few years ago, she did an interview with Mr. Ye Jiaying, talking about the study of classical poetry. The report didn't respond much as usual, but a reader from Shandong sent a text message to tell H his story. Because the reader was dissatisfied with the current school education, he gathered the children of his colleagues and neighbors on the weekend to set up a private school to teach classical literature. However, with such an "ideal" occupying the "reality" of children who should have studied English and Mathematical Olympiad, whether it is right or wrong, he often hesitates in his heart. Until he read that report and saw Ye Jiaying's life-long experience, he finally found the confidence to persevere.
One year later, the other party sent a text message again, telling H that the private school has persisted so far, and the effect has been good, and thank you again. At that time, H himself was in a low period, living in a small house where the cold wind was strong in winter, and he did not expect to be fed back by his previous efforts in this way.
So she told me with shining eyes that she did not expect that what she did would promote social progress or demonstrate justice. A report is sufficient even if it only has a practical impact on one person. When she said this, she was not without self-comfort, but it did not prevent us from being moved by this sentence.
To put it a bit further, this is actually what I remembered after seeing the documentary "Looking for the Sugar Man". This film, which was nominated for this year's Oscar for Best Documentary Award and is likely to win the final award, is one of the most exciting cases of this kind of story.
In the 1970s, American singer Rodriguez recorded two records in China. The producer and record store owner said he was better than Bob Dylan. However, after the release of the record, no one cared about it. No one knows that in far away South Africa, Rodriguez's music has been madly spread and sought after, and some even pierced the cover of the album on their shoulders. The lyrics of those who want to escape from the big industrial cities and pursue their own lives are given anti-systemic meaning by the oppressed people in South Africa. They woke up like a dream, realizing that "there is still a way out," singing his songs in unison, taking to the streets to protest, and even starting a vigorous freedom movement.
This kind of plot sounds quite familiar. Every revolution has its own sacred song. In the Czech "Prague Spring", people sang a cover of Hey, Jude from the Beatles; in East Germany, everyone listened to Public Enemy and Beastie Boys with Stasi behind their backs; When Iran was under severe fundamentalist rule, people relied on tapes of the Swedish Abba band bought on the black market to nourish their souls.
Interestingly, there are rumors in South Africa that Rodriguez has committed suicide on stage. Over the years, with excitement and regret, people cherish the memory of this genius who died young, but after a music reporter untiringly digging, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that he is still alive. In the United States, no one has ever heard of it. His country renovated the roof for others.
The South Africans are boiling. They quickly arranged Rodriguez's tour to South Africa. The media, music fans, and even organizers were afraid of this news and secretly prepared to pick up the next counterfeit from the plane. However, the man they regarded as the godfather of music really appeared, and he naturally came to the stage and calmly sang the songs they had chanted for many years. The performance venue of 5,000 people was filled with passion. People stood, shouted, sang, and cried, thinking about youth and the days of resistance.
Rodriguez went through all this peacefully, returned to the United States, and continued to work as a carpenter. He knew that he just wrote the music he wanted to write, and he didn’t meet a soulmate in the United States. It’s nothing. It caused such a big response in a faraway country—large enough to promote the democratic process of the entire society, small enough to encourage music fans to open up. In his own record store, a reporter has reached the pinnacle of his career, his daughter is married to a South African bodyguard, and his grandson is half of South African descent-he also thinks it's nothing but doing his own thing.
Rodriguez’s legend and his friend H’s story seem not much comparable, but in my opinion, it’s just a difference in degree. Every effort will not be wasted. Needless to say, this truth is the most powerful way to speak out.
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