Battle between Freedom and Equality | Lee Yee
A netizen left a comment under my article from a couple of days ago, and said that if Trump is re-elected, he would turn “dictatorial”, and pursue “Trump thinking as mainstream”. He said that he “divides the United States and gave birth to racism, white nationalism, and xenophobia”, which is disastrous to human civilization, etc.
Under the constitutional system of the United States, one will have to step down after one re-election, and there is no way to bring about a dictatorship. Moreover, just look at all the stormy attacks mainstream media throws towards him, how is one to become a dictator? In a multicultural America, how could any almighty notion exist? As for racism and xenophobia, the cited example is him crowning the novel coronavirus “Chinese virus”, and the media claimed that this has caused a sharp increase in anti-Chinese speech online. But the virus did originate in China, did it not?
Other than the infiltration of Chinese interests that drove the U.S. media’s anti-Trump campaign, it has also been the “leftard” ideologies that have dominated academia and the press. How does one define “leftard”? Something that So Keng-chit said a few days ago was very appropriate, "the definition of “leftard” is that they replace strong and weak with “wrong and “right”; strong must be “wrong”, and weak must be “right”. Leftards uplift the weak by putting down the bullies to attain moral high grounds. The leftards must oppose the United States, for the see the United States as strong. The leftards sympathize with Saddam Hussein, because compared with the United States, Saddam Hussein is weak. They cannot see that Saddam Hussein is strong compared with the Iraqis. Hence the ‘tard’ in leftard.”
It is not that they cannot see, they are just intentionally not seeing. The mainstream media reports about Iraq after Saddam Hussein had fallen were that there was no longer a stronghold of a government, which led to the loss of societal management. Bombs were exploding daily, and blood flooded the land of the country. People lost homes and livelihoods. However, data showed that in the later phase of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Iraq’s population was 26 million, and the per capita GDP was only US$625, not to mention that the inflation rate was high in the three digits. After the United States attacked Iraq and introduced the democratic system, the Iraqi population has risen to 35 million, the per capita GDP has increased to US$4,600, and the inflation rate has dropped to 6%. Despite the global economic slowdown, the Iraqi economy has grown by an average of 9.9% per year for more than a decade.
In addition, the mainstream media rarely reported the substantial progress in Afghanistan’s economy and people’s livelihood after the United States eradicated the Taliban regime before establishing a democratic system in Afghanistan. It is rarely reported that after South Africa got rid of the white regime, social security was horrifying. It is because such truthful reporting is not politically correct.
Shouldn’t the motto of news publishing be “all news worth reporting”? When political correctness overrides this creed, there is no longer press freedom.
The so-called political correctness stems from anti-discrimination. Anti-discrimination means upholding the concept that “all men are born equal”, and to protect vulnerable groups. Anti-discrimination used to be a kind of progress, since the starting point is not the interests of the majority of society, but the moral and spiritual demands. But when this kind of protection gradually develops into a disregard towards differences and the diversity of human life, it becomes leftards who wave around the banner of political correctness. If the welfare of new immigrants is treated the same as that of local residents, how is that different from obliterating the long-term tax payment of local residents? Using Black Lives Matter to rationalize violence and chaos, you get Black Lives Better, and ignore the fundamental problems of the root causes of issues such as the Black community’s slighting of education; with the police worrying that law enforcement will cause them trouble, the crime in the Black areas will increase. Anti-discrimination has developed into a state where even praising women for being beautiful is discrimination. Obama once praised the Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris as the most beautiful State Attorney General in the United States, and was then accused of discrimination by feminists. He was forced to apologize. To protect LGBT, many American college toilets no longer distinguish between men and women, making women fearful.
“All men are born equal” is a false proposition. Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and others are born in the slums of Africa. How are they born equal? American conservative Russel Kirk said that we must pay attention to diversity and differences. Only before God and a fair court can there be true quality; all other attempts to achieve equality will inevitably lead to societal stagnation. If the balance of natural differences and conventions is tipped in order to pursue equality for all, then it will not be long before tyrants or despicable oligarchs start to create new inequalities.
Socialism waves around the banner of equality, and has been breeding tyranny for a whole century. Modern leftards is another form of pursuit of equality, one that is destroying the freedom of human society. Freedom is more important than equality. If there is no freedom, there will be no equality among people who are not free.
This U.S. general election may as well be regarded as a battle between freedom and equality.
example of social welfare 在 Nurul Izzah Anwar Facebook 的最佳貼文
Thus far, the Women's Ministry Bills have not made the cut for this parliamentary sitting. Other than the Social Work Profession Act, the Sexual Harassment Act for example, was ready to have been tabled as early as March, but now has been inexplicably delayed to year’s end. It was needed yesterday.
Accessibility to social protection, welfare and assistance are non-negotiable at all times, but its urgency is accentuated in a pandemic. Every day, Malaysians see security measures from the Ministry of Home Affairs touted with this very urgency; we say re-centre the role of the Women's Ministry and advocate for social support measures with equal zeal.
Read more :
https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2020/08/03/according-the-womens-ministry-its-rightful-frontline-role#cxrecs_s
example of social welfare 在 法鼓山 Facebook 的最佳貼文
🎥《利人就是利己》英文版
To benefit others is to benefit ourselves
能夠每個念頭都想到「利人就是利己」,便會採取積極的態度。許多人只管自掃門前雪,以自己的利益為重,其實,那是最傻的。
If our every thought is about “benefiting others to benefit ourselves”, we would take on a positive attitude. Many people only think about themselves and put their welfare above all, when actually doing that is very foolish.
古人說:「人不為己,天誅地滅。」今天的我們則應說:「人不為人,天誅地滅。」損人者必自損、害人者必自害,單一地區的環境汙染、經濟惡化、政治混亂與社會風氣敗壞,立刻就會對全體人類的生活安全,帶來負面影響。
The old adage states, “every man for himself”, while today we should say, “every man for others”. Harming others will only bring harm to oneself. For example, environmental pollution, economic down turn, political chaos and social unrest within a region will immediately cause negative repercussions on the safety and quality of life to all mankind.
因此,今天的我們做任何事,首先要為全體的他人著想。所謂全體,在家裡指的是整個家庭,在社會指的是整個社會,在國家指的是整個國家。全體受益的話,個人身居其中,必然受益。
Thus, every action that we take today should be based on the primary consideration for the good of all others. On a personal level, “all others” include the whole family, while on a higher level, they include everyone in our society, and even our entire nation. When everyone benefits, as a member of the community, we too will be taken care of.
文/摘自聖嚴法師著作《積極人生元氣滿分》圖/菊子
Excerpts from Master Sheng Yen’s book, A Positive Life Filled with Energy
Translated by Chang, Cheng-yu
Edited by Chang Chia-cheng
Illustration by Juzi
#聖嚴法師
#利人就是利己
#法鼓山
#英文版有聲書
#積極人生元氣滿分