The Innate Goodness of Udon
“Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.” — Maya Angelou
When in Midtown Manhattan, I often eat in a Japanese restaurant known for its Udon. Udon is the chewiest of all oriental noodles and, according to my lunch companion, is best served in hot umami broth made of awase dashi.
Among other things, she is also an advocate of the philosophical or psychological concept of innate goodness.
“So, if I understand correctly, you’re saying that everybody is fundamentally a good person.”
“Yes, people are inherently kind and right-minded. Our natural instinct is to do something nice or beneficial to others instead of an unpleasant thing or, worse, put them in jeopardy.”
“Sounds captivating, a bit utopian though. Kind of a leap from all are created equal, don’t you think?”
“No,” she says, “not at all. The two are essentially the same thing in that they deny the existence of natural aristocracy. People are born to live in harmony, which can only be achieved through equality. Normal people don’t have any desire to subjugate others.”
She then delves deeper into innate goodness.
The soup is delicious as usual and her sermon is so convincing I’m beginning to see the world through different lenses.
While we’re waiting for the check she tells me that since Udon is exceedingly hard to knead, the top chef of the restaurant performs the arduous task with his bare feet.
A double whammy if ever there was one.
*****A short sketch of this article was published in Scribes*MICRO on June 23, 2024.*****
