The “Yellow” Salvation

“Americans have it wrong: instead of being afraid of the Chinese, we should be glad of their existence. The Chinese and other Asians hold the solution to the fundamental problem of American life: The marshmallow problem.” Sanford Rose

Dolors & Sense

by Sanford Rose

It isn’t thrown around anymore, especially in the euphemistic and politically correct vernacular of current American public discourse.

But the visceral fear remains, misguiding and misinforming our discussions of many problems, most notably those of trade.

Americans have it wrong: instead of being afraid of the Chinese, we should be glad of their existence.

The Chinese and other Asians hold the solution to the fundamental problem of American life: The marshmallow problem.

Bring a child (of a certain early age) into a room with a marshmallow. Tell her that if she refrains from eating it for 15 minutes, she will get two marshmallows. Then leave the room and return in the allotted time.

A surprisingly high percentage of American children wolf down the first marshmallow, forgoing the second.

A smaller percentage of Asian children succumb.

Those children who can’t resist temptation on average end up pursuing fewer educational opportunities, getting poorer jobs and earning less money in later life than their more self-controlled peers.

The marshmallow tale epitomizes the plight of America and the success of Asia and of Asian-Americans in the USA.

It isn’t that Asians are smarter than so-called white Americans. In fact, average IQs run about the same, but, according to the eminent social scientist, James Robert Flynn, Chinese-Americans achieve as if their IQs were 21 points higher.

Obviously, these people just make better use of their intelligence. Their ingrained self-discipline equips them to make the more prudent and more rewarding choices.

Asian cultures continue to emphasize the values of hard work and abstinence that Americans once cherished and now increasingly scorn.

We need to re-learn these values.

People with yellow skins (and they’re about as “yellow” as ours are “white”) don’t threaten us. Indeed, we should look forward to being conquered by them—not physically or commercially but, in many (though by no means all) respects, behaviorally.

Note: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence; https://camcom.ngu.edu/Science/PSYC/PSYC%202385/Dr.%20Dobson%27s%20Spring%202009%20Course/Article%20Review%20I/Biological,%20Cognitive%20and%20Social%20Development%20Articles/Self%20discipline%20and%20academic%20success.pdf; and http://www.sq.4mg.com/IQgap.htm, etc., etc., etc. for a broader discussion of race and IQ. WeeklyHubris.com’s Publishing Editor’s findings diverge somewhat from those of this columnist in this regard.