As a child, I was an avid reader. I loved escaping the boorish normal world, to the slightly different worlds that children's books provided. I still love escaping this world through books (or realizing truth through them, more recently). But one set of books has really stuck in my memory for whatever reason. Perhaps it was the fact that I read them a few hundred times (I'm not exaggerating), or maybe the lessons they gave me, either way the Berenstain Bears countless stories have stuck with my throughout my life.
Through the stories of Brother and Sister Bear, I was able to learn life lessons, remotely. Rather than have to ambiguously learn these lessons through my life, I could just see Brother and Sister Bear make stupid mistakes (or come up with clever solutions) and decide what to (or not) to do. They acted as a way of proxy life-lesson teaching, and it worked rather well. Overall, I loved the entire series, but one book has stuck with me and continues to help me: "The Trouble with Money".
Through the stories of Brother and Sister Bear, I was able to learn life lessons, remotely. Rather than have to ambiguously learn these lessons through my life, I could just see Brother and Sister Bear make stupid mistakes (or come up with clever solutions) and decide what to (or not) to do. They acted as a way of proxy life-lesson teaching, and it worked rather well. Overall, I loved the entire series, but one book has stuck with me and continues to help me: "The Trouble with Money".
While not socially as powerful as "No Girls Allowed" or "The In-Crowd" (the lessons from those stuck a little too well, apparently), "Trouble with Money" allowed me to realize the valuable lesson of saving money. And how exploit resources and natural talents for the extortion of currency from the masses in a capitalist society. "Trouble with Money" taught me that lesson that was best summed up by the Joker in The Dark Knight: "If you're good at something, never do it for free." The kids learn this pretty easily after their parents cut their allowance. They decide to expand the things they already do, such as pick flowers and berries, exploring, and collecting honey, Although the book does not explore how their increased collection of these resources most likely depleted them for future generations (a parallel kept out of this story which in retrospect almost seems like capitalist propaganda), and how the tourism of the forests and waterfalls most likely led the to increased pollution (the honeycomb sticks that they sold had waste, and it had to end up somewhere), it nonetheless provided me with the valuable lesson that money can be gained pretty easily by first finding a resource, finding a use for it, and then provide that resource to other's at a price. Honestly, this book did a pretty good job explaining to child-me the basics of economics in capitalist system. After this book, I was able to give my parents "coupons" for chores and such as a birthday gift, which they would lose or forget about, while also allowing me to perform at lower expectations after their birthday, after all, if they want something done well, they can just use that coupon. Not only that, but I also saw how I could give gifts that give back to me, like a board game which I like and they now have to play with me. I loved this book because it taught me how to manipulate the world around me to my desires at a young age, a lesson which has, and will continue to provide countless benefits.
Note: Most of the latter of this post was a joke and I do not condone mediocrity. Another thing this book failed to mention was competition the Bears would have faced in this situation, which would have forced them to competitively price themselves.
Note: Most of the latter of this post was a joke and I do not condone mediocrity. Another thing this book failed to mention was competition the Bears would have faced in this situation, which would have forced them to competitively price themselves.