| Why does Lei Feng become unpopular? | |
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| Mar 6, 2008 02:24 |   |
 | Do you know who Lei Feng is? Do you know What Lei Feng Spirit? Lei is China's most famous symbol of sacrifice for others. The soldier died in an accident on August 15, 1962 at the age of 22. Since then, he has been characterized as a selfless and modest figure and an ideal example to be followed by people across China. To explain it simple, "Lei Feng Spirit'' is self-sacrifice. As an idealized example, Lei Feng has long been described as a person who always cheerfully serves others and makes contributions to society. What's more, March 5th is set as "Learn from Lei Feng Day". The purpose is to promote Leng Feng Spirit. However, Lei Feng seems to be unpopular in China now. According to the news, some students even don't know Lei Feng or "Learn from Lei Feng Day" let alone "Lei Feng Spirit". How sad it is! Besides, "Lei Feng Spirit" has become a hollow slogan. Why? People only do good deeds on March 5th. According the news, an old man in the nursing home has been bathed five times with the help of those 'kind-hearted' people on March 5th. During the ordinary days, people seldom go to the nursing home to help these old men for a bath. That is why some nursing homes in Chongqing refuse to receive those 'Lei Feng' this year. Someone even satirizes that Comrade Lei Feng doesn't have his Hukou so that he comes in March and leaves in April. What do you think of this phenomenon?  |
| Mar 6, 2008 12:13 | #1 |
| The role model and hero Lei Feng has become of victim of change. Never in the history of humankind has a nation and her people experienced so much change in so little time. Every sort of change influences the nature of people. Just for fun, let's compare China's timeline for transportation with the USA: In the 1800's, US people walked, rode a horse, drove a buggy or took a steam locomotive. In the early 1900's, US people walked, rode a horse or bicycle or a trolley car that might be horse drawn and a few people had cars and more modern trains were common. In the 1950's many, many Americans had personal automobiles, motorcycles were becoming popular, electric trolleys and diesel busses provided mass transportation and commercial airlines were using prop airplanes. In the 1960's most Americans had at least one automobile, mass transporation began disappear, commercial airlines started using jets, trains became a less popular form of travel, we put men on the moon. By the 1980's everyone had cars, mass transportation disappeared in most of America, jet travel replaced trains and long distances buses for just about everyone. Now - everyone has one or two cars, an ATV, a motorcycle, a snowmobile, and a boat...and we whine that it takes 12 hours to fly from Los Angeles to China. :-) That evolution took more than 100 years and it reflects the increasing wealth of the American people. These life changes and enormous increases in personal wealth changed the nature of the American people. We became very spoiled, impatient and immoral by the standards of the 1950's when I was a boy. Consider China's timeline on transportation and the increasing wealth of the people. Is it really any surprise that Lei Feng is being forgotten? |
| Mar 6, 2008 19:00 | #2 |
| "Consider China's timeline on transportation and the increasing wealth of the people. Is it really any surprise that Lei Feng is being forgotten?" Yes, Griz. China has changed too much just in about one hundred years from a feudal society to a modernized nation. Especially in the 30 years after China decided to implement the Reform and Opening policy, China has developed too fast. As you said, these changes has changed people's nature. However, I think that Lei Feng Spirit shouldn't be forgotten. On contrary, it should be promoted widely and deeply in every corner of the society. People shouldn't have been so selfish. Just imagine: Wat will happen if every person only takes care of himself/herself? Then his country just looks like a heap of loose sand. BTW, some Chinese newpapers report that Lei Feng Spirit is popular in some other countries, such as Japan and US. If so, I just wonder why you cherish Lei Feng Spirit so much. |
| Mar 6, 2008 23:38 | #3 |
| People shouldn’t do good deeds on certain days only. It should be done whenever there is an opportunity. However, some people are more kind-hearted than others. For others, it’s like a habit. For some, it is natural. Change is the only thing constant in this world but many people are still kind-hearted. Will your character change if your lifestyle changes? I agree with Griz. A car is a necessity here because there is no public transportation except if you live in New York, Chicago or at the West Coast. You need a car even if you are just buying a bottle of water. It’s almost spring, and those big Recreational Vehicles, cool convertible cars and noisy Harley Davidson motorbikes will be out on the roads again. Almost all my neighbors have RVs and Harley Davidsons. |
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