Chapter 9 look west

Said that Taiwan is very foreign? seems like it.Regardless of whether the goods are good or bad, as soon as they are packaged in foreign languages, some people will scramble for them.Walking into a luxury hotel, the waiters are attentive to foreign guests, but they often turn a blind eye to their compatriots.If there is a problem, it can only be solved quickly by labeling it as "obstructing international view". If a politician comes to visit, what the reporter emphasizes the most is whether the person has a good impression of Taiwan.In terms of education, the generation that recited "Moonlight Before the Bed" and "My Minister's Secret Words, My Minister's Provocation" is now busy sending the next generation to English kindergartens to read "Hello, how are you".Every summer, batches of young people, good or not, go to the West in 747s to undergo brain and spiritual transformation.When they get to the other side, most of them don't look back.

But is Taiwan really a foreign country? It seems not.A blond friend was watching the monkeys in the fence at the zoo, and a young man next to him suddenly said loudly: "Wow! Monkeys watch monkeys!" People around laughed happily.The friend who was very good at Chinese walked away without saying a word.There are quite a few Chinese who think that Westerners are monkeys, devils, and barbarians.Chinese cuisine is number one in the world. Chinese people are really smart to use chopsticks. Chinese people value etiquette, integrity, and ethics, while Westerners are utilitarian and realistic, and they are not humane.Chinese couples have eternal love overnight, while Western men and women are frivolous and have corrupt morals.While the Chinese are making rituals and making fun, Westerners are still drinking blood!

If we say that Taiwan has a deep-seated mentality of being "anti-foreign", then the sentiment of "anti-foreignness" is not weak at all.As soon as A who wrote the article mentioned the advantages of the West, he had to quickly write a note: "I am not a foreigner!" as a parry. The word "Songyang" itself is a curse word, which means that our society is deeply attracted to Western civilization on the one hand, and on the other hand has a deep sense of rejection in our hearts.Under the influence of these two conflicting emotions, many strange phenomena arise.

For example, if a blond kid born in Taiwan says, "I want to be Chinese, I don't want to go back to America," or a missionary says, "I love Chinese culture, and I dedicate my life to China," our The newspapers will make a lot of noise, and every Chinese will feel proud.On the other hand, if a Chinese child born in the United States says, "I don't want to be Chinese", or an overseas student dares to declare "I love American culture, and I want to dedicate myself to America", I am afraid that few Chinese will not be filled with anger and scold This man is a traitor who has forgotten his ancestors.In other words, it is natural for others to admire us, but we must never admire others.How to explain this psychology?

Many parents do everything possible to send their children abroad to evade Taiwan's entrance exam system.These parents have been accused of being xenophiles.In fact, every parent in Taiwan probably has an inextricable knot in their hearts: they want their children to grow up carefree, but under the restraint of the education system, they have to watch their glasses get thicker and thicker. , The more you read the book, the more you die, and the more you are forced, the more nervous you become.What parent wouldn't want his or her children to escape the system if given the chance?Under such circumstances, when some parents send their children abroad, we don't review the lack of education system sadly, and ask why Taiwan can't keep people, but instead use the hat of "worshiping foreign countries" to criticize, isn't it also strange?

Struggling between the foreign and xenophobic mentality, we are sometimes like individuals with both inferiority complex and megalomaniac.To people, it is impossible to be neither humble nor overbearing.Of course, many people are flattering and flattering to blondes, but there are also many people who deliberately show self-esteem and deliberately treat them with an arrogant and rude attitude.Our personnel stationed abroad sometimes make things difficult for foreigners in the visa procedures, and they probably adopt the mentality of "I'm going to punish you". Under the confusion of inferiority and arrogance, we cannot be objective and calm about things. When discussing Taiwan When dealing with various social problems, I often find three kinds of intuitive reactions. One is: "Why, you always say that we are not good, so the West doesn't have these problems? "

I don't understand, what does Taiwan's shortcomings have to do with the West?Could it be that, well, Italy is also dirty, so it makes sense for Taiwan to be dirty?Mexico is also heavily polluted, so it doesn't matter if we pollute?Other countries have similar problems, so our problems can be left alone?Regardless of whether the West has similar problems, we still have to face up to our own shortcomings, don't we? The second reaction is: "You always talk about the progress of European and American civilization, and you worship foreign countries!" This kind of rhetoric is completely emotional.If someone says that Europe is clean, then the normal reaction should be, the first question is, is it true that Europe is clean?The second question is, is "clean" what we want?If the answer to the two questions is yes, then the third question: How can we follow suit and be "clean"?The whole program has nothing to do with whether or not you are not.

The third common reaction, especially from the official, is to say: "That's from the West, it's not in line with Taiwan's reality!" Practically speaking, on the one hand, it also blocks the call for reform.As long as any suggestion or concept is labeled as "Western", it is easy to dismiss it as "not in line with Taiwan's real conditions". In fact, all "Western" ideas are not necessarily "not in line with Taiwan's real conditions", and they are not in line with Taiwan's real conditions. Doesn't mean it can't be done. Public morality doesn't fit Taiwan's real situation, right? Do we want public morality? The recent generation of democracy is from the West. Do we want democracy? Abiding by the law doesn't seem to fit Taiwan's real situation. Should we abide by the law?

These three reactions are very emotional; "What we should be concerned about is whether some values ​​or behaviors in Europe and the United States are worthy of our acquisition. If it is worthwhile, then no matter whether the West is Western or not, we should learn from others and work hard to learn from others." ". If it's not worth it, then no matter if the West is not the West, we should not be tempted. But if we can't get rid of the emotional impact on the West—whether it's blindly flattering the West or fighting against the West in the Boxer style—we will never It is impossible to face the West and make objective and reasonable judgments based on facts.

When a Westerner said: "Eating in Taiwan is dangerous to be poisoned, crossing the street may be killed. Chinese people are dirty, messy, noisy, and rude", there are probably few Chinese who do not fly into a rage, but I don't, because I know that when the Chinese come back from Southeast Asia or other areas, they also say: "Wow! It's so backward over there, there is a danger of poisoning if you eat, and you will be killed if you go to the street. They are dirty and dirty. It's messy and noisy, I can't stand it!" So what if "they" heard it?It is not only Westerners who use their own ruler to measure the world.In this world, there are ugly Americans, as well as ugly Japanese, Germans, and French. Do you think there are ugly Chinese?

What's more, when hearing criticism from others, the normal and reasonable reaction should be to first ask whether what he said is true?If so, how can it be improved?After hearing criticism from Westerners, it is an abnormal psychological manifestation to be furious because of the rising national sentiment, or to rush to please the West. On the radio, I heard a legislator saying: "We went out to investigate and found that European and American congressmen have assistants. We don't have them. We are very embarrassed..." I was confused when I heard the truth: because they have, so we also have assistants. To—what kind of logic is this?But today it seems that this phenomenon is very common: New York has graffiti on the subway, and Taipei must have it, no matter how ugly it is.The United States has the Statue of Liberty, so let's also have a statue of Confucius, whether it is realistic or not.This is psychological slavery.Conversely, when others go abroad for further study, I don't want to, because I love my country.When the West talks about openness and tolerance, I tend to talk about conservative virtues; when Westerners talk about respecting individuals, I tend to say team first.The worse the West is, the worse I am.This, too, is a psychological slave.We must get rid of this demon, so that we can look at the West in the right direction—they are anti-nuclear, should we?They are anti-pollution, should we?They have a vacation system, do we want it?They talk about sexual openness, should we?Only by discussing everything objectively and calmly, without inferiority, arrogance, or emotional reactions, can the Chinese stand out from the huge shadow of the West.Otherwise, we are all slaves of others, whether we are against foreigners or against foreigners.