Chapter 21 binary education

Earlier, Minben talked about democracy.Democracy is a very popular name nowadays, at least in words or on paper, almost no one opposes it.In fact, there are many problems both in theory and in practice.For example, if Confucius and Kang Youwei are still alive, and you want to convince them that the road of "junjun, ministers" and "protecting the emperor" will not work, and you must replace it with democracy, you have to give reasons. The reason for this is theory.This book also talked about theories in this area earlier. The main point is that people are ordinary people, and they are born with desires. If you have too much power, you will do whatever you want. Therefore, in order not to risk persecution, it is best to seek power in your own hands. Here, do not give it to others unconditionally.This is also a theory, and if it is put into practice, there will be various problems.There are many, many, and maybe all of them are too big and difficult to handle, so I will speak slowly.This article will first talk about the most basic thing, which is education.

I have always believed that in democracy, wearing short-sighted glasses is a matter of method, and the problem is not small; wearing far-sighted glasses is a matter of ability, and the problem is even bigger.The method, the difference lies in whether to adopt or not. Although there will be many bumps on the road from not adopting to adopting, but the problem is always obvious, and it is not difficult to solve it.Ability is not the case. Democracy, as the name suggests, is mainly to make a difference, so it has to have the ability of the master. What content should be included in this ability, and whether it can be cultivated in a short period of time are both urgent and not easy to solve.The history of recent years can prove that the "May 4th Movement" has already changed from an autocratic monarchy to a republic. Mr. De and Mr. Sai were invited from the West to be respected as teachers. The democratic spirit and scientific thinking can gradually gain the upper hand, and finally dominate everything, so that all problems can be solved with a knife, and the darkness will become a clear breeze and bright moon.Unfortunately, the facts are often not as expected. More than half a century has passed, and the people who should be democratic have experienced another ten years of catastrophe. Many innocent people died at the hands of the Red Guard heroes.This is Mr. De did not work.As for Mr. Sai, TV sets, even computers, etc., come into the house, this is one side;.But there is another side, in order to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, seek great desires, or predict the future, many people go to temples to worship.Or use "Book of Changes" and other divination.As far as this phenomenon is concerned, how far have we advanced compared with the era of King Ping of Zhou and Emperor Wu of Liang?Just talking about democracy, there are all kinds of people, and there are those who advocate that "there is a way in the world, and the ritual and music conquest come from the emperor".For example, Confucius, who wrote "Respecting the King", like Gu Hongming, who took pride in bowing down to the mountains and shouting long live; From cutting-edge theft to euphemistic counterfeiting of medicines and alcohol, etc., there are many examples of intolerance to dissidents, which are omitted. It is obvious that it is difficult for people like this to incorporate their beliefs or actions into the flow of democracy. .

Therefore, if a society wants to be democratic, it must first have people who can govern.Whether the people can be masters or not, the key lies in whether they have education, or in other words, whether most of them have the education to be masters.Why not say all?Because there are three groups to be subtracted: one group is underage, the other group is mentally unsound, and the third group is taught but not accepted, willing to be the black sheep.The situation of the three groups is different.The first group, which accounts for a certain percentage of the total number of people, is roughly regular. This group of people is maturing. Although they also have education problems, they should wait and there is no need to rush.The second group, the number depends on the quality of the people as a whole. Of course, the less the better, but if more becomes less, we must do our best in many aspects, and there is also education in this many aspects.The third group, the number, mainly depends on upbringing, but we must also admit that no matter how hard we try in upbringing, we must not underestimate the so-called power of destiny, and there will always be a small number of people who are unwilling to follow the rules. Some people prefer to reduce it to a minimum, so they have to try their best in many aspects, among which the important ones are customs, laws, etc., and I am afraid the most important thing is education.

Let's talk about education.This can be general or specific.For example, knowing the language of the country, being able to express one's ideas with one's mouth and handwriting, this kind of upbringing is general. As for being able to sing Peking Opera with one's mouth, and to be able to write and read with one's hand, it is not general.A democratic citizen requires general education.In detail, it can be divided into two aspects: one aspect is knowledge, and the other aspect is virtue.There is a question of degree, and one end is abundance.One end is poverty, of course it is better to be rich.But good is a wish, and as for doing, we have to think more, at least consider the possibility.The emphasis here is still on the theory, and it has to be assumed that it is not impossible.In this way, what kind of knowledge should the people of the Lord possess?It's hard to be specific.Roughly speaking, on the one hand, it is necessary to have knowledge of modern culture, various aspects, and common sense; on the other hand, it is necessary to be able to use such knowledge as a basis to judge whether non-professional things are good or bad, even if this judgment may not be sure. .The words are too ambiguous, and I would like to give a little example to remedy it.As a human being, we should have a general understanding of our surroundings.This has a time aspect, where it comes from and where it goes.Just to say where you come from, you need to know a little about the history of your country. If you don't even know the succession of dynasties, you must know that your knowledge is not qualified.The same is true for space. If you think that the sky is round and the place is round, but you don’t know the solar system, the Milky Way, and extragalactic galaxies, light years, etc., you are not qualified in the aspect of knowledge.Judging right from wrong is a more complicated issue. Just take the efficacy of medicine boasted in advertisements as an example. If you use the advertisements as a reason to infer that the medicine must be effective, you must be considered as incapable of judging right from wrong.Let's talk about virtue on the other hand.Virtue refers to the cultivation of character, which seems difficult to say but not hard to say.It is most prominently manifested at the critical moment when the interests of others are not in harmony with others. Those who refuse to harm others and therefore give up self-interest are virtuous, while those who are self-interested at the expense of others are immoral.To be educated is to be virtuous. The so-called broad term means that one does not ask for sages and virtuous people, but only thinks of others when thinking about oneself, and is able to exercise restraint when necessary, at least knowing that one should be restrained.

Let’s go back and talk about democracy. Why do most people have such an upbringing?Let me first talk about the master of democracy, manifested as action, is a choice, that is, want this, don't that, want this, don't that.You must see something before you choose, and this insight comes from knowledge, so ignorance can't talk about choice.It will be worse.There are many situations, just to give a few examples.One comes from tradition, to be wise and protect one's life, not to talk about state affairs, to let the great people manage major affairs, to accept fate for good or bad, and there is no choice.The other is too traditional. For example, one of my elders has always thought that the Qing Dynasty is better, because he was born in the Qing Dynasty and grew up in the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, if he chooses, he must choose the monarchy system. , and it was the monarchy system of the Qing Dynasty.Another way is to go with the flow, you say you want this, that's fine, he says you want that, that's fine, because you don't have your own opinion, so you can only call it management but actually don't care.Democracy requires all requirements to be managed and managed, and opinions will differ, and then there will be debates and comparisons, and finally there is a choice.Whether the choice is appropriate, obviously, can only be determined by knowledge.Besides Germany.Democracy is a way of life, against a way of life that "the people can do what they want".It is also a life attitude, that is, a life attitude that respects oneself and respects others.In the process of arguing and comparing different opinions, this attitude towards life manifests itself as both persistence and tolerance: believing what you believe is persistence, and respecting what others believe is tolerance.Persistence comes from seriousness. Only when everyone is serious can the whole have more possibilities to walk on the right path.Tolerance comes from self-denial, and only when everyone is self-denial, with different opinions, or even conflicts of interest, can problems be solved with words but not with martial arts.All in all, democracy is a collective way of life, whether it is towards it or within it, the main people, at least the majority, must be educated, otherwise it will be difficult.

But when it comes to education, there are a lot of problems.If the time is short, you can wait patiently, and you can only wait patiently.Wait, whether to come or not depends on many mutually restrictive conditions.For example, everyone recognizes that education is extremely important, but in an era when the people can choose from it and stereotypes select scholars, its role has become doubtful.There are also occasions, or especially, that cannot be ignored. For example, unfortunately, money and material enjoyment have become the highest values ​​​​believed by most people, and it is too difficult to cultivate the virtues that are the basis of democracy.But difficulty is one side of the truth, and there is another side that must be done.what to do?I can only say a principle, which is to never retreat despite difficulties.