It has been said that if criticism is free, praise is meaningless!
I fully agree with this sentence and never skimp on the opportunity to criticize.
However, some people seem to have a biased understanding of this sentence: they are only keen on criticism and against praise.
It is not a problem that they do not praise themselves, and you can always stick to the attitude and position of criticism. However, not only do they not praise themselves, but they also forbid others to praise. If others praise, it is said that people are "kneeling and licking", are willing to be enslaved, and are brainwashed, which is a bit surprising: if criticism is a right, isn't praise a right?
If criticism should be free, then shouldn't praise be equally free?
Or praise is not free, then what is the purpose of criticism?
For example, your daughter, she does not study seriously, you criticize her, she does not pay attention to hygiene, you criticize her, she fights with classmates and you criticize her. What is the purpose of your criticism of her? For her to get better, of course. So what if she improved and corrected? Shouldn't you praise and compliment her?
If no matter what she does, no matter how well she does, she will only be greeted with your criticism, then she may break the jar and break it, and not do it well. Or maybe she simply dismisses your criticism as nothing, going her own way.
If so, then what is left of your criticism other than ridiculous?
In the same way, we live in a society in which any of us have the right to criticize all kinds of injustices and incivility and to promote their improvements, and all of them will ultimately benefit those of us who live in this environment.
So, I support all those who dare to criticize, and sometimes I myself am one of them, even though I am a very timid and selfish one.
I know some authors who write public names, and their articles are aimed at criticism, and sometimes I wonder how they can find so much material for criticism, and some of the content I even feel a little nitpicky. But I still support them, even if they are found with a microscope, as long as they are real, they are still valuable and can promote the improvement of our society.
It is precisely because there are so many people in this society who insist on criticizing all kinds of injustice and darkness, which prompts society to progress step by step, so they are undoubtedly a group of respectable people.
But when those who enjoy this progress make a voice of praise, do we need to question? Do we have the right to blame?
A few days ago, more than half of the people in the circle of friends were forwarding messages of blessings, I think they are all out of sincerity, although I did not send them myself, but I also understand them and respect their rights.
However, some people have been pushed to the cusp of the storm because of this. This person is Gao Xiaosong, a well-known Chinese musician, and the one who pushed him to the cusp of the storm is Li Chengpeng, a former famous football journalist and writer.
The reason is that Gao Xiaosong hummed a Red Army song "Yingshan Hong", saying that these songs derived from the folk music of the Yunnan-Guizhou region are very good, and finally said: The other day was the centenary birthday of our party, and I wish the motherland prosperity.
Li Chengpeng made a mocking remark: What a feeling an American is, admiring and admiring.
Then the long article unveiled Gao Xiaosong's various old bottoms, what "Xiao Said" was ghostwritten by Dr. Tsinghua, etc., an article triggered tens of millions of waves, and Gao Xiaosong was swept onto the tip of the wave.
Whether Gao Xiaosong is out of generosity or weakness of heart, in short, he did not respond, but the Internet, so he exploded the pot, especially many people also joined the team of criticizing Gao Xiaosong.
This makes me wonder: Aren't these people self-proclaimed liberals? Why don't they respect the freedoms of others?
What is freedom? Singing praises and scolding the bride is freedom, and swearing today and singing praises tomorrow is also freedom. Whether it is only allowed to sing praises or only scold the mother, or only allow others to habitually scold the mother, it is despotic.
Let's not talk about whether Gao Xiaosong holds a U.S. green card or a U.S. passport, even if he has become an American citizen, he wishes the motherland prosperity, is not the most natural and simple emotion of a Chinese who has lived in this land of China for more than fifty years?
I have a lot of Chinese friends who immigrated to the United States, and I think they are more Chinese than Chinese in their bones, and when there is a conflict between China and the United States, they all stand on the side of China and curse the United States.
Divorced men and women can be friends, and how can Chinese immigrants who emigrate abroad to bless the motherland with prosperity become a great rebellion?
Perhaps, Li Chengpeng once regarded Gao Xiaosong as a critic of his peers, who made himself sentimental and classified him as a kind? I didn't even think high and they were the same kind.
Not to mention that Gao Xiaosong has always been a participant in the system by making music and publishing books in China, enjoying the dividends brought to him by this system, and even if he occasionally intersects with Li Chengpeng, he is definitely not the same kind. Even if he had been a critic, it would have been his right and freedom to be a praisegiver for China's rise today or just to express his blessings on holidays.
So I think the so-called democrats in the country are hypocritical, as Tocqueville said: people seem to love freedom, but they just hate their masters. Therefore, if others do not hate their masters with them, they will fight with the party and lash out.
The American conservative scholar Russell Kirk said in The Foundations of the American Order: We must have order before we can enjoy justice and freedom. Although I hated dictators very much, I thought totalitarian politics was more terrible than disorder. Many people may survive a totalitarian system, but no one can survive the general disorder.
In this order, some people live like fish, some people have a slightly awkward life, some people are satisfied, and some people are not satisfied. Satisfied can be satisfied, dissatisfied can also be dissatisfied, but you are not satisfied, you have to force others to follow the dissatisfaction, then beyond the boundaries of rights.
Undoubtedly, this is far from a perfect era (or there is no perfect era in this world), but the vast majority of people admit (even those who oppose it) that this is the best era. We should cherish ourselves, cherish the achievements of reform that have been made, and cherish the excellent situation of stability and unity. We can still criticize, and even individuals have the right to persist in criticizing, but we have no right to blame those who participate, who praise.
What does a good society pursue? More opportunities for choice and greater freedom of choice. Everyone has the right to express their thoughts, but your thoughts, like the dishes of the market, you can shout hard, saying that your dishes are fresh, nutritious and organic, but whether you buy them or not is the customer's own business. You can't say that it's stupid for others not to buy your food, and you can't prevent others from selling vegetables or buying other people's vegetables.
A truly virtuous society is free to criticize and to praise.
Iron Horse old saying: a layman who loves to read, love to run, and love to think wildly!