A caterpillar education

On Sunday, it is rare for a family to visit Hefei Wetland Forest Park.

On the way, I saw a forest of high-rise buildings in Binhu New Area, and the water surface of Chaohu Lake was vast. The clouds are light, the wind is light, the autumn is high and refreshing, and the visitors are like weaving their joy.

The three-year-old granddaughter is jumping around happily, and everything is fresh. "Niujia Village" scenic spot has a long pebble road on both sides of the planting of grass gardens, with a tall poplar forest that seems to be planted endlessly, as long as you see even a flower, a leaf, she does not leave her mother an inch, her little mouth is always chattering and asking.

"Mom, what is this?" The little granddaughter looked down at her feet and suddenly screamed.

When I looked, it turned out that there was a caterpillar, the size of a little finger, with a grayish-brown body, slowly crawling on the ground.

Some timid little daughters-in-law let out an "ah", and instinctively took two steps back.

I took my little granddaughter to teach her not to be afraid of insects, and sure enough, I saw her bravely stretching out her little feet and stepping forward to step on them.

"Hey, hey, don't step on it! Don't step on it! Mom hurriedly stopped her.

The little granddaughter stopped hesitantly, looking at her mother, and then at me.

I asked my daughter-in-law, "Why don't you step on it?" ”

The little daughter-in-law had a difficult face, smiled and whispered: "After all, it is a life... ”

"It's life. But it is a pest that eats poplar leaves. You don't see that there's an administrator over there who is taking medicine and getting rid of it. I deliberately said to my little granddaughter, "This caterpillar is bad, it can eat up the leaves of the whole tree, and the tree will be eaten to death." ”

For many days afterward, I often wondered why people could easily sympathize with a caterpillar and not speak for a poplar tree that had been fatally injured by a caterpillar. Could it be that such a large poplar forest, which was finally obtained with so much manpower, material and financial resources, is left to the caterpillars to bite, eat, and destroy?

My initial thought was that stepping on caterpillars would die quickly, and the scene would be unpleasant. Poplars are eaten by caterpillars and have a long process that makes them less noticeable.

But then I thought that no matter how fast or slow, I would die after all. The caterpillar eats the leaves and thinks it is natural, but why does the caterpillar feel pitiful when he steps on it?

Is it because of people's "inherent goodness" that they only want to see good, not evil; I only want to see the light, but I don't want to see the darkness; I only want to see flowers, I don't want to see blood; Do you only want to see love, don't want to see cannibalism?

I remember hearing my mother-in-law say such a sentence in my early years, "It is easy to die first, but it is difficult to die later." He said this because he was talking about a murderer in a neighboring village.

The murderer was a young man who, when he was in a relationship with a girl, asked her to break up, and the young man killed her and hid in an underground culvert in the irrigation canal east of our village when it was dark.

Ouch, at that time, this incident was a major event that shocked the surrounding villages for ten miles and eight villages. We all knew that young man, and the underground culvert was on our way to the town, and I was so scared that I didn't dare to go there alone for a long time.

The mother-in-law said the above sentence when they were discussing whether the young man would resist his life. Everyone said that he was usually very honest and well-behaved, and they never imagined that he would do such a thing. The meaning is obvious, everyone has compassion for him, since one has already died, it is better not to die again.

That's what I thought, too. I also know the young man, who is indeed quite shy and quiet. I think my mother-in-law's words make sense, and I really don't want him to fight for her.

Decades have passed, even now, as long as I talk about similar things, I think of my mother-in-law's words, and I still can't bear to ask the murderer to pay for his life.

But what if you think about it from the victim's point of view?

I often watch CCTV's "Today's Statement" column at noon every day, as well as the last news story of Anhui TV's "Super News Field" every morning, which is another side to everything. As the victim, even if the murderer pays for his or her life immediately, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in his (her) heart. After all, people cannot be resurrected after death, and no amount of money can buy a fresh life.

Although it is said that "it is easier to die first than it is difficult to die later", anyone will also understand the victim's demand for murder to pay for his life. I believe that no one will say that they are excessive, and no one will say that they are unreasonable.

See, the opinions of the victim and the murderer are so-for-tat and irreconcilable. Excuse me, which side will you be on?

If you sympathize with the other side, you mean that you are ruthless to the other side, and vice versa.

In the same way, not stepping on a caterpillar is certainly good and benevolent; But when the leaves of the poplar trees are eaten up, and the poplar forests are destroyed, how can he talk about kindness and kindness in this life?

Should caterpillars be stepped on? How should parents teach a child the size of my three-year-old granddaughter? How?

I only know that in my family, my little granddaughter's home education has a caterpillar side that should not be stepped on; In social education, a TV station has broadcast the cartoon "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" for several years, so that the wolf and the sheep, a pair of historical enemies, finally let go of their previous suspicions and turned enemies into friends.

This makes "born in New China, grow up under the red flag", long-term "wolf eats sheep" and "friends come to have good wine, if the jackal comes, there is a shotgun to greet it", "those who plant melons get melons, those who plant beans get beans, who plants hatred and suffer themselves", the "sheep and wolf view" formed by our generation has fundamentally subverted and completely turned over.

Now when it comes to educating the next generation, I am worried. At the present stage of social development, many traditional views on education have changed, such as world view, outlook on life, values, outlook on happiness, outlook on good and evil, and so on. For example, the "sheep and wolf view" in front of you, how should we educate and talk about it?

If you still talk about "wolves eat sheep", today's preschool children already know that the son of the Pleasant Goat and the Big Big Wolf in the cartoon has already become good friends; The psychedelic lamb even called the red wolf his mother.

If you don't talk about "wolves eat sheep", what if you encounter a real wolf in your life one day, you will be bitten or eaten by it?

The same is true of the caterpillar education. The caterpillar is a life like a human, so it can't bear to step on the caterpillar; Don't step on the caterpillars, and I'm afraid that the poplar forest won't be saved.

I can't think of a compromise that is left and right. Fortunately, on that day, I saw that the wetland forest park ranger was carrying a high-pressure sprayer and was spraying, and the caterpillar problem may have been solved.