Some weeks ago I was doing some reading and came across some statements that I thought quite interesting, and I wonder if anyone out there knows 'Who said this?'
The theme was about loving and Serving your country and about not being ignorant but being enlightened. It encouraged people to Work hard rather than being lazy and it promoted the idea of being considerate of those around you in society. It encouraged people to help each other rather than profiting at others expense, and placed a high value on Honesty, Discipline and Plain living.
'Who said this' about patriotism, hard work, plain living, consciousness of others, honesty, credibility, and obeying the law? Do you know?
He also said: 'We must not allow the boundaries to be blurred when it comes to right and wrong, evil and kindness, beauty and ugliness' as well as "What we support, what we resist, what we oppose and what we promote all must be crystal clear".
Can you guess who said this? It was Who? Yes it was Hu! (President Hu preaches morality to the Chinese) www.chinadaily.cmom.cn/china/2006-03/16/content_541412.htm
It makes you wonder doesn't it? Naturally there will be the usual idiots and anarchists who will read what Hu said and put all manner of slants on it to paint Him and China in a bad light, but when you really stop to consider it, what do these social statements reveal?
Perhaps they reveal a country that seeks to promote all that is good and wholesome in life. In China, the rights of society take precedence over individual human rights. This, we Westerners call totalitarianism and from an ideological perspective, desire to destroy it right? But ask yourself this: "What does MY country promote?"
I find it interesting that in China
- Christmas is becoming very popular, and the Government does nothing to ban it. What about your country?
- Christians are urged to belong to legally registered churches? What about your country?
- The people of China support and promote their country. What about your country?
- In China, people are tolerant of different religious belief. What about your country?
- In China, people think about what is good for the country, before they think about what is good for themselves. What about your country?
- In China, bad language, nudity and pornography are removed from imported films. What about your country?
- In China, people frown on bad language in public and upon bad or violent behaviour. What about your country?
In China, there are many social problems that similarly exist in your country, and these are slowly being dealt with. But it seems to me that while China's totalitarian regime is focused on making China a 'harmonious society', that in the west, everything is aimed at promoting sectarian interests which divide society.
In China, the number of prisoners per capita is lower than the USA, and it has far fewer laws in place to deal with alleged crimes. People don't carry guns; there are no drive by shootings; there is no ethnic segregation and there are no race riots. What about your country?
I was reading an article on Star Trek in which an expression was used that caught my attention - 'law of unintended consequences'.
In China, the government has had a plan to mold a new society, and to some visible degree it has worked well. One feels safe and free in China. But what about your country? Has your government a plan to mold the country into a safe and harmonious society? Of course not! It is a democratic country. People can do as they please so to speak. Saint Paul wrote that Christians should not use their new found liberty (from Jewish Law) as an excuse for licentiousness. He was a wise man, for as is evidenced in Western society today, when individual freedoms take precedence over the general rights of society, licentiousness and chaos reign.
'Unintended consequences' can be discovered lurking beyond all types of actions and behaviours. 'Gay Rights' has now led to 'Gay marriage'. 'Pensions for Single Mothers' has made it easier for Women to end their Marriages as has the concept of no contest Divorces.
In China, an unintended consequence of Mao Zedong's great leap forward resulted in lower crop production which, when it combined with some natural disasters, resulted in millions of people starving to death. In America, slavery had unintended consequences, one of which was Civil War. Maybe even Operation Desert Storm had unintended consequences.
When it comes to Communist China, whatever you and I might personally think, feel or believe, I can't personally escape the feeling that within 50 years or so, the only place where people will be able to feel 'free', will be 'in' China. Just this Christmas past (2006), whilst in the west forces were again at work to remove Christ from Christmas and Christmas Decorations from public Celebrations, here in China everyone was in full swing ready to celebrate, and when one considers the rate of conversions to Christianity here, it may be that before long, the only place where one is free to publicly celebrate Christ and Christmas will be in Communist China.
Why is this I wonder? Perhaps China has seen all the unintended consequences of western democracy, and is doing it's best to avoid all the pitfalls found therein. Who knows?
It's just a thought! Take it or leave it!
R.P.BenDedek@hotmail.com
For those who are interested, this article as it appears at King's Calendar www.kingscalendar.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=viewnews&id=509 contains at the end a list of links to the Fight against Corruption in China.
R.P.BenDedek (pseudonym) is the Author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran (www.kingscalendar.com) and is a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News.
From Brisbane in Australia, BenDedek comes from a Multi-Faith and Multi-Ethnic family (including Christians and Muslims), and is currently teaching Conversational Business English in China.
