Wildfire Collection: Thirty Years Anniversary Edition

Chapter 11 Starting from "7" ([-])
So, what's wrong with this frame?This problem is much more complicated than imagined.Due to space limitations, I will not speculate for the time being why middle school students must have upside-down watermelon rinds for their hair, nor will I ask why they cannot eat watermelons while wearing uniforms, why they cannot roll up their sleeves, and other details.This kind of repressive "discipline" education has two serious problems.The first is unreasonable and rigid formalism.It is determined that anything that fits the frame (short hair, long skirt, schoolbag strap is just right) is equal to "good conduct"; anything out of form (hair parted in the middle, skirt below the knee, wearing a green sweater) is "bad conduct". ".No matter how simple-minded people are, they can see that these two equal signs are drawn unreasonably.How deep and complicated is human character, what can be represented by the length of hair; it sounds like a joke, but it is a major educational event in Taiwan's schools, it is really jaw-dropping!It seems that the inner nature of the student does not matter, what matters is the appearance, the form: just look right.This kind of zombie-style education is really scary!
The second question in the "discipline" box is probably an authoritative question that many trainers are unwilling to admit.This frame is a tool that adults use to assert their authority.When an instructor shaves a student's hair off or punishes him to kneel and stand, or marks a student off in anger, the reason for his anger is probably not because he thinks the student's hairstyle is too ugly, but because the student did not respect the "school rules" and obey them. The division commander's order went beyond the frame of the express order.The long hair is only a superficial factor, and the underlying factor is: the student did not obey me.Whether the school rules are reasonable or not is not important, but the dignity and authority of teachers cannot be broken.This frame is like a tight hoop, tightly clamped on the students' heads. Whenever there is any deviant behavior, the instructor will recite a mantra to teach the students the importance of obeying authority: everything is for your own good...

Here I found a great contradiction.On the one hand, our educators do want to produce outstanding students - we also have science awards, talent awards, and so on.Newspapers especially like to report how Chinese children have performed well in the United States, who won the Presidential Award, who won the Westinghouse Science Award, who went to college at a young age, and they were all young foreign students in Taiwan.While our educators and parents were envious, they couldn't help but feel a little suspicious: Why does the same species shine so brightly after being transplanted?Is there a problem with our educational soil?

There are many problems, and this high-pressure discipline education is one of them.On the one hand, educators hope that students will strive for excellence in learning, but also gradually understand the importance of heuristic education.Many teachers have also begun to encourage students to think lively, innovate boldly, and question bravely.But at the same time, in terms of behavior, the person in charge of discipline is still trying hard to suppress the student into the box, and deliberately trains him to be a "good" student who is well-behaved, obedient, and docile and shrinking.And here lies the contradiction: Is it possible for a smart student who can think lively, innovate boldly, and question bravely in terms of knowledge, but at the same time be a so-called "good" student who is well-behaved, obedient, and docile?If he dared to say in class that the physics teacher's explanation of fluid mechanics was not thorough enough, wouldn't he ask the dean of students why he couldn't wear a uniform and eat watermelon?Conversely, for a "good" student whose teacher says one thing but dare not say another, is it possible for him to overthrow the teacher's experiment and make bold innovations by himself?
The contradiction that educators do not realize is: they hope that students will sprint forward like hares in "intellectual" education (of course, some teachers hope that students will also be like tortoises in intellectual education); Pull the student back and trap him with a frame for control.The two cannot actually coexist.With high-pressure "moral" education, it is impossible to have free and open "intelligence" education. In other words, if we wholeheartedly want to cultivate obedient and obedient "good" students, we should not dream of teaching outstanding students who are as intelligent as a powerful and unconstrained style. talent. It is impossible to have real "wisdom" education under the "moral" education of "mediocre".

So I don't really have any preconceived notions about this deadlocked frame.If our education policymakers don't mind or even intend to cultivate generations of robots that are easy to control and manipulate, this frame is very practical and effective, and the tighter the better.But if building robots is not our long-term plan, and if what we want to cultivate for this nation is actually a next generation that thinks lively, innovates, and questions courageously, then this strangling frame must be untied. After the "kissing the cheek" incident, although newspapers and public opinion criticized the school for being too conservative, they praised the "Ministry of Education" for its "non-intervention" attitude. I couldn't understand: how can such a hypocritical education that is anti-human, anti-rational, and anti-natural be "" non-intervention"?Are our education policy makers encouraging the tightening of this high-pressure discipline?What kind of future do we want?
Parents in Taiwan, what kind of education do you want your children to receive? Sending them abroad at a young age is really not an option; let’s “know what’s impossible and do it” in this dirty, messy and crowded Taiwan !The system can be changed, but without human struggle and hard work, of course it is a dream!

Where is my past?
Originally published in "China Times Human World" on August [-], [-]

No, I never dreamed that 15 years later, I would personally fight for the preservation of Taipei's historic sites.I went to court to sue the vandals of monuments, I asked the police to guard the monuments that might be destroyed 24 hours a day, and I rebuilt the monuments that were burned to ashes brick by stone.Others said I was "fierce", but looking back on "Wildfire" now, I can't help laughing. It turns out that the trajectory of the future has long been drawn here.

The promising Taipower wants to build a dam on Liwu River, and many people oppose it.The Taoyuan Shrine was almost demolished, and the newspapers and public opinions were noisy for a while.A section of the ancient wall in Kaohsiung City was destroyed by strange hands, and there was a lot of discussion in the society.In the past two years, protecting nature and preserving historical sites seems to have become the latest fashion: the year before last everyone wore hole suits, last year everyone wore denim skirts, and this year everyone came to talk about "civilization".And why should Taiwan maintain historical sites?According to the newspaper, it is to maintain the "international image" and prevent Westerners from thinking that the Chinese are uneducated.Taiwan claims to be an important center of Chinese culture, how can it not work hard to create a civilized "international image"?
The frequent use of "international image" as a standard for self-supervision reveals Taiwan's current lack of self-confidence: what will others (Westerners) think if I do this?So while speculating on the thinking mode of Western countries, he carefully decided what to do.The West pays attention to human rights, so we must be very cautious when dealing with political cases; Westerners love wild animals, so we must restrain our desire to eat tigers and whales;All our efforts are for one big purpose: to prevent others from despising us, and not to be ashamed on the international stage.

This mentality is really good sometimes.For example, with international attention, our judiciary and intelligence agencies are extraordinarily fair and lawful in dealing with politicians, so that citizens' human rights are protected. This is an unexpected gain.But if we have the courage to confess ourselves, we have to admit that this mentality of seeking good from the international community is actually deplorable: Isn’t human rights for our own freedom of speech and thought?Isn't ecological protection for the happiness of our own descendants?Isn't the preservation of monuments a response to our own cultural needs?Under the banner of "international image", it seems that human rights, nature, historical sites, etc. are just the standards of Westerners, and we just deal with it and make an appearance of "civilization" to explain to the world.

Taiwan's English-language newspapers once published a letter from readers of foreigners in Taiwan, calling on us to protect nature and preserve the only remaining historical sites.This letter immediately got a reaction from a Chinese reader. He said that the Westerners have ulterior motives in wanting Taiwan to preserve nature and historical sites. They themselves have developed industries, and now they want to "preserve the truth" in backward areas. In fact, they are preventing us from entering a "developed country." "Zhilin, so let's not be fooled.The so-called nature and historical sites are all tastes of Westerners, what Taiwan needs is development!develop!develop!
Let's just talk about monuments for now.Are monuments really only the needs of Westerners?Do we need it ourselves?If not, is it just for the shell of "international image", is it worth our effort?You go to the street and ask the old man who sells green herbal tea: What does Taoyuan Shrine have to do with him?Or ask the young man who is chewing betel nuts under the tree: How about Kaohsiung’s ancient walls?Or, stop for a moment and ask yourself honestly: what does one more or one less so-called historic site have to do with me?

The old man who sells tea will probably say: "Yeah, that's a big deal!" The boy who chews betel nuts will probably say frankly: It's okay!As for you, who are educated and have complex thoughts, after pondering for a moment, you will probably say some learned words such as "international image", "cultural heritage", "careful pursuit of the future".

But what about "international image", "cultural heritage", and "cautious pursuit of the future"?Do you want an "international image" when you brush your teeth?Taking "cultural heritage" with you when you go to the toilet?When your motorcycle breaks down in the scorching sun, do you "cautiously chase after the end"?If these high-sounding but in fact empty and vague words are removed, do we have any urgent and real reasons to protect historical sites?
Avery is a German, 80 years old this year.He took me to see his hometown town.

"The second window on the third floor of this house is the room where I was born." He pointed to the building with red tiles and white walls and said, "My mother was also born in the same room." The road came to the gate wall of the ancient monastery. A thick layer of moss softly covered the mottled stone wall, and tender grass grew out of the cracks in the wall.

"There is a twelfth-century poet buried in the wall, who is famous for singing flowers and birds. It's still our family!"

Alfred told me to go around the corner and feel for a small dimple in the second row of stones.

"When I was about three or four years old, my father took me by the hand for a walk along the stone road to the monastery every morning. Every time he came to this corner, he would squat down and say to me: There is a little boy in the second row of stones over there. Feel what’s inside the concave hole? I excitedly ran to reach out to touch it. There was indeed a peanut or chocolate candy in the concave hole. I was surprised and happy. It wasn’t until I was five or six years old that I suddenly realized , maybe it wasn't put in by Santa...my grandson thought peanuts grew out of holes—"

I stretched out my hand to touch it, and the moss was a little wet, and the concave hole was still there, a little shallow.The hunched old man on crutches squinted and thought about his father.Turning the stone road again, you will arrive at his family’s cemetery; the names of his father and mother are engraved on the stone tablet, and the blank stone tablet is reserved for Alfred himself; a few rose bushes are swaying with the wind, floating indistinctly aroma.

I also went back to the small town where I grew up, but I couldn't find a road I walked, a courtyard I lived in, an old wall I climbed, a grave I knew, and I couldn't find a bush of deja vu roses.But you said that nostalgia is just an epidemic, so what if there is no "past"?Without the past, there will be no emotional fetters.Why do you carefully sandwich the wild chrysanthemums that your lover gave you in the pages of the book? One day 20 years later, at the moment when the withered petals fall carelessly, will you not have any special insights into life and love?Dry petals are monuments.Without the past, we cannot recognize the present and create the future.If the descendants of the old man who sells green herbal tea have the opportunity to touch the wooden trolley of the ancestors who sold tea, and compare it with the "past" of green herbal tea, he can understand the meaning of his "now" and decide what he pursues What kind of future is this.The pottery urns and wooden carts holding green herbal tea are historic sites.

I am jealous of the 80-year-old Alfred, because I also hope that I can hold the hand of the child, walk down a bluestone road, and tell him that the carved dragon on the third temple pillar has a tangerine peel plum in its mouth.I am also eager to stand on the mottled grave and watch the bright red roses grow wildly, obsessively recalling how my mother took my hand and walked down a bluestone road.Without the past, the present has no meaning and the future has no direction.For me, monuments are not a vague concept or a popular decoration; monuments are my personal and unquestionable needs.

Mayor Su Nancheng destroyed Kaohsiung's ancient wall with a strange hand.He said, if historic sites are preserved everywhere, wouldn’t we encounter ancient things as we walk?This is talking nonsense with your eyes closed.What Taiwan has been doing for decades is wishing to turn over the entire land once to wipe out all traces of the past. Historic sites are so rare that Mayor Su actually worries too much.As for the fact that such a long city wall has only been removed a little bit, it is not worth making a fuss-this is ignorance.Because you cut off an inch for one reason, the next mayor can cut that inch for another reason; how many cuts can a wall withstand?Mayor Su also said that there was nothing wrong with destroying the wall, but the wrong technique of the execution team.In this way, the incompetence of the mayor and improper supervision are not excuses that can be forgiven.More importantly: Mayor Su ignored the law, because the wall was already an "ancient artifact" selected by the "Ministry of the Interior".

Mayor Su's past political achievements tell us that he is a public servant who dares to act and is not afraid of evil forces.In our Taiwan region, such talents are really rare, and we must especially cherish them.But cherishing does not mean that we should condone his mistakes.The ignorance and incompetence shown by Mayor Su in this ancient wall incident should be criticized and corrected. The "Ministry of the Interior" said that it would "downplay" the handling, which is unclear and irresponsible. The consistent style of work should admit mistakes and learn from mistakes.

Monuments are not the monopoly of Westerners, nor are they decorations of civilization, nor are they a means to strive for an international image.Monuments are a mirror, an indicator, linking our past, present, and future; without monuments—without the petals in the pages of books, pottery urns for herbal tea, shrines in Taoyuan, and ancient walls in Kaohsiung, we are just a group of people. The ignorant blind man.

But why would a Chinese need to write such an article?Chinese with a long history?
Shame on "silence"

——Applause for the citizens of Kaohsiung
Originally published in "China Times Human World" on August 25, [-]

This drama is fantastic!There are three protagonists on the stage: one is the mayor of Datou who just took office, the other is the city councilor who is keen to be re-elected, and the third is the "angry" Kaohsiung citizens.

Of course Su Nancheng knew why he was appointed as the mayor of Kaohsiung: he had the courage and courage to target the pustule with the knife.In the process of Taiwan's pursuit of a high quality of life, environmental pollution is the most stinky pustule, so he will take drastic measures to rectify it.Kaohsiung city councilor groups have different calculations.With Election Day approaching, votes matter most.It doesn't matter whether a vendor is a social pustule or not; a vendor is a vote and must be protected.The mayor of the big head is another foreigner, if he is not bullied at this time, when will it be?

Newspapers described how councilors united to attack the mayor for disregarding the "people's livelihood" of vendors, how the group of vendors who came to listen clamored and applauded, and how the mayor apologized—weak sorry, his only pillar was: cleaning up the environment is a "central" policy, He is only implementing the policy of "above"!

As an audience, I was worried in the audience: the voice of the bad guys is so loud, when will the silent majority be silent?What's the point of continuing this one-sided "democracy"?
(End of this chapter)