Summary Of Confucius Lives Next Door

In “Confucius Lives Next Door” the author, T. R. Reid, was a bureau chief for Washington Post’s Tokyo bureau. He wrote about his family’s experiences and observations while living there. He saw their culture as a social miracle when he stated “We found a general state of civility, of stability, of public safety.” (Reid 7)
I was intrigued by the information provided about things about the culture that allowed people to thrive. It detailed much that people are concerned about in life. I thought I already knew about the wealth, educational values, low crime, and family values. However, the book detailed more. I didn’t know Japan had the second largest country in having foreign money, known as foreign-exchange reserves, on hand. I looked to see who was first and it was China.
I see the Confucian ethos and the Confucian virtues exemplified in Reid’s experiences in Japan in many areas, from the family values, to the safety and security they enjoy, to the way they shun drug use, and how wealth is distributed. In the area of crime and safety, one of the stories detailed two young girls going to
Sometimes some of these all cross paths. One instance that comes to mind is that some marriages end because of stress from lack of money. The stress may also cause courtesy to be non-existent. If wealth was distributed a little more evenly, possibly the divorce rate would go down. I realize this may not happen in all cases, but I believe it is worth a thought or try. I believe if more people focus on the social values as Confucius taught, the economic values would diminish as a driving factor. Economic values can corrupt people and distract them from what really is important in