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The crucial difference between a critic and a detractor
wchao37 Updated: 2004-01-06 19:18
Speaking to a detractor, I said these words:--
Respect is earned, not wished for.
It is not whether a person wants respect -- that's unspoken but universally expected -- it is what other people think of him/her after everything is said and done.
This is not a beauty contest and I don't twist or turn, waltz or tango for any audience. I speak only with my conscience as a guide.
Identifying and solving problems have nothing to do with your type of attitude. You are a detractor and not a critic.
I welcome critics of the Chinese government because they have a zhongguoxin and mean well for China.
I hate fawners and sycophants of the Chinese government just like anyone else. I would choose a critic over a sycophant any time of the day.
How do you tell the difference between a detractor and a critic? Not easy -- it takes many years of knowing a person before you can really say you understand him and where he is coming from.
But one thing is certain -- at crucial moments in life-and-death situations, the critic will always try to throw in a buoy to the drowning man called "country" in the well while the detractor will always try to drop more boulders into the well where the "country" is drowning.
In other words, it's the action at times of crisis that differentiates between a critic and a detractor.
Koizumi's fourth visit is such an occasion.
A critic is the one who will try to uphold the nation's honor by doing something: writing, demonstrating, speaking in protest, in ways sometimes not completely endorsed by the government for diplomatic reasons. He understands there is a political limit as to what he can do and wouldn't try to over-reach himself.
A detractor will come along at such a time and tell the nation's people to grin and bear it for the sake of irrelevant reasons such as bilateral trade. He would emphasize the so-called mistakes of the nation's previous leaders and extrapolate them to the present so that everyone would think the current government is hopeless and a sitting duck waiting for a foreign takeover. When confidence is needed they spread pessimism. When positivism is preferred they emphasized only the negative. They want the government to grant them instant gratification regardless of whether the problems can be solved overnight.
Given the myriad of endemic problems a big country like China faces, there will never be a good day in China if you listen to these detractors.
For example, financial corruption has to do with the traditional behavior pattern of a people that emphasizes guanxi and profit-sharing amongst individuals belonging to the same familial group. It cannot be solved overnight in China.
Critics will try to ease the problem by suggesting ways to raise the base-pay of higher officials, while detractors would try to convince listeners that the problem is endemic in the government's philosophy and superstructure, and nothing can be done unless radical revolutionary changes and bloodshed take place.
I only talk to critics, not detractors.
Since you are no critic, please excuse me for not responding to you at all.
If I throw a bone, will you go away?
| The above content represents the view of the author only. |
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