so that we can overcome despair and revive the energy needed to save ourselves. I am encouraged by the TED talks, Tim Ferriss’s “Four Hour Work Week,” Jack Canfield and others offering “Chicken Soup for the Soul” – but wonder if that American soul has become so damaged by the constraints imprisoning it that it may waste away in jail until it dies.

In contrast, it has been my experience here in Asia, that even the humblest person has a sense of hope for better days.  Even more, people just choose to enjoy themselves now and not worry too much about the future (which of course, leads to people not showing up for work, lying or cheating to get time off and put unearned money in their pockets).

I step outside my own society in pursuit of something different, hoping for something better. The reality is, at least for now, I prefer life outside.

Copyright 2011, TF (teviothome@gmail.com)