Pearl Buck looking like she did in her 1958 interview
Good Morning, God!
1958 is a long time ago! Still, when I watched this interview that Mike Wallace did with Pearl Buck in 1958, I was astounded by what had changed and what had not changed.
(But first, my jaw dropped as Mike Wallace opened the show smoking a cigarette and then gave a commercial for Parliament cigarettes! YIKES!)
What hadn’t changed was a fairly basic male failure to understand women. Mike Wallace kept trying to push Pearl Buck into either/or positions. He wanted to label her a feminist when clearly she was a humanist. She wanted the best for her fellow human beings, both men and women.
She observed that Americans, men and women, suffered from loneliness. The freedom we cherish had resulted in the breakdown of many of the social support bulwarks that existed in Asia or Europe — traditions that surround us with social connections. This was certainly true for me in the early years of our marriage. Kit went off to work and I stayed home. The lack of ongoing stimulating daily social contact was painful!
Mike Wallace wanted her to choose — home or work. She allowed as how staying home when the children are young was preferable. But she said that doing both was a matter of “organization” and “concentrating on essentials.”
Speaking of “essentials,” she observed that American women seemed to measure their men and children in terms of “success” while Asian women seemed more content to enjoy their men and family as individuals. Hmmm. That makes me think of parents pushing their children toward high status colleges.
So, God, perhaps we could make better use our Freedom? Maybe, even, redefine “success?” As for me, I want to do a better job of “concentrating on essentials” — like quality time with Loved Ones.
Story teller,
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