At the moment of the earthquake, our hearts seemed to be violently awakened by a powerful force. Man cannot defeat nature, but man can defeat himself. The huge energy released by the collision of tectonic plates destroys life but enhances the soul.
This is what Zhang Kangkang said during the Wenchuan earthquake. Do you want the full text?
Facing the ruins of towns and villages that were nearly destroyed after the earthquake disaster, for a moment, it seemed as if the end of the earth was coming.
Idioms in ancient Chinese such as "mountains collapsed and the earth cracked", "the earth shook and the mountains shook" and "the sky fell and the earth collapsed" suddenly turned into a horrific reality soaked in tears.
Collapse, cracking, dust; crying blood, calling for help, waiting. The dead, the injured, the survivors...
Every aftershock thousands of miles away came from deep in the ground, and the heart was tightened again and again, trembling as if it was about to burst.
In the face of the unpredictable nature, is human life really so helpless, powerless and helpless?
No. It’s not the end of the earth and it’s not hell. There are only ghosts and despair in hell. Darkness and loneliness. There will never be paratroopers landing from an altitude of 5,000 meters, or assault boats sailing in the rapids; there will be no rescue marches through the mountains in the rainstorm, there will be no food and clean water carried on the shoulders; there will be no Red Cross. There will be no medicine boxes and angels in white, no blue and green tents, no rumbling of large excavators around the clock...
There will also be pairs of helping hands extending from all directions. Warm and strong, fast and powerful. The palms, backs, fingers and palms have been worn away by the heavy cement board. Those hands came from far away. They put down everything they were doing, and from the edge of the gate of hell, from the heavy pile of rubble, they used their last strength to move the still-breathing, bloody body inch by inch, and removed the weak body inch by inch. The floating souls are recalled one by one. Under the sunshine of the aftermath of the disaster, we can no longer identify which of the pairs of helping hands are "volunteers" who did not leave their names.
Where there is great love and true feelings, there is no hell.
After the Wenchuan earthquake, the central government used unprecedented decisiveness and efficiency to quickly mobilize, integrate and personally direct various social rescue forces from governments at all levels, the military, armed police, fire fighters, enterprises, etc. Domestic mainstream media immediately announced the truth of the disaster to the public. The dissemination of true information has widely aroused Chinese people's concern about the disaster. Almost everyone spent the first sleepless night in heart-wrenching concern. Everyone is asking themselves: What can I do for disaster relief? After dawn, countless citizens took to the streets and voluntarily donated money, and blood donors lined up in long lines...
In just a few days, teams of volunteers formed one after another. , quickly assembled to Sichuan from different starting points. The rescue operation with the spontaneous and conscious participation of civil society forces was launched in an all-round way. The rescue plans of various domestic NGO organizations were launched; more than a dozen NGOs in Chengdu quickly joined forces to form a "private rescue service center" and expanded multiple rescue points in the disaster area, making up for areas with relatively sparse populations and temporarily not covered by government forces; a certain company in Jiangsu A private rescue team composed of 60 excavators and other large machinery organized by private enterprises arrived in Mianyang within 48 hours; 13 Tangshan farmer brothers who spontaneously went to Hunan to fight the ice and snow disaster this winter - the "Song Zhiyong Love Support Team" , once again set off from my hometown and rushed to Sichuan. A modern communication rescue team composed of radio enthusiasts, a volunteer team mainly composed of powered paragliders, rock climbing and downhill equipment, and members of various car clubs and mountaineering clubs traveled together, using their professional knowledge to Exchange and provide experience in field search and rescue, and provide reinforcements to disaster areas; the spontaneous online "Rare Blood Group Alliance" calls for emergency help day and night. "Self-employed" disaster relief convoys loaded with supplies, grains and vegetables are driving into Sichuan; taxis provide free services to reporters and volunteers covering disaster relief; private cars gather one by one to form an army of "mobile volunteer vehicles", actively delivering medical supplies and medicines Manned.
Every day, nearly a thousand volunteers who bring their own food and daily necessities flock to Chengdu to serve as "volunteers". Young people born in the "80s" and "90s", retired soldiers, white-haired elderly people, white-collar workers and blue-collar workers either take leave or resign. During the day, they helped transport the wounded, provide medical care, carry or distribute food, and provide psychological comfort; they slept in open spaces at night and worked continuously for several days and nights. Those pairs of powerful helping hands have no boundaries of age, region and profession, and they don't even know each other's names...
At the moment of the earthquake, our hearts seemed to be violently awakened by a powerful force. Man cannot defeat nature, but man can defeat himself. The huge energy released by the collision of tectonic plates destroys life but enhances the soul.
Various new societies, online communities, business associations, and temporary organizations established for disaster relief have gathered together to form a strong and healthy civil force - today, all Chinese people are "volunteers" participating in disaster relief. ".
I am a volunteer - because I am a Chinese citizen.
We can proudly say that in the gap between disasters and rubble, the Chinese people’s sense of citizenship is growing. This is an important symbol of the great social progress in the 30 years of reform and opening up.
For many years, the legal concept of “citizen”, which was originally the most basic legal concept of national public law commonly used in the international community, has been an absent blank in China’s political and social life. In traditional Chinese culture, the phrase "citizen" does not exist. The Chinese “state” is an isomorphic system of “family” and “country” based on the family structure. Therefore, the "people" in traditional Chinese culture are not citizens, but "people", "subjects", "subjects" and "grassroots". People - "mengye". People - "cute". "Meng" refers to spiritual ignorance and ignorance, that is, stupid people. In "The Analects of Confucius. Taibo", Confucius's "famous saying" - "The people can be made to follow it, but not to know it". Although there are many interpretations of how to "cut off" it in the current academic circles, it can at least be used as a rule in history. The author’s attitude toward “people” even includes a reference for definition.
Let’s look back at the meaning of the word "公". In the research on the etymology of Chinese characters, "公" is a knowing word. Above is "eight" - the two characters of eight are opposite to each other. Under "eight" is a "mo". "Mo" is the original character of "private", which means private. This "mo" is placed under the character "eight" in two opposite strokes, and is combined into the character "公", which means that it conflicts with the character "private", so it is called "公". Justice, justice, and the world are all for the common good. Regrettably, this vivid character "公" and the character "民" (min), which means humble and humble, have never joined hands in ancient Chinese and have never formed a formal phrase.
In the Soviet Union in the mid-20th century, the title "citizen" was once commonly used. "Citizen" of the Soviet Union was created in the Soviet Constitution of 1936. However, that is a false concept and political label stripped of civil rights. They only have the obligation to "sacrifice their lives for the public" and are under double servitude, both material and spiritual, but without the protection of "citizen" rights. "Citizens" may be deprived of their "citizenship rights" or even disappear at the behest of top "public servants" at any time. The false and empty concept of "citizens" was once transplanted to our unenlightened Chinese soil, and was soon submerged in the vast sea of ??"common people", "grass people" and "people". Hit.
The lack of “Chinese citizen” consciousness comes from the established concepts in our traditional culture that have been inherited for thousands of years. Since the Revolution of 1911, we have experienced progress from "subjects" to "nationals"; and then changed from "nationals" to "people". "People" and "mass" form the phrase "people's masses" with distinctive "revolutionary" Chinese characteristics, the meaning of which has never been legally defined. For more than a century, China has gone from "national" to "people" in circles, but it has nurtured more obedient people, ignorant people and Cultural Revolution mobs. Although the word "citizen" has been included in the "Constitution of the People's Republic of China" since the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has never truly entered people's social life. This step seems just around the corner, but it is still difficult to achieve after half a century. The report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China said that "citizen awareness education must be strengthened", but many people have turned a deaf ear so far.
Max Weber said: "Outside the West, urban citizens have never existed." The concept of "citizen" originated from the ancient Greek city-state system. Compared with "slaves", citizens enjoy the freedom of speech and action. free. The basic factor in Western society is the individual rather than the family. Therefore, in a sound and complete political system, every independent "free citizen" with political, economic, legal, and social identities is a "national citizen." While fulfilling public responsibilities and obligations, citizens have the right to express their personal will and participate in public affairs. And have a sense of self-discipline and the rule of law and a sense of goodwill and cooperation. "Civil society" is a clear boundary between "pre-modern" and "modern" societies.
Citizens of "civil society" - politically, they are people who have the right to supervise the power of the public; legally, they enjoy private property, personal dignity, the right to know, freedom of speech, etc. Rights protected by the Constitution; economically, they are "shareholders" of the state-owned economy and enjoy the country's public resources; morally, they have a more conscious independent personality, independent rationality, public responsibility and Public spirit. Therefore, the title of citizen has both political and legal identities and is the foundation of a democratic society. Only "citizens" and "public servants" refer to the legal relationship between "people" and "officials". Only when citizen awareness is established can its counterpart, the term "public servant", live up to its name.
In 2008, in the 21st century, in the aftermath of the earthquake, we were finally pleased to see that an open and progressive China and the citizenry of the broad masses of people have improved in this serious disaster. Suddenly he woke up and strode forward.
No longer passively driven, no longer blindly responding, no longer waiting for orders from the "organization", no longer shouting empty slogans. Don’t blame others, don’t be pessimistic, don’t care about personal gains and losses, and don’t consider the “return” of your investment. "Volunteers" - ambitious people who express their voluntary personal will through actions. "Volunteer" is such an accurate and modern Chinese translation of the phrase, showing self-respect, compassion and passion in its modesty. Although the term "volunteer" has not long been established in China, even though this word is still unfamiliar to remote villagers. But in this earthquake disaster, it has been widely disseminated and popularized, and gained the most sincere recognition and following. It is reported that the proposal to establish a national day of mourning was initially proposed by "volunteers" online, and was quickly adopted by the government.
Today's "volunteers" have gone beyond the past personal purpose of "serving the country" and fulfilling the roles of "screws" and "cogs" in the political machine. Instead, they proactively and voluntarily assume "civic" obligations and responsibilities. The "public" of "citizen" is different from the "public" of "one first and two public" and the "public" of "selfless". It is the "public" of "public ***", the "public" of "public", and the "public" of "public morality". Citizens are the masters of this country rather than the ruled. While performing their duties, they also demand that their rights and interests be protected and guaranteed by the country's constitution.
The growth of "civic consciousness" is the prerequisite for a country to move towards "civil society".
In modern society, many words in Chinese dictionaries that have been used for thousands of years are gradually drifting away, automatically withdrawing from our lives, will be abandoned, deleted, or can only be used as part of the dictionary. ancient symbols for future generations to refer to. Vocabulary words such as grass people, common people, people, common people, and subjects, which are still often used habitually by people, have become so outdated.
For example: "common people" - so far, too many people still use this questionable title. Dongzhe calls himself "we the common people". Don't you know that "the common people" refer to the surnames of hundreds of families, a scattered group of people who are subordinate to the autocratic emperor, have no independent personality and are unrelated to each other? Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the legal identity of "citizen" has been established by the Constitution. We are no longer ordinary people, no longer the "common people" in the feudal era, but independent individuals enjoying citizenship rights. For many years, the military has always used to call "the masses" or "common people" to distinguish them from soldiers.
From the lyrics "I am a soldier, from the common people", we can see that in the unequal relationship of titles, "the common people" still exist as the second level.
Another example: "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world" - is it just "every man" who is responsible? Where is the position of women within the scope of responsibility of "the world"? In the traditional social structure, women are excluded from all public affairs. The world is a "world" composed of "people", not a "world" of male and female citizens. In the 21st century, is it necessary to change this idiom to: "Citizens are responsible for the rise and fall of the world."
The "tianxia" here should be the tianxia of the entire earth, and the tianxia of all things in the world. We are Chinese citizens; in the era of globalization, we are also citizens of the world. Citizens of the world reject narrow nationalism. Volunteers with global citizen consciousness and universal human values ??worry about and act for all disasters in the "world".
Facing the devastated mountains and rivers of Wenchuan, the heartache goes deep into the bones. It is hoped that more "volunteers" will not only repair the heavy damage in the earthquake-stricken areas, but also repair the scarred hearts of the Chinese people. In this fertile and beautiful but troubled land, only by producing a civil culture that is consistent with constitutional government can we find the road to civil society. Only when the subject status of citizens is gradually established and "common people" are truly transformed into "citizens" can our democratic system be guaranteed. Only qualified citizens can build a qualified civil society. On the other hand, only a qualified civil society can create qualified citizens. Although some people say that it is too early to talk about "civil society", it should be the conscious responsibility of "citizens" to call for and promote its early arrival.
I sing for the volunteers. I sing for all Chinese citizens. We have reason to expect that Chinese citizens in the 21st century will rebuild their spiritual home for the new era on the ruins of the earthquake, gradually transform into a civil society, and integrate into the international community with a sound civil society image.