The integrity of the dog and the bird

CHUN SU-JIN
The author is the head of the Today-People News team at the JoongAng Ilbo.

It seems that Korea is not the only country that is tough to live in. Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he found balance in life after reading books by David Brooks. The title of Brooks’ recent column in the New York Times is “How to Save a Sad, Lonely, Angry and Mean Society.”

The author wrote, “So many people have not been taught or don’t bother practicing to enter sympathetically into the minds of their fellow human beings.” He added, “We’re overpoliticized while growing increasingly undermoralized, underspiritualized, undercultured.”

People attacking politicians in broad daylight appear in the news often. Last month, lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin was attacked with a brick to her head. In 2022, former Democratic Party Chair Song Young-gil was hit with a hammer, and former president Park Geun-hye was assaulted with a utility knife in 2006. There is no need for violent movies as violence has permeated every aspect of our society.

Lack of common sense has now taken root in everyday life. The person who said “Hello” to the driver on the bus pushes the other passenger, saying, “Why are you blocking my way?” When you leave a café and open the door, people often sneak in first. It is the normalization of the abnormal. On the way to work, I feel tightness and narrow-mindedness. Political placards fluttering throughout the city make me dizzy, as they are so passionate about criticizing each other. I wonder how they can engage in politics if they don’t have opponents to pick a fight with.

The key to Brooks’ solution lies in “culture.” He argues that literature, art, and performance will be a means to moisten people’s dry emotions and restore their love for humanity. His books “The Road to Character” and “The Second Mountain” also emphasize “togetherness” rather than “alone” or “me before others.”

I strongly agree. I was reminded of a book, “The Dog and Bird of the Day” by Song Mi-kyung. It is about an ordinary dog and a bird who understand and accept their differences — and fall in love. The dog and the bird hurt each other, share an apple, and kiss. When a dog and a bird can embrace differences, why can’t humans do the same? As suggested by the title of Brooks’ book, people should find the “road to character” for themselves.

With the April 10 parliamentary elections less than two months away, I’m just worried that this society will get more violent. I wonder who is the dog and who is the bird among the governing and opposition parties. I hope they try to learn from the dog and the bird in the book and try to understand each other. If a dog and a bird can do it, why not humans?