Tell a true story: 1999, Jordan went to Madrid, Spain to promote Nike. Before he left, Jordan's youngest son, a Real Madrid fan, gave him an idol jersey signed by Raul. After arriving in Madrid, Nike staff greeted Real Madrid, and Raul, who was flattered, immediately sent a new team uniform, which read, "To your Majesty Jordan, Raul and Gonzalez who will worship you forever."
Jordan is unparalleled in the world's scenic sports. Even if he no longer plays, Jordan is the only player who has retired but is still out of breath. The last time Jordan came to Beijing, the sensation was only compared with Real Madrid's coming to Beijing a year earlier, but that was the result of the joint efforts of six superstars such as Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid's gold-lettered signboard. Kobe Bryant came to Beijing for a long time, but compared with Joe, he is like Andy Lau standing beside Chow Yun Fat, a younger brother.
Jordan dominated the NBA in the 1990s, and his greatness was mainly forged in this period. At that time, the era when Jordan became popular was also the era when Clinton was in power. Clinton stepped down and Jordan retired. These two men were the most concerned American public figures and the leaders of that era. Interestingly, Clinton manages the world's number one power and the whole world is influenced by him. No matter how popular Jordan is, he just plays ball. How do they compare? However, while Jordan was called great everywhere in America, no one said Clinton was great. Is it because there are many scandals in Clinton that the president is incompetent? During his administration, the American economy developed steadily and the unemployment rate dropped. In addition, Americans have a measure to separate morality from political achievements. In American history, few presidents have been praised as great. Americans can give "great" hats to Ali, Chamberlain, Einstein, Elvis Presley and Brando, but they are stingy to give them to presidential politicians such as Nixon, Bush and Reagan who control the destiny of the country. America has never lacked great champions, great singers and actors, but a great president. For China people who are used to worshipping the "great leader", this is really a strange thing that is hard to understand.
Is the president great or Jordan great? Adults with normal minds will rationally choose the former. But why do Americans admire Jordan instead of praising the president? The most important reason is that the president is replaceable and Jordan is irreplaceable. Unfortunately for the president, he couldn't prove his greatness by competing in the same field, but competing in the same field made Jordan stand out and ensured his irreplaceable position. At the same time, the same competition has maintained Jordan's good state, but it is impossible for the president to come to power at the same time as his competitors during his term of office. Of course, the election in front of the stage is the same competition, but compared with his term of office, it is extremely short and there are many disadvantages in the election, which Americans are very clear about. After the president took office, it was like a football star monopolizing a stadium for five years. In these five years, no one can enter the stadium to compete with him. It is conceivable that compared with Jordan, who is always facing challenges, it is difficult for the president to maintain a good competitive state and lose many opportunities to achieve greatness. As the saying goes, "crossing the sea shows your true colors as a hero." The fact that the president can be replaced but not casually determines that he is hardly as great as Jordan. This kind of cognition is American, which is out of tune with China's concept.
We can see that Jordan is great, because he has defeated many great opponents, such as Bird, Thomas, magician, glider and Buckley ... And he has faced countless dangerous situations like stormy waves and seized these opportunities with one hand, so Jordan will be immortal at the forefront, while American presidents in peacetime rarely have similar opportunities to prove greatness. Several great presidents in American history have all gone down in history in the struggle of life and death that concerns the destiny and future of the country.
What is required of the president himself is part of American democracy. Clinton plays a huge state machine, and Jordan plays a small basketball, which is different. But in the eyes of Americans, Jordan is the best player in basketball, while Clinton is not the best president in the United States, so Jordan is great in his career, while Clinton is far from great. This understanding comes from respect for one's own value, not from the aura given by social roles. Whether man is an independent, concrete and spiritual individual or the sum of abstract social relations is the most important difference between eastern and western cultures.
Jordan doesn't need to be elected. His greatness made him "be himself" completely independently. The president was elected by the United States, which has various drawbacks. It is difficult for the president himself to guarantee that he is the best, let alone the man who came to power by sword and intrigue. As for the details of the election, the national separation of powers system makes Americans know clearly that everyone's right to vote can be guaranteed. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for them to sing "greatness" about things that they can partially control. Jordan is different. No one can decide how dazzling his next explosion will be except himself.
The theme of peacetime is development. The more advanced the country is, the less influence the president has. The reputations of Castro and Kim Jong Il are strong proof of the contrary. With the progress of human society, stars, movie stars and singers who symbolize culture are becoming more and more influential. Nowadays, no country's presidential election is more sensational than the World Cup finals. Without Bush, the United States and even the world will not lack anything. Maybe tomorrow will be better with another president, but without Jordan, the world will never have a peerless flying man to bring us magical feelings. Without Zhao Benshan, the world would be without a Northeast farmer who gives us joy. At present, no one can replace Jordan and Zhao Benshan like Bush and Clinton.
From the great Lincoln to the great Jordan, it is not only the progress from war to peace, but also the great progress from ugly politics to immortal culture. I very much recognize and envy the progress of others.