Animal farm
Animal farm ---
It is a novella about dystopian. According to the author, it's about Stalinist era of Soviet Union. As a Chinese it is not surprising that things in this little book looks very familiar. Political propaganda, the great purge, confessions, slaughter and corruptions are never strange to people who live in communist country -- even you don't experience it in person, your father or your father's father may experienced it.
When I was a child, primary shcool teachers taught us how to be a good person, it includes humility, kindness, helpfulness and also follow instructions of our great party. About the very last one, after I've grown up, I doubt if my teachers believed it by themselves. Or they just refuse to spend time to consider it seriously. Obviously, life is much easier as a sheep in animal farm.
But then I decided to stop being mean to people after I experienced the hard and hopeless struggle between my personal values and the twisted social environment. If a person grow up like the second generation in animal farm, it's natural that they believe what they are told intead of what they see. They see nothing since some one intentionally blocks reality from them. Some deep-sea creatures are blind simply because there is no light in the deep sea then they hold the opinion that eyes are useless and there is no light anywhere else. You can say they are ridiculous, you can also say the second generation in animal farm are brainless. however, if you were in that environment since you were born, no one can guarantee that you could do better. When people accept socialist values education and brainwashed by mammonism, their values formed by society they live in, same as people elsewhere.
So I start to not believe people are good or bad, I believe the social norms influence individuals in a good way or the other way around. A healthy system works better than a so-called great leader.
Opinions on human nature, good or evil, decide which philosophy you support more. The society's whole opinion on human nature decides what kind of government they choose. The wrong thing that animals did and we Chinese also did was we chose to believe people are good in general, we chose to believe they are good at self-discipline, self-criticism then get improve. The bloody history proved this is totally wrong. A good society should based on restriction and supervision of power instead of it's propaganda.
The book elaborates a twisted society influences animals behavior in an incredible way. I remembered my uncle's change during his whole career as a government officer. At the very beginning when he got promoted he decided to devote himself to fight for right things, to make efforts to change, then as long as he got further promotion, he became to kind of vanity and arrogant, started to refuse people's advises. As time passed by, he stood on the top of his department and no one says no to him any more. The difference between him and animal farm's Napoleon is only how big their power were, nothing fundamentally different.
I was like an observer and listener(My uncle told me many things, we are like friends, I guess it's because he wants to talk and no one is trustful) of this whole evolution. This is only an example of my uncle, just imagine how many officers we have in our government. The abuse of public power not only harmful for animal farm, but also corrupts and twists officers personality. Even after my uncle became to suspicious, ruthless desire to succeed, he talk with me some times still like the warm and kind uncle when I was a child(other times just like my superior). And he still imagine that he could be a good person. Once he even show his empathy to former premier of zhao(he was close to zhao's family some how). Suppose put my uncle in a good system, I trust he could have totally different life and won't become to a overbearing person like now. We are all victims hurt by public power without supervisor, not only populace, but also government officers, they are twisted and life is not easy either. I don't think animal farm's Napoleon is really happy when he needs eight dogs every time he goes outside.
My life as an engineer is totally formed by chance. In China, it's kind of common that older generations decide their children's life especially when you are born in a very tradional family. My uncle wanted me to go to military then go in politics as him when I was teenager, thanks to the teenagers treason I refused his offer. Then comes the time to choose university, my grandfather put a rule, any university but not peking university, simply because it was famous by student activism. My uncle and my grandfather were both working for government, the first got some so-called benefits, the second was offered a mayor position then experienced culture revolution and almost dead. They hold totally different opinions with politics and I just want to run away from older generation. As an engineer, at least I am freedom to choose my life. I don't want to be any animal in that miserable farm.
It is a novella about dystopian. According to the author, it's about Stalinist era of Soviet Union. As a Chinese it is not surprising that things in this little book looks very familiar. Political propaganda, the great purge, confessions, slaughter and corruptions are never strange to people who live in communist country -- even you don't experience it in person, your father or your father's father may experienced it.
When I was a child, primary shcool teachers taught us how to be a good person, it includes humility, kindness, helpfulness and also follow instructions of our great party. About the very last one, after I've grown up, I doubt if my teachers believed it by themselves. Or they just refuse to spend time to consider it seriously. Obviously, life is much easier as a sheep in animal farm.
But then I decided to stop being mean to people after I experienced the hard and hopeless struggle between my personal values and the twisted social environment. If a person grow up like the second generation in animal farm, it's natural that they believe what they are told intead of what they see. They see nothing since some one intentionally blocks reality from them. Some deep-sea creatures are blind simply because there is no light in the deep sea then they hold the opinion that eyes are useless and there is no light anywhere else. You can say they are ridiculous, you can also say the second generation in animal farm are brainless. however, if you were in that environment since you were born, no one can guarantee that you could do better. When people accept socialist values education and brainwashed by mammonism, their values formed by society they live in, same as people elsewhere.
So I start to not believe people are good or bad, I believe the social norms influence individuals in a good way or the other way around. A healthy system works better than a so-called great leader.
Opinions on human nature, good or evil, decide which philosophy you support more. The society's whole opinion on human nature decides what kind of government they choose. The wrong thing that animals did and we Chinese also did was we chose to believe people are good in general, we chose to believe they are good at self-discipline, self-criticism then get improve. The bloody history proved this is totally wrong. A good society should based on restriction and supervision of power instead of it's propaganda.
The book elaborates a twisted society influences animals behavior in an incredible way. I remembered my uncle's change during his whole career as a government officer. At the very beginning when he got promoted he decided to devote himself to fight for right things, to make efforts to change, then as long as he got further promotion, he became to kind of vanity and arrogant, started to refuse people's advises. As time passed by, he stood on the top of his department and no one says no to him any more. The difference between him and animal farm's Napoleon is only how big their power were, nothing fundamentally different.
I was like an observer and listener(My uncle told me many things, we are like friends, I guess it's because he wants to talk and no one is trustful) of this whole evolution. This is only an example of my uncle, just imagine how many officers we have in our government. The abuse of public power not only harmful for animal farm, but also corrupts and twists officers personality. Even after my uncle became to suspicious, ruthless desire to succeed, he talk with me some times still like the warm and kind uncle when I was a child(other times just like my superior). And he still imagine that he could be a good person. Once he even show his empathy to former premier of zhao(he was close to zhao's family some how). Suppose put my uncle in a good system, I trust he could have totally different life and won't become to a overbearing person like now. We are all victims hurt by public power without supervisor, not only populace, but also government officers, they are twisted and life is not easy either. I don't think animal farm's Napoleon is really happy when he needs eight dogs every time he goes outside.
My life as an engineer is totally formed by chance. In China, it's kind of common that older generations decide their children's life especially when you are born in a very tradional family. My uncle wanted me to go to military then go in politics as him when I was teenager, thanks to the teenagers treason I refused his offer. Then comes the time to choose university, my grandfather put a rule, any university but not peking university, simply because it was famous by student activism. My uncle and my grandfather were both working for government, the first got some so-called benefits, the second was offered a mayor position then experienced culture revolution and almost dead. They hold totally different opinions with politics and I just want to run away from older generation. As an engineer, at least I am freedom to choose my life. I don't want to be any animal in that miserable farm.
