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Post by OscarWillebeest on Jul 3, 2008 2:36:05 GMT -5
Could I not help but be amazed, this morning, when reading in the paper about a German firm called Steiff, who has been manufacturing teddy bears for over 125 years now. Especially the fact that they have decided to close down their factory in China, because of poor quality. Opined the Steiff spokesperson: "If one of the glass-eyes is even a milimetre off, it means the adorable devoted look on the teddy bear's face ends up looking more like some kind of stupid stare." And this makes me think: if only we took one tenth as much care regarding our personal relationships, regarding the feelings of others, as the care which Steiff lavishes upon their teddy bears, would the world not be a better place to live in?
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Post by distantlight on Jul 4, 2008 23:53:56 GMT -5
Mmmm teddybear. Your general assertion is rhetorical, so I won't debate it. I mean, well, of course, if we all had much care for our relationships and the feelings of others, then yes, the world would probably nicer. However I have two contentions, probably more anal than you had originally expected a response to be, but here they are anyway: 1) The firm is obviously obsessing and psychotic. I'm not sure that this is necessarily the best or even desirable model for our interpersonal and social interactions. The obsequious man comes to mind, running around after everyone, asking if 'everything is alright?' His eye is on the constant lookout for fractures in the sphere of well-being around him, watching out for the 'glass-eyes that are even a milimetre off'. When he sees a person who has decided to wear his sneakers without any socks on, the man rushes from blocks away, panting as he arrives, and asks whether everything is alright. "Are you financially okay? Can you afford socks?" Of course, he only means well, but you can see how annoying this could all become. So the kind of 'care' exhibited by Steiff GmbH is actually a very tense, nervous thing ... it's not very comfortable. I don't think it would be a good thing for society. 2) This leads into my second point, which is that I think your analogy is flawed by a misappropriation of the *reason* for the kind of care that is expressed by Steiff. This 'devotion' of the company is for a *creative* goal. For that, I think it is entirely appropriate. One wants to hone one's craft, and create the best products that one can. But relationships and society are entirely different things. They are not a 'creative' endeavor. They ebb and flow, and we find ourselves in the middle of these things, not outside of them, as one would look at a teddy bear they just made. Employing the kind of creative care mentioned above, while perhaps often good, could also lead to many bad things, as one finds that the wills and directions of others don't necessarily always reflect one's own values.
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