Sunday, January 5, 2014

"Tiger Mom" Amy Chua Names Mormons As One Of Eight Groups Who Produce Superior Parents In Her Book "The Triple Package"

From Wikipedia
Amy Chua, who achieved fame as the "Tiger Mom", is back in the news again. According to the Daily Mail, she has named Mormons as one of eight groups who she believes makes superior parents. The New York Post also publishes a story which is somewhat slanted against Chua.

In her new book, "The Triple Package: Why Groups Rise And Fall In America", co-authored by her Jewish husband Jed Rubenfeld, Chua names the eight groupings who produce exceptional parents; unsurprisingly, Chinese are at the top of her list. But rounding out the list are Jews, Asian Indians, Iranians, Lebanese-Americans, Nigerians, Cuban exiles, and Mormons, albeit in no particular order. According to Publisher's Weekly, Chau includes Mormons because she sees that Mormons tend to occupy leading positions in politics and business. Chau identifies three distinguishing features guaranteeing people from these eight groups success over others; superiority, insecurity and impulse control. She suggests that only when this “triple package of distinguishing features” comes together does it generate drive, grit, and systematic disproportionate group success.

(1). Superiority: Chau believes that any cultural group who innately thinks they are just better than others has an advantage. In contrast, Americans are taught that everyone is equal, that no group is superior to another.

(2). Insecurity: Chau and her husband believe that deep-seated insecurity can be a motivating drive to achieving success. In contrast, Americans are taught that self-esteem -- feeling good about yourself -- is the key to a successful life.

(3). Impulse Control: Chau believes that people from these eight groups have a better ability to resist temptation, especially the temptation to give up in the face of hardship or quit instead of persevering at a difficult task. In contrast, America today spreads a message of immediate gratification, living for the moment; Americans are taught that consuming is an act of patriotism.

The authors note that just because one's own group may not enjoy these characteristics doesn't mean an individual within that group can't learn them. They say the real promise of a Triple Package America is the promise of a day when there are no longer any successful groups in the United States -- only successful individuals.

Amy Chua also sees through the "equality psychosis" which has gripped America. Chau and her husband say that African-Americans don't make the list because the civil rights movement destroyed their chance of any superiority. Perhaps she recognizes that the civil rights movement was hijacked by progressives who transformed the emphasis from equal opportunity to equal outcome. A current example of this phenomenom can be found on By Common Consent, where the bloggers are more obsessed with the sex of General Conference speakers instead of their messages.

Naturally, the "elitist" tone of the book has aroused the ire of The Equality Cult. The predictable cries of "racist" have belched forth from progressives and others commenting to the media sites. Many of the "anti-racist" progressives make derogatory statements about Chua's ancestry. But Chua has picked up some support (after the jump):



Afterburner, North Pole, 1 hour ago (Daily Mail):
She is claiming that cultural trends in some cultures are better than others. Some cultures support the extended family and expect everyone to support the whole over the individual. Some cultures support long range goals, encourage fathers to be loyal to their wives. Some cultures put education above short term gratification. Some cultures are better than others. That is the premise of her belief, and for telling that un-PC truth she will be nailed by the progressive Socialist, just as like they tried, but failed to nail the successful Christian Southerner with traditional family values, Phil from Duck Dynasty.

Jack Sprat, London, 2 hours ago (Daily Mail):
Western scientific civilisation is the greatest that the world has ever seen, and all the emerging 'superpowers' - China, India, Brazil, etc - are mere derivatives of it, and are madly adopting its ways, techniques, and outlook. That's the uncomfortable, un-PC fact, like it or not. West is best, and the rest know it too.

JackFtLaud, Davie, United States, 4 hours ago (Daily Mail):
Doesn't seem much like a racial argument as much as cultural. I mean she has quite a potpourri of peoples represented in her theory, which I agree with on some levels. In South Florida, Haitians come here with nothing on overloaded rafts and become wildly successful in a few years while native AA people are mostly on public assistance crying about non-existent repression. Same with Cuban migrants when compared with folks south of the border. The problem is that leftwingers won't allow any debate on subjects such as this. It always starts and ends with their incessant name calling and absurd comparisons to historical figures.

Dr Kanega, Moulin Rouge, United States, 2 hours ago (Daily Mail):
Paradoxically, in modern America, a group has an edge if it doesn't buy into or hasn't yet bought into mainstream, post-1960s, liberal American principles. She is spot on with this assessment. Any culture that followed the post 1960s, hedonistic, hippie lifestyle that the boomers brought into America have done nothing except spent their time getting stoned, drunk, and having illicit sex and broken families. Cultures such as the Jewish Americans did not follow but stayed steadfast within their own culture.

While it is true that God is no respecter of persons and that all are equal in Christ, if equality is so important, then why are people born under such widely differing circumstances? Why is it that in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1), the laborers who hired on late in the day were paid the same wage as those who hired on earlier? And why is it that in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), when the talent was taken from the unprofitable servant, it was not given to the servant who turned two talents into four, but to the servant who turned five talents into 10? Sounds to me like our Savior thought liberty took precedence over equality, and that equality was simply meant to be a mechanism to mitigate the extreme effects of liberty. The Old Testament Israelis deliberately left the corners of their fields unharvested so the poor could glean grain for themselves.

Satan thought equality took precedence over liberty (except for himself, of course). His plan of "salvation" would have required us to live equally righteously on earth, which means we could not have learned the lessons of repentance and forgiveness. Mortality would have become a prison. He would have herded all of us equally back through the gates of heaven at gunpoint. Imagine the implications for our Heavenly Father -- He would have to watch His back continuously, knowing that many celestial citizens had been forced back into heaven.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi! Very interesting post. Thank you for sharing. I looked at your profile & noticed you call yourself a "Jack Mormon." I almost feel like that's how my husband and I are. We have on & off "investigated" the LDS church & faith for about 4 years but have never committed to it all for various reasons. Are you able to attend church even though you said you don't "follow it all?"

Anonymous said...

Continued...
I guess my question is, how do you go about participating in the LDS church without fully immersing yourself? I love LDS blogs, advice, books, quotes and the faith in general. I have a real appreciation for the people and their lifestyle but do not necessarily believe in certain aspects (I.e. how the church was in the beginning, etc). How do I participate but not be SO entrenched in everything? How do you feel about that?

Anonymous said...

I am not an expert on DNA. I do believe Utah Danish Mormons have superior genes. I just think it is obvious observing them.