美國不是我們的家 - 野火集 龍應台

Slow Learner

Part 1: http://transliterationisms.blogspot.com/2009/10/blog-post.html

America isn't our home
Wildfire
Long Yingtai

Part 2

It's very admirable; Socrates was an ideal citizen because he believed in following the rules. However, let's notice that there were two conditions embedded in his statement. First, he said if he was unable to accept the rules, it was his right to leave the country. Second, he said the country was required to provide him a way to change the aspects of the system he did not like. If Athens forbade him from leaving, and provided no opportunity to reform the system, he was under no obligation to follow its rules.

So what is the situation like for us today? The environment around us is horrible. The choices available to ordinary citizens are exactly those Socrates had. Although he could have done so only after great difficulty, he would have been able to leave Taiwan. On the other hand, would he have been able to follow the rules and change the status quo? Do we have a legal method for doing this that isn't obstructed?

I received a letter from a doctor telling me about a painful experience he had. One day, out of the blue, an underground iron-working shop opened in his housing complex. The noise and exhaust coming from the shop made the entire community irate. He tried everything from begging in private to threatening to sue, but he didn't get anywhere. One agency said the laws weren't sufficient to do anything about it, another department said it wasn't their responsibility. A police officer even took pity on the owners, saying what hard work it was to run an iron-working shop. Having lost all hope, the doctor asked, "What exactly is it that our government is supposed to do? The laws are something even 17-year old high school students, Taiwan's future, can see through, 'Who cares if they're useless! I'll just leave for America.'"

Are you worried about our future yet?

Who exactly is the cause of our despair?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pckAR29EZrY