I talked too much about China these days. I got too many questions about China, and I read too much about China. But seriously, just like people don't want to talk about their plans after graduation anymore, I am getting tired answering these questions again and again.
American people can be really ignorant on certain things. They talk about human rights, property rights, environmental problems all the time about China. And at the same time, they go to Beijing and Shanghai once, get amazed by all those shopping malls and clubs, and never realize what is going on in other parts of the country. They don't know what's going on in France, they don't even know the so-called human right Olympic torch is passing new haven tomorrow. American people are very self-focused a lot of times, and the oval office had made decisions about Iraq all on their own without even getting through the congress, and talk about informing the entire American public!
Every country has its own problems and issues. I always think you have no right to comment on other country's problem if first of all, you actually have exactly the same problem, and second of all, you have no idea what is really going on on the other side of the world. We read "Snow" the other day, the Nobel Prize winning book by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. I am not a big fan of the political part of the novel, but there is this one quotation that really caught my eyes: "If you write a book set in Kars and put me in it, I'd like to tell your readers not to believe anything you say about me, anything you say about any of us. No one could understand us from so far away." It is a brilliant quotation. But I couldn't stop but thinking, it is very true that we can't understand someone from so far away, but do we really understand ourselves and each other, even when we're actually so close?
I am never a big fan of politics, because it's always connected with propaganda, which to me, is merely a waste of both monetary capital and human capital. But I did learn a lot of theories and practices in the political science and international studies courses here at Yale. I am very glad it's not just about memorization, not even just about reading, but about judgment. People usually judge too easily, but a lot of times they are wrong. Because people see things they want to see, not things as they truly are. But the truth is, there is no truth. We have taken our positions long before knowing the truth. We are born Chinese, or we are born to be Republican. We base our judgment not only on false observations, but also on our own positions. So it hardly make sense for a Chinese to boycott Olympics, even though he or she might not be completely satisfied with the current situation in China. Same logic, an American, barely recovered from Sept. 11, is highly unlikely to go against a retaliation project carried under the name of seeking WMD (weapon of mass destruction).
Nationalism is powerful, and sometimes even disastrous. It is hard not to become a nationalist when your country's very sovereignty is being challenged, or in the American's case, national security. Aside from that, religion and ethnics can also be very powerful. Think about the genocide between Turks and Armenians. Each side has their own stories, with both historical and current support from academians and politicians, and a significant number of testimonies. Each side makes the conclusion that the other side committed a crime of genocide against them, provides comprehensive evidence, and degrades the other side as a lier who betrayed the facts of history. But there are so many examples of this, you hear two completely different stories about FLG in China and in the US. You are confused for a while, and then you realized you cannot trust either side. They only use exaggerating evidence to benefit their own side, and deliberately omit the evidence against them.
Thus, judgment is not easy. I was talking to another friend originally from Cuba the other day, and was amazed to discover cell phone had always been illegal in his home country and only started to be legal a few weeks ago. I was listening to this lecture by our management school professor Zhiwu Chen on Chinese reforms, and learned extremely revealing, insightful, but at the same time, biased view on the Chinese political system, especially their distribution channels in terms of wealth. His lecture made several amazing points and I learned a lot, but I do understand any modern reform should not be done in a completely revolutionary way. We should not become the next Russia. We should not crash just because of international pressure and domestic discontent. Chinese people are smart enough to work our way out, to become our own healer. But this progress takes time. So please give us time. The whole world witnessed what kind of changes were brought about in the past two decades in China, and why are you doubting us now?!
The logic is easy. They are scared.
The western countries are afraid of a country with 1/4 of the world's population suddenly decided to develop itself with an amazingly fast rate, which happen to have adopt an ideology fundamentally different from their own. They are challenged because their balance of power is not stable anymore. It is perfectly understandable. If it's not FLG, not Tibet, not IP, not Olympics, it WILL be something else. There will ALWAYS be something to talk about, to worry about, to exaggerate about. That is what politicians do. That is the what excites the media and the public, who are generally quite ignorant on any of the things mentioned above. That is what evoke a deeper and more furious version of nationalism, and that is what makes the world crazy.
I don't like it.
Someone told me to write something about Tibet and "educate" American people. I know I do not have the right to write about this because I am far from having the sufficient knowledge on this issue, and I know there is no way to "educate" someone who is standing at a fundamentally different position in terms of political framework. Even if they can't argue with you, they will not be convinced. And I understand I will HAVE to protect my national sovereignty and dignity, even if I do appreciate some of the approaches taken by a country of different ideology. And this protection will make my judgment biased as well. That is why I am not a big fan of elections, or politics in general.
That is why I never thought of assuming any position at CUSY, and even back in high school, I was burdened with a lot of responsibilities, but not titles. I am not interested in titles, but the work and activities I am engaged in. I need to know whether I enjoy them, and whether I make it enjoyable for other people too. That is what is important for me, and what I care about. I honestly hate the political battle, and this whole thing of degrading each other while bragging about themselves just doesn't make much sense to me.
What is the appropriate response for China now? Nationalism is necessary but not enough, and too much nationalism can only be harmful. Instead of blaming other people for blaming us, we should focus on improving ourselves. We have learned so long ago that only by developing ourselves, we could become stronger and more powerful, and nobody else could take advantage of us again. Think about a girl who constantly complain that there is no guy approaching her. Instead of pure complaining, she should simply try to improve herself, both from the inside and the outside, and sooner or later her self-confidence will be boosted, just because she will then become a better person, with both a more educated heard, and a more beautiful face.
So please, instead of picking on other people, simply try to improve yourself. Ultimately, it is never a battle against other people, but one with yourself.
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