Chapter 10 silent propagandist

Walking on the street, someone often puts a piece of paper into your hand.The paper is nothing more than some advertisements, the opening of hotels and teahouses, the price reduction of computers and TVs, the sale of clothing, shoes and hats, and aphrodisiacs for nourishing yin and strengthening yang.The person who got it took a look at it—sometimes they didn't even look at it, and just threw it on the road, in the trash can or in the bicycle basket on the roadside.The person who distributed them didn't care, and continued to stuff them one by one into the hands of passers-by.They are silent, "stuffing paper" is their job, and they can get paid about 10 yuan for stuffing a day of paper.They don't have much enthusiasm for their "propaganda" work, and they don't have much confidence and expectation for the results of the propaganda. They basically don't speak or just repeat a few nonsense listlessly.They are the least valued people, whether on the street or with their bosses.On the streets of busy cities all over the world, in China, South Korea, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Australia... Thousands of expressionless faces, both strange and familiar, are promoting those things without enthusiasm in order to make ends meet Content you don't care about.This is what characterizes the propagandists of our age, an age of aphasic propaganda.

I remembered the scene when I was a propagandist when I was a child.At that time, the school often organized us to go to the streets to publicize. We held high the red flags, lined up, sang songs, and came to the cross streets.The traffic policeman on duty saluted us, and the residents on the side of the road brought us water.We were as excited as if we were celebrating a festival or going to a garden, holding trumpets, jumping up and down, and the short ones stood on the table.Start with a burst of gongs and drums to set the mood and draw attention.Then we shouted like reciting a text: "Comrades, listen to me, I am a traffic safety publicist. Cross the road, don't worry, there will be problems if you rush. Stop at a red light, go at a green light, and running a red light is not acceptable. Grasp the revolution, promote production, and develop transportation. Safety is the first to ensure integrity, and we will severely attack the imperialist revisionists, imperialists, revisionists, and rebels!" After a few days, a new set of words came up again. "Comrades, listen to me. I am a civilized and hygienic propagandist. I bathe frequently, cut my hair frequently, and change clothes and shoes and socks frequently. People's cities are like gardens, and you can't spit anywhere. Flies and mosquitoes must be killed, and diseases are not allowed to spread everywhere. Do a good job in sanitation and make a revolution, clean up to welcome the National Day, welcome, National, National Day!" one person shouted, and others handed flyers to passers-by.Pedestrians usually take a few glances, then carefully fold them up and put them in their pockets.Some people who are not in a hurry will stop and watch for a while, and sometimes help us beat drums and gongs.In this kind of publicity, the propagandists are very devoted. They believe in the content of their propaganda and the effect of their propaganda.They come excitedly and leave with pride, feeling that the world is alive and inseparable from their own enthusiastic contribution and enthusiastic participation.But they don't know that such propaganda, sometimes the nature of performance is greater than the actual effect.They don't have a deep understanding of what they believe in the propaganda.For example, what does not running a red light have anything to do with fighting against the imperialist revisionists, and why flies and mosquitoes can't celebrate the National Day with us, in most of their hearts, they don't even think about it.It can be said to be an era of propaganda performances, whether it is the Red Boys in China or the Beatles in the United States.Of course, the performance is very sincere, and the actors and audience are immersed in a happy artistic auspicious cloud...

So I thought about the more distant era of propaganda.The propagandists at that time had no gongs and drums, no red flags, no one to salute and bring water.In the bustling downtown streets, suddenly a young man in a long gown and a scarf or a young woman in a white dress and black skirt stood on a high place and raised his arms and shouted: "My fellow citizens, the country is about to perish! We can no longer be drunk and dream about death. Get up." Ah, use our flesh and blood to save the nation from peril. Patriotism is innocent, burn your enthusiasm, and the Chinese nation will never surrender..." Often before their propaganda is completed, there are sirens, horseshoes, police cars and even It was gunshots.They shouted the last high-spirited sentence, and with a wave of their hands, the leaflets flew into the crowd like snowflakes in Yanshan Mountain.Some people quickly grabbed one or a few and left, some looked desperately after catching them, dropped them before walking, and some turned around and ran away, fearing to avoid them.The propagandist quickly disappeared into the crowd. Occasionally, if he didn't run in time, he was taken behind bars and taken to the execution ground.They don't get paid for their publicity, and some of them are life wandering and life danger.Because what they promote is not someone else's stuff, nor is it what they need to believe and understand—that is, what grows from their own hearts, and they don't need to "believe" and "understand".They will not lose their voice, even if they close their mouths, their voices will be burned in the chest of the audience for a long time.Those who did not take the leaflets recalled their voices over and over again at night with their hearts beating; those who took the leaflets spread their voices to a larger crowd.They are not performing, they are just doing what they think they should do, but their actions constitute the most wonderful art in human history.It was a great era of propaganda.

The great propagandists have all died or are about to die.Most of the propagandists of the performances have lost their enthusiasm or are deeply reflecting on their performances.So in our era, there are only those silent propagandists, like walking dead, stuffing papers into your hands, stuffing papers.Their actions are "giving", but their expressions seem to be "begging".Let us pity these beggars, so I often take their papers seriously, just as I always listen to all reports and hold all meetings seriously.