From a Believer in Going with the Flow

At the very start of Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, I found myself feeling a strong connection to the Bokonist ideals that are described. To put it simply, Bokonism reminds me of "going with the flow," the almost-too-frequently-heard mantra which happens to be the phrase by which I try to live my life. Jonah writes that "a karass ignores national, institutional, occupational, familial, and class boundaries" (2). Also a believer in fate and destiny, I took this to mean that the greater power or force, whatever it is, that leads us to go certain places and come into contact with certain people in life, is something which cannot be controlled and does not obey rules. Whatever wills us onto the predestined path we take in life is beyond our comprehension, and thus any attempt to understand it, to break it down into a million pieces and dissect it, is a waste of time.

Reflecting on Bokonism's application to our reality, I realized that it is the instillation in people of exactly these principles that could help solve a lot of their problems. If people learn to accept things for what they are and stop over-thinking and questioning everything, they just might be a bit happier with themselves. Maybe there is not a point in trying to discern between the truthful and deceptive elements of every little thing, as it so often leads to frustration and ultimately no conclusion. Maybe in order to acquire greater knowledge, people merely need to be more willing to suspend their disbelief, instead of constantly approaching things in a scientific way. It seems to me that adopting a Bokonon-esque perspective would create more "go with the flow"-ers out there--we would achieve a pleasant, less cynical human race.