My New York Times Comments on an Article by Pico Iyer

In response to Mr. Pico Iyer's article called "The Joy of Less"

(My comments follow)

As an American who has lived in several parts of the world, including Kyoto for a year, I couldn’t wait to learn to speak Japanese, and did so within six months of arriving there in 1966. I believe Mr. Iyer has chosen not to learn the language in order to maintain his sense of serenity. Learning a foreign language and also living in that country almost automatically mires one in its institutionalized problems. My observations now of Japan, having lived there a total of eight years, is that the modern culture is very frenetic, but is kept in a precarious balance of sanity, due to its traditional values and Zen-like qualities built into the language itself.

Having lived in Kyoto in the 60s however, I can hardly see any beauty in Kyoto these days, with its modern tall buildings obliterating the sky that used to be dominated by temples. Also, the levels of electromagnetic smog in the whole of Japan are beyond anything I can tolerate.

No, I currently reside in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Australia, where I write books, occasionally watch a DVD, cuddle my rabbit, and grow organic vegetables. I do worry about the state of America and the world though, as I don’t feel at all isolated from what looks like a growing worldwide political consolidation, when I would much prefer a return to an era like that of the ancient Greek city states.