Dog
Treats
Even
though I don¡¯t know what the technical term is for the treats that are given to
dogs, I do know the English term which refers to it: dog treats. These are
things that are a must to carry around to please dogs. In fact, those who train
dogs professionally often use dog treats. When dogs have listened well and done
something good, they throw a treat in stealth to them to spur them on. In some
sense, it¡¯s for the purpose of coaxing them to do what they want them to do.
Probably, we human beings who are a cut above dogs must have observed the
instincts of dogs and trained them that way, taking into consideration the fact
that dogs, no matter how smart, are weak for treats.
No
matter how bright or smart dogs are, they are not aware of the fact that they
are being trained using their instincts and they have become used to it. When
we look at the way animals such as lions, elephants, whales, including dogs and
humans, we could all agree that capitalizing on their natural instincts is most
effective. In other words, when we simply follow our natural instincts we can
end up being dragged around by someone unknowingly.
I¡¯m
not a psychologist. However, I look into myself honestly without any expertise,
mix it with the common sense I pick up from around me, and come up with a
theory in light of the Good Book (the Bible). When I was young, I remember
reading somewhere that ¡°one has to use three S¡¯s to control populace.¡± The
three S¡¯s are sex, screen, and sport. Even though these three instinctive
desires of most people are not fully satisfied, if you break them in,
satisfying them sporadically, they will follow you. Here a small amount of the
three S¡¯s is enough, and extremely speaking, one can live without them. They
are not like oxygen, which is necessary for our breathing, or necessities like water
or food. It¡¯s just about what most people enjoy and want. Even though they are
not essential things, they tend to make people fall into the temptation or
delusion that the more S¡¯s people have the happier they become.
Among
these three S¡¯s, I¡¯d like to center on sport and talk honestly about the
reality of myself and Koreans. As I talked with those who watched the WBC final
between
What
is most conspicuous is the ¡°pot¡± temperament of us Koreans. Particularly, in
competitions with Japanese teams, even our second generation (including my own
son) follow suit and make a scene waving around the Taeguggi, the national
Korean flag. They are in such high spirits with one victory over the Japanese
team at the semi-finals in baseball, as if they are trying to wash away the
36-year old long affliction of Imperial Japan. Here the strength lies in the
unity of one race, which Koreans alone have, which is represented. Even though
a small game, the first generation cheers for their national team along with
their second generation children and shouts out Dae Han Min Guk (Korea) at the
top of their lungs for a few hours. The weakness is not only that second
generation children living in the States but also people of mixed blood become
very confused. I¡¯m not sure how exact it is, but about 40% of Koreans have
their blood mixed with that of non-Koreans according to the results of
Moreover,
what stands out is the fact that Koreans call all Japanese players people who
deserve to die, and that if the Japanese coach used a great strategy, they
would call it ¡°a trick¡± or ¡°childish,¡± but if a Korean player hit a homer or if
a Korean pitcher pitched well, they would call him ¡°Martyr So and So¡± and abuse
the phrase, which is used for those who participated in the independence movement
and gave up their lives. But even that title suddenly changes into ¡°jerk¡±
within a few minutes, not a few days, if he makes a mistake. It is probable to
say that the pinnacle of the ¡°pot¡± temperament[1]
surfaces in the stadium, especially during the games against Japanese teams.
The strength of this kind of temperament is a quick decision and transition to
new trends, and thus making Koreans unbeatable in the area of cutting-edge
industries. The results of this have become the basic assets for being first place
in the areas of telephones, computers, electronic products, etc. in the world.
However, the downside is that since things change so fast, people are just busy
changing things, and thus, there is no time to compute profit and loss. It
seems like a trend in the morning is no longer a trend in the evening because a
new trend is in by then. To keep up with the trends in
I
intend to end with sports, instead of going all out for sports. It will be good
to eat meals properly and to cut down on snacks, even though it doesn¡¯t make
any difference whether one eats them or not, in order to eat and live healthy.
[1]The
pot temperament equals being hot-tempered and refers to the fact that the water
in the pot boils and grows cold quickly, and thus, Koreans are like the pot in
the sense that they get excited easily and lose excitement easily like the
pot.