Yanwen’s blog

This book came into my possession recently, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War by R.J. Gordon. 

Gordon divides into three periods the years from the end of the Civil War (1861- 1865) to 2015, the first two (1870-1970) witnessing the rise of American growth and the last one (1970-2015) the fall.

He attributes the rise of living standard to inventions like electricity, urban sanitation, modern inventions, and automobiles. The higher standard includes healthy foods with the passing of Pure Food and Drug Act (1906), modernized urban housing with lights, indoor plumbing, gas stove, heating and telephone, TV, refrigerator, and washing machine.

However, since 1970, American society has been going through a transformation, specifically from rise to fall with the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the shrinking of the middle class. 

We are all familiar with what has been happening since 1970s -- globalization, technological advances, outsourcing of manufacturing jobs, the loss of well-paying, unionized jobs in many industries.

On the whole, the author is techno-pessimistic about the past-peak American society today. 

While American society may seem stagnant or over the hill since 1970s, it is still far advanced in the world in terms of living standards with safe food, clean water and air, modern housing, free public education, health care and decent social welfare. 

Therefore, it still has a strong appeal in the world, especially among Third World countries, and continues to draw people from around the world. 

The foundations laid prior to the 1970s have contributed to America's position as a global leader in various fields today.

That's why there are thousands of Chinese 润人润进美国 (rùn rén rùn jìn měi guó) run into America via southern border every day, together with other migrants from all over the world. 润 means run, 润人 means runner, 润进美国 means run into America. Hopefully they can realize their American dreams, whatever it may be.

A friend of mine went to a fully AI managed coffee shop in China -- no baristas, no cash checkout, just scan a QR code at the entrance, place your order and pay with mobile phone. The coffee machine offers 70 different flavors, averaging about 18-25 yuan each. You get it in less than a minute. The experience reminds me of the news about a robot-powered cafe chain across China back in 2018.

This surely represents a significant move toward automation and digitalization in service industry, offering affordable and efficient service for customers. A few things surface in my head.

First of all, I can see a huge job loss for baristas due to AI technologies. As more tasks become AI automated, there may be a reduced need for humans in many roles in service industry like restaurants and hospitals.

Secondly, the emergence of AI-managed coffee shops certainly pose challenges for traditional coffee chains, such as Starbucks. As consumers become accustomed to the convenience and efficiency of AI services, they may gravitate towards these innovative novelty, spelling out the decline of the established brand like Starbucks.

Finally, it's highly likely that AI-powered automation will lead to a proliferation of different service levels, catering to varying preferences and budgets. Customers may have the option to choose between a more affordable, efficient AI-managed service and a higher-priced, human-managed service.

If you are nostalgic for the pre-AI, pre-robotic traditional service with personal touch and human interactions, available are human-managed expensive services.

Here's a Chinese poem: 无边落木萧萧下，不尽长江滚滚来 (Wú biān luò mù xiāo xiāo xià, bù jìn cháng jiāng gǔn gǔn lái), meaning, just like the falling leaves and the flowing of river, so is the unstoppable trend of AI automation.

My sister and I went out for lunch yesterday. We talked about her plan to move to the United States so she would be closer to her son in her senior years. She has given him all the maternal love and care. It's natural for her to look for something reciprocal. But things could be more complicated than we thought.

This makes me think a lot about two kinds of love and care: (1) parental love for their tiny babies and (2) adult children for their senior parents.

The first type, parental love, exists in nature across nearly all species, humans, cats and dogs, perhaps driven by their instincts to care and protect their offsprings, ensuring their survival. It's natural, simple, irrational, unconditional, and rooted in biology. No social and cultural value added.

The second type of love, the reciprocal care of elderly parents by adult children, exists only in humans. We seldom heard of an adult cat taking care of its elderly parent. Is this type of love more a product of culture and society?

I think the second type of love is sustained in the contexts of cultural values and traditions with the concepts of filial piety, and also arising from the emotional bond between parent and child formed during the child's early stage of life.

Most importantly, it exists among adults and under the influence of the past. That's why the relationship between adult children and their elderly parents is more complex, rational, and involving more than obligations.

Biology is not enough. We have to transcend it to maintain a meaningful and sustainable relationship, that is, making sure it is based on genuine feelings of love, mutual respect, and care. And that must naturally emerges without a sense of duty or obligation.

I had a high school reunion lately in Beijing. Among 8 of us retirees, 3 are childless, one has a grandchild. There were some talks on how today’s young people, for various reasons, prefer not to have children.

The talk reminded me of the previous complaints of one grandparent, that grandchildren are all 白眼狼 (bái yǎn láng), white-eyed wolf, meaning an ingrate. I’d like to share my thoughts here.

First of all, if you feel overwhelmed or unable to meet the demands of caring for your grandchildren, you should feel comfortable expressing your limitations to your adult children. 

Otherwise, help within your capacity, contribute without expecting any return. The key is caregiving should be based on your willingness and ability, rather than obligation or expectation of reciprocation.

Second, don't underestimate the profound long term impact that grandparents can have on the grandchildren's lives.

I have a very fond memory of my grandmother. She was illiterate but she was my 避风港 (bì fēng gǎng), harbor or haven. During my childhood, I was not a good pupil at elementary school. My parents were young, inexperienced, and impatient with me. Their discipline was harsh and dreadful to me and I often went to my grandmother whose comfort and understanding meant a lot to me. Her warm present is still impactful now. It’s true grandparents are loose on dispensing discipline, but young children need a break from time to time.

Finally, be positive and think not of 白眼狼.

Meeting my Korean student on Sunday evening always provides me with something to think about. One of the homework that I gave her last week is to think back and see if she has learned anything new this week. 

She shared this anecdote with me, my five-year-old daughter told my husband, “Dad, you lost your job, but you are still my dad. I still love you.” 

This is truly amazing for such a young child to say this when her dad lost his job and the family is in a difficult situation. Despite her young age, she can perceive her father's sadness and provide words of comfort and reassurance.

I told my student that I learned at least two things from this. First, the child's words are an act of kindness, showing that she cares about the emotional well-being of her parent. This level of empathy and compassion in young children is very valuable.

Second, the girl demonstrates resilience during the hardships of job loss. Young as she is, she gives her support in her own way and she offers something in terms of human spirits that we can all learn from -- the power of love and connection and resilience in order to overcome the obstacles.

In contrast, not all adults can behave so well. Many adults may struggle to manage their emotions well during times of financial difficulty, often resulting in arguments, complaints, tension, or stress in the family, making life more miserable than necessary, 雪上加霜 (xuě shàng jiā shuāng).

Most importantly, the young girl's ability to offer support and comfort to her father sets a good example for all of us on empathy, compassion, and resilience in facing life's challenges.