As I was reading the second half of Tao Te Ching, I noticed that so many of the teachings within it are timeless and can be applied to today’s world. I think these are important characteristics to have for a philosophy, which is the reason that Taoism has endured for thousands of years.
Text 53 and 67 are especially relevant to modern day American culture. Text 53 talks about everything that is wrong with society such as, “The government is divided, Fields are overgrown….But the nobles’ clothes are gorgeous.” This is directly comparable to the political and social climate in the United States. The partisan politics have deepened tensions on many issues and distanced groups of people from each other just because of their policy beliefs. The environment is almost beyond repair just as the overgrown fields in Tao, but no worries because the rich wear designer clothes and eat at the finest restaurants as the poor struggle to make ends meet.
Text 67 addresses the thought processes’ of many classes of people today, “Nowadays, People reject compassion But want to be brave, Reject frugality But want to be generous”. I can see this reflected even in own my family and myself. My mom and I may own name-brand purses when off-brand purses would do the same job (rejecting frugality) , yet at the same time we religiously donate to Riley Children’s Hospital (want to be generous). I think that people sometimes need to remember that making small changes to their own lives can result in better lives for others. If this were to be done on a larger scale, than the return would be much more noticeable.
Just simply reading this text has inspired me to start making changes in my own life.