Chapter 18 Talk about self-esteem

"People must respect themselves, and then others will respect them." People are mutual, only when we first have public morality, can we ask others to have public morality; only when we first respect ourselves, can we win the respect of others; SARS will not spread unless it becomes a source of infectious disease. Chinese people, don't spread the virus! Yesterday morning, your brother called from Taiwan and said he was going back to New York for a two-week vacation.Let me first say it's great, but after discussing with your mother for a day, I called him last night and said that SARS is prevalent now, and Taiwan is an epidemic area. If he comes back, he must be quarantined at home for ten days before he can get ready. go out.Doing the math, he only has four days to do activities in New York at most. Is it worth it? He had better think about it, or come back and stay longer, or wait until after SARS is over.

My brother thought about it for a long time, and called again this morning, saying that he will not come back, so as not to infect you with SARS. you know what i said then I said, infecting my sister is a small matter, but if the disease is transmitted to outsiders, it will become a major issue. I hope you don't think my words are too cruel, as if I don't take you and my brother seriously, but actually it's because I think about you. Didn’t you hear that a classmate came back from mainland China, and the school asked him to observe at home first? We went to a Chinese restaurant a few days ago. Didn’t the proprietress say that many customers were afraid that the Chinese chef would come into contact with people from the epidemic area, so they dared not come? ?

Also, you know that Aunt Pingping has been back for several days, but she dare not go to work, and she is isolated at home. Although my mother sent fried noodles and medicines she needed yesterday, and pickled vegetables today, every time Do you leave at the door? It was Aunt Pingping who forbade your mother to come in. She insisted on quarantine at home.She even scolded the U.S. Customs for being too careless for not questioning people from the epidemic area one by one. She also said that the staff in her office laughed at her and said that many guests ran to her travel agency as soon as they landed.

But Aunt Pingping said that people are people, and she is her! She has to start by herself first, at least one day something goes wrong, not because of her, so that she can feel at ease. Confucius said, "Don't do to others what you don't want yourself to do to yourself." This is the truth—— If someone came from the epidemic area today and came to our house as a guest, we would be nervous; if we treat others as our own, if my brother came from the epidemic area, he should not run around.Even when our whole family got in touch with him, we were not allowed to hang around, lest others would mind.

Today, my mother heard from a friend that there was a wedding banquet, and there was a person who had just arrived from the epidemic area. The guests were very nervous, and the host had to ask "him" to leave first. Do you think this scene is embarrassing? If "that person" is your brother today, or if you go to school one day, you are called to ask if there is someone from the epidemic area at home, and your classmates respect you, how would you feel? ? So I said that many of our considerations are for your own good, for your brother's good, and for everyone's good.I can even say that it is for the good of all Chinese.

Yes, it is for the good of all the Chinese here, even for the good of the Chinese all over the world. Because we want the American society to know that the Chinese will not spread the virus; at the very least, the Chinese will do everything they can to reduce the spread of SARS by asking their relatives and friends not to come from the affected areas or to self-quarantine at home.To put it in a harsh way—even if SARS spreads in the United States one day, we hope that the first person to bring the virus is not the Chinese. Children! You know when we first moved to Lakeside, a white neighbor said that even if one day the place was replaced by Chinese, she would not move.

Although she said to me with a smile, the meaning of this sentence really made me feel wrong. On the one hand, she seemed to express her closeness to the Chinese, but on the other hand, she had another meaning, which meant that other white people would move for the Chinese. Enter and move. Also, do you know that when the Chinese doctor diagonally across the door first moved in, some neighbors troubled him because of his construction? But now people in the community will give a thumbs up when they pass by his door.Because they found that the courtyard of this Chinese family is more beautiful than that of the white people, and even because he has tidied up the original deserted roadside like a garden, which makes the community more beautiful.

We Chinese in the American community, or even the Chinese in the world, have to win respect in this way. It depends on our active participation, and more importantly, on our self-discipline and self-respect. It is precisely because of this that when there are anti-China articles appearing in your school publications at this time, we can stand up and fight until the school district superintendent and principal apologize. Children! People are mutual. Only when we first have public morality can we ask others to have public morality; only when we first respect ourselves can we win the respect of others; SARS will not spread unless it is not a source of infectious disease.

"Heaven helps those who take the initiative"; "People must respect themselves, and then people will do it." I hope you can appreciate the truth of this, and let us wish across the Pacific Ocean that everyone can remember these two words from our ancestors, so that SARS can be eradicated quickly.