© 2009 By Michael Swickard, Ph.D.
“A peasant has to stand on a hillside for a very long time before a roast duck flies into his mouth.” – Chinese proverb quoted by Paul Theroux in his 1988 book, Riding The Iron Rooster
Travel Writer Paul Theroux explored China by train in 1986. He was there as the nation stepped out from under the Mao Zedong shadow. He documents a nation trying to grasp capitalism after emerging from the darkness of the Cultural Revolution.
For more than 50 years the Chinese government promised its citizens an “Iron Rice Bowl” that could not be broken. Suddenly the people did not want the security of guaranteed jobs, food, housing and health care.
The change started in 1984 when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping proclaimed, “To get rich is glorious.” The nation quickly threw off its drab Mao Jackets and embraced American entrepreneurialship. The past was the past — they pursued a different future.
At the same time, Americans have gone the other direction. From the pioneer spirit that built our land we have turned into a nation standing around waiting for roast ducks to fly into our mouths. Many Americans feel it is best to stand patiently with their mouths open.
Rejecting self-sufficiency
How could this happen? We were a people who carved this nation out of a wilderness. These were hardy people who took their lives into their own hands and immigrated from far-away places. Those original voyagers would never have stood placidly waiting for the government to give them anything.
This change in national juice happened little by little.
Over the years, more and more Americans rejected the idea of self-sufficiency and have been led to the hillside by their government. This happened because they were told they could have everything they needed if they voted for leaders who would provide for them from cradle to grave.
Many Americans feel that to work for their roast duck is foolish since they have been promised by their government that, if they just wait long enough, it will fly into their mouths. They think workaday people are chumps for putting out the effort.
Many recent college graduates are confused, waiting for the promised jobs to appear. They voted correctly so they are now wondering, “Where are the ducks?”
I am not someone to interfere with their maladaptive coping mechanisms. We each must live as we see fit. Still, there is a lesson in that the Chinese communists are becoming more capitalistic while the American capitalists become more communistic. Go figure.
Is America’s death date close?
We have been living so well for so long that regular Americans have lost the ability to identify what gave us the capacity to live so well for so long. Some think our country was divinely ordained in a special manifest destiny. This lulls the American protectors to sleep while our enemies, both foreign and domestic, chortle with delight.
America is very heavily in debt to China. Their capitalistic system holds our financial beating heart in its hands, and all our leaders can talk about is their wish to move further away from capitalism. So the Chinese capitalists are going to control our nation while our leaders change us to a communist nation in everything but name.
We all remember and think about our yearly birthday. Each year we see it coming and most people celebrate it, glad for that milestone. But each year we also live our death day without realizing it. Would we really want to know? Perhaps not. However, in our country we celebrate July 4 as the date our country was born. We all know about July 4, 1776.
I wonder when America will cease to exist. It certainly happened to Rome. That death date might be close. Or, maybe some Americans will pull us from the brink in the nick of time. That is, if those Americans are not distracted by the promise of flying roast ducks.
Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.