Chapter 16 sixteen

A man gave the rope of the helicopter hanging in front of his eyes to a woman he didn't know, and then he froze to shock and died respect for minorities Last night, you mentioned that Thomas used tricks and finally succeeded in changing classes. It was so interesting!Let me think about it all morning, and I still feel endless aftertaste. You said that Thomas was assigned to your math teacher's class with the "butcher". Many students tried their best to withdraw from the class, but were all stared back by the "butcher". Only Thomas made up a strange reason, which was very easy. passed.because he said:

"Teacher! I believe in a religion. Every day at ten o'clock, I have to go to pray alone..." This reminds me of a friend who bought a house, saw a carved mirror inside, and asked the owner to keep it. The owner said: "This is hanging on the wall and is not part of the house, so I want to take it away!" My friend had an idea and made up a reason: "We Chinese attach great importance to mirrors, and think that the mirrors that have been hung in the house have the function of a town house and are not suitable for replacement..." As soon as the words were spoken, the owner actually agreed.

How similar are these two things!I don't agree with their deceit, but I can't help but wonder: Why is something that is difficult to do, once religious beliefs or superstitions are mentioned, it becomes a reality?This is very profound and worth discussing! After thinking about it all morning, I finally understood: The United States is not only a democratic country that obeys the majority, but also a cultural melting pot that respects the minority. They especially respect those hard-to-change facts. So we often see the president and government officials as entertainment on TV and newspapers, but we don't see the satire of race, gender and religious belief.The topics we hear are often how to protect the rights of minorities and people of color, and care for the disabled.Television stations not only broadcast English-language programs, but also set up channels for ethnic minorities in order to preserve their cultural characteristics.Even the world-famous Lincoln Center, in addition to general performances, also arranges a special schedule every year to present the Asian Outstanding Artist Award.

After the bitter lessons of the Civil War and countless black and white conflicts, people in this country have come to understand that while we like to see others like us, we should respect each other's differences on the other hand.True peace and common prosperity cannot be achieved by suppressing weak voices with a large number of people.Even if it is reached, it is not equal!Unequal democracy cannot be called true democracy! But don't artificially "respect the minority" is a simple matter, because the majority without a mind is unlikely to pay attention to the existence of the minority, and that mind requires the cooperation of various conditions!

Whenever I watch an African wildlife show, I'm particularly interested in lions and hyenas (Hyena).While the lion whines and growls and talks about its prey, the underdog coyote drools nearby.Occasionally, if you can't bear the hunger and sneak forward, you will be chased away by the lion's paw.What is puzzling is that those big lions with their cubs don't even let the little ones eat first, until they are almost full, then it's the cub's turn, and then the whole lion family lazily leaves.Lying on the grass not far away to take a nap, let the coyotes snatch the rest of the prey.

This also reminds me that when I went to a farmhouse for dinner twenty years ago, only the host invited the guests to the table, his wife served the food back and forth to share the soup, and a group of children looked outside the door. He walked in greedily, but was slapped out by his mother.I finished my meal feeling like I was sitting on pins and needles, and the whole thing I swallowed was like a stone, choked in my chest.To this day, I still remember the crying eyes of the child covering his cheeks. How is this different from the lion family in Africa? But today, I gradually understand that there is a long way to go from the primitive nature of the weak and the strong, to the noble human nature of "the young and the young and the young, the old and the old and the old". .It can also be said that from a young age, we need to learn step by step from caring only for ourselves, to caring for family members, to respecting groups, and even caring for minorities, and even preserving wild animals.Some people fail to fully learn in their entire lives, and the biggest reason for this is poverty.

Insufficient supplies can really make people lose their grace, so we are in the documentary of World War II.You will see those originally dignified European women breaking their heads for grabbing bread. But, on the contrary, noble human nature is also likely to stand the greatest test.For example, when the Titanic cruise ship sank, knowing that there were not enough lifeboats, men still let women and children board first.Years ago, when a Florida Airline plane crashed in Washington, floating in a deadly glacier, a man gave up the rope of the helicopter hanging in front of his eyes to a woman he didn't know, and then he froze to shock and died.

From these stories, you will find out how many contradictions and struggles people have gone through in the process of civilization evolution to achieve "do unto others what you don't want yourself to do to others", and then "do to others what you want to do to others"!Even "sacrifice yourself to help others"! In this way, is it not a rare state to go from respecting others and obeying the majority to respecting and accepting the minority? ! Let me tell you about a very ordinary but very touching experience: One day when I was sketching in the Long Island Botanical Garden, a group of American women walked by talking and laughing. When they found me squatting in front of the flowers, they suddenly lowered their voices and told each other: "Someone is drawing, don't disturb him." !"

Twenty or thirty people, how disproportionate it is to me, and they all restrain themselves, showing noble sentiments. yes!That is a noble sentiment! Respect the few! I used bamboo tubes and springs to make magic arrows, cut soda bottle caps into darts, and even put the fruit knife at home into my schoolbag... show it off! When I was young, I was very quiet and my family was strict, so let alone fights with my classmates, even quarrels rarely happened. But one time, I went home with a bruised nose and a swollen face, not by one person, but by a group of classmates. Even the girls kicked me because I was wearing a special hat.

It was your grandfather's, the kind of fedora that Siberians used to wear.It's special not because it looks like a thieves, but because when I pull the hat down, it covers my entire face. It was so strange, when I pulled off the hat, some classmates immediately came over to provoke me, thinking that I had become a masked bandit, or a high-spirited night crawler, and I suddenly felt extremely brave, as if I was invulnerable . Surrounded by a group of classmates, I was beaten so badly that I never dared to wear that hat again. In the first grade of junior high school, there was a fire at home, and the hat burned, but it attracted another thing.It was a pair of trousers that my neighbor gave me when our house was burnt to the ground—flared trousers.

I don't know where the neighbor got such "punctual" flared trousers. When I wear them, even the shoes are covered in the wide trousers; the area near the thighs is thin and narrow. It was the elementary school hat incident repeated, when I walked into the school gate wearing those pants.Immediately attracted a surprised look, as if to say: "Drink! You are not small, and you got up, dare not be burned to death in a big fire, but reborn from the ashes, reborn and changed!" I really changed, not because I wanted to change, but because my classmates wanted me to change. I started to fight for others, went to other classes to reason, and even personally enforced the law, punishing "buddies" who were not interesting.I made sleeve arrows out of bamboo tubes and springs, cut darts out of soda bottle caps, and even put the fruit knife at home into my schoolbag.Until one day, paint was hung on his leg. What is the reason that made me suddenly become a little Taibao from a gentle and conservative good student?It's me?Is it a classmate?Or those flared pants? For thirty years, I have found time and time again that it is the people around us that change us in this world; and the changes in the attitudes of the people around us are often due to our own changes. A conservative female star accidentally puts on open-chested clothes, and the reporter said that she has changed from innocent to mature and sexy, and that female star may really change the way of acting because of this. A man bought a "stylish" sports car for his beloved girlfriend, and then found out that his girlfriend had nothing to do and drove out for a drive, causing a lot of trouble, and the two had a falling out. Who is to blame?In fact, no one needs to blame, because if you don’t have that kind of mood, you won’t pursue that kind of makeup; since you dress up like this, people will look at you according to your “appearance”! Most people like to show off. You buy something for the sake of showing off. After you have something, can you not go out and "show off" it? When I was in college, miniskirts were popular, and a girl said to me: Every time I go out, it's so difficult!Is the skirt shorter or longer?Every minute short has the excitement of being short, but also the tension of being short! According to statistics, a considerable proportion of sexual violence crimes are caused by the victim's intentional or unintentional temptation, and are related to the color, style, and even posture of the victim's clothing. This also reminds me of two years ago when I returned to the mainland, a relative smiled and pointed at the door of his neighbor and said, "That family is sad! I used to open the door every day, and the sound blasted my ears, indicating that they bought a new color TV. I didn't expect I don't know who threw a stone yesterday, smashed it! Who told him to 'now'!" After hearing so much, you should know the reason why I tell the story! You want to buy a jacket that's trendy and promises you won't get into trouble wearing it, I think: This kind of thing may attract hundreds of mentalities, change you, and change the perception of others. If you don't provoke people, others may come to you! This world is progressing at the speed of geometric progression. Computers are already improving computers, and robots are already making robots. Who can guarantee that in the "Star Wars" movie, the gathering of all star clans will not happen in your and my lifetime! be a man of the world This morning, I passed by your door and saw you spraying your hair, and I said: "If one day your home is flooded, you will be responsible!" "why?" "Because the chlorofluorocarbons contained in your hairspray will destroy the ozone layer of the atmosphere. As a result, the sun is not blocked, causing the temperature of the earth to rise, the Arctic icebergs to melt, and the sea level to rise. And our house is by the sea. Of course you are responsible for the flooding!" Factory "Wow!" You smiled and bent over. But let me seriously say, don't think I'm joking, times are different today.In the past, when Julius Caesar entered Egypt, Emperor Han Yuan of China was pardoning the world; when the Crusaders slaughtered the city in Jerusalem, Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty was preparing to celebrate his enthronement ceremony; , India is enjoying the peacefulness of Maurya King Ashoka's singing and dancing. But today, when a major earthquake occurred in Mexico, the magnitude of the quake was immediately measured in Taipei; when the radiation from the Chernobyl power plant leaked, the Nordic milk powder that Asian children drank was immediately in danger of being polluted; when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the price of oil all over the world plummeted rise. Isn't the world getting smaller and smaller? According to reports, in another ten years, it will only take one hour to fly from New York to Tokyo.So you have one day, maybe work in New York, dinner in Taipei, and sleep in Calcutta. remember!The world is progressing at a speed of exponential progression. Computers are already improving computers, robots are already making robots, Germany and Germany are suddenly reunified, the borders of the European Common Market have almost disappeared, and traffic between Britain and France is suddenly open. Who can guarantee that in the "Star Wars" movie, the gathering of various star clans will not happen in your and my lifetime? At the very least, how many different races do you come into contact with every day in Manhattan?It is no longer enough to listen to orthodox English in New York today. We must adapt to the different accents of Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Indian, and even Arabic. I remember your elementary school teacher once asked: "If there is a general strike at the African docks one day, what will be the impact of the Canadian forest fire?" The answer is actually "We may not have chocolate ingredients, and we may lack the paper to wrap the candy." Remember the middle school teacher also said to you: "Although Japanese cars have caused many American auto workers to lose their jobs, if we stop importing Japanese cars, the Japanese may not have enough foreign exchange to buy American food, which will instead promote the revival of militarism and affect the world. stable." Isn't it just to protect the world's important oil sources that the United States sent troops to the Persian Gulf? The world is so small that if the fashion industry in Paris sneezes, the fashion girls all over the world will catch a cold! Didn't you notice that the Italian dining chairs we ordered just arrived, but the guests from Taipei said that their family already had a set? Haven't you noticed that Zhu Jingwu has just made a breakthrough in superconductors, and the whole world is stepping up to study higher temperature superconductors? Didn't you see the TV report last year that some people used blood pressure lowering pills to grind into powder and mix it with alcohol to make hair tonic. Now this medicine is officially on the market, and the shelves are full? With the rapid development of information, the latest surgical methods have only been published in medical journals, and doctors all over the world may follow up immediately and come up with more successful cases tomorrow. Just like the famous saying of the astronaut Armstrong: "That's one small step for me, one giant leap for mankind!" We may take a giant leap for mankind every day, and others may help us take a new giant leap at any time. step! Today the space shuttle is about to launch again. Many people are paying attention to this matter, because they heard that the medicine synthesized in the weightless state is likely to make a breakthrough in the treatment of AIDS. But think about it before, how many people would care about space science? Remember every time we go to the New York Museum of Natural History, the big stuffed bird that we see first when we enter the door? Its name is "Dodo", and it is a big pigeon originally from Muse, but it became extinct at the end of the last century just because it couldn't fly.The tour guide of the museum always said with regret: "Dodo is very cute and gentle, but all of them were killed by civilized people. It is a shame for mankind: we cannot let other animals in the world become extinct, that is our responsibility!" " yes!It is our responsibility to protect wild animals, protect the Amazon jungle, maintain the balance of the ozone layer and all ecology... Because this is a small world, and we are "world people"! Born in this era, you need to have a far-sighted vision and a big mind. The "He Jin" video lamented that the Chinese did not go to the sea in the past, but I suggest you: If you want to succeed in the future, you must go to the world now!