Behold, said the LORD, that they have become one people, and they all speak the same language; accomplished.
We go down there and mess up their accents so that their words don't understand each other.
So the LORD scattered them over the whole earth from there. They stopped working, and stopped building the city.
Because the LORD confounded the words of all the people there, and scattered the people over the whole earth, the name of the city was Babel.
At first I didn't understand these few words: How can God be so jealous. Don't we just build a tower, what's wrong with your old man? Besides, everyone speaks the same language, and the people of the world are united. Isn't it fun? At least it will save me the pain of waiting to learn foreign languages, and I will no longer have to take CET 4 or 6, so worry! Isn't your old man the most loving, how could you do such an unkind and unloving thing?
Later, after seeing Utopia's projects, I realized that in fact, the old man did it for a bit of reason. The human thing is just this virtue: if you give a little sunshine, you will be brilliant, if you have a little rationality, you will be crazy. You have to lift him up, and he will dare to ride on your neck and shout. The same people, the same language, the same world, the same dream - that's all! If this dream is a good dream, that’s all, but if it’s a bad dream, it’s enough for all of us to drink a pot.
So, people are separated. Geographical separation, language separation. Human beings are actually quite fragile. Don't look at the same dream of the same world on the surface, they are dragged like they are, in fact, they are each having their own ghosts, and no one is convinced by the other. Understanding, communicating, respecting, these all require patience—does people have such patience? Sadly, most of the time not.
"The Tower of Babel" is a good film, rich in images and profound in meaning. What did he say? Simply put, it is what kind of virtue a person is. The method he shows is quite artistic. Several scenes are carried out simultaneously. Although the main purpose is to reveal what kind of virtue a person is, it also extends many sub-topics while showing the main purpose, so it is rich in imagery. Let's take a look.
Seeing this scene of a child's shooting is
very embarrassing and uncomfortable. why? When I was a child, I played with my friends with a kind of firecracker called "Match Cannon": a small firecracker with a head like a match, which ignited with a single stroke, and then exploded with a "pop". At that time, when I saw the vehicles coming and going on the road at the door, I thought of a fun thing: throwing match cannons at other people's cars.
Of course, it seems that no car has been destroyed by our match cannons, but such actions are always severely reprimanded by adults. I seemed to be thinking - it's just playing, what's the big deal.
Isn't it just playing, what's the big deal...
Then I asked myself: Why don't you think about what to do if someone else's tire blew up? People are also working hard to make money to support their family. Maybe they finally bought a beloved car and rely on the car to go to work. How would they feel if you blew the tire? This is still good news. What if the driver is a novice and panics when he hears the sound of the cannon, and the steering wheel deviates and causes a traffic accident? How can you bear it? I am afraid that I will also carry a psychological burden for the rest of my life!
When I was a child, I did a lot of stupid things like this, and ignorant children are often cruel. Children are innocent, dare to think, dare to speak, and dare to act, which are his advantages; but children are ignorant, so they are also cruel - of course, unintentional cruelty. I don't understand, what are the details? Just don't understand the word responsibility. And responsibility must exist in the relationship between people.
But a child doesn't understand this - these things are in a sense the things of the adult world. Children generally do not have to worry about food and clothing, and their worldview is that of play and entertainment. Philosophers who are full of humanitarian feelings put human life very seriously, and they must live or die. But in the eyes of children, human life is nothing more than an NPC who will make an ahh sound after being shot in a video game, or an opponent whose health bar is gradually decreasing.
Isn't it just playing, what's the big deal... The
kid just shot. I'm terrified - if I were a kid, would I have shot in such a situation? Hard to say.
Don't underestimate this. Are human beings inherently good? This scene firmly negates this absurd point. Human beings are also virtuous at the beginning! The human nature embodied in children is also a part of universal human nature. I have to admit this very blushing human nature: one can take pleasure in slaughtering another! This is a brutal virtue.
After watching the film, I feel that people in the four countries are actually affected by this child's play, which is really a bit of a "butterfly storm".
Helping and Governing
Ms. Susan is really bad luck - it's just a disaster: people are sitting in the car, and the disaster comes from the sky. Is there anything more unfortunate than this? Before the couple went out, they definitely didn't ask auspicious fortune to see if it was an auspicious day or not. With this bad luck, in Africa, where there is no place in front of the village and no store in the back, one can only sigh with embarrassment.
But luckily, that kid hasn't practiced marksmanship to the level of a US Navy SEAL sniper. The rescue work began immediately, but as soon as it came up, it encountered a very unpleasant obstacle - the state.
If this kind of problem is within a country, it would be better to say: Needless to say, in a democratic country, the government and civil society are both developed, and it should be no problem that the rescue of such a thing is successful; what about our socialist motherland? Everyone must have read "For the Sixty-One Class Brothers". As long as you are a class brother, you are a relative of our party, government and the People's Liberation Army. You will not be treated badly. The most fearful thing is that autocratic countries, such as North Korea, Myanmar Who told you to go out without reading the almanac? It's up to you to die. The government is busy, so please bear with it - but that's fine, there's no hope for it anyway, so let's prepare for the funeral as soon as possible.
But this film is about a rescue with an international character, and the problem is much more complicated. Now, when it comes to the word "international", it is basically the law of the jungle. A country that has done a good job at home, with freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, when it comes to the world, these things are thrown out of the sky, and "there are only eternal interests".
One may have to admit the fact that although we are in the same world, the world is made up of many relatively closed administrative regions. Although the U.S. government wants to save people, it also has to figure out whether it was a terrorist attack, and Morocco came with a "firm denial". As soon as the political struggle heats up, the lives that really matter are forgotten. It seems that not only children are that virtue, but adults are also that virtue, and so is the government.
To change this inefficient and inhumane governance pattern, it may be a good way to develop transnational civil organizations and the growth of international civil society. Civil organizations have a low political threshold, light ideology, and strong professionalism, and can fully provide public goods and services for this kind of transnational rescue. Just imagine in the future if the United States has a non-governmental international rescue agency, and the embassy immediately invites non-governmental organizations to assist after Susan is injured (rather than waiting for the government to send a helicopter), the Moroccan government should be able to reduce hostility and ensure that saving lives is given priority to the greatest extent possible.
The cold and rigid faces of the American police on the US-Mexico border and the shitty Moroccan police who shoot children also reveal how the government's morality is. This is a virtue of arrogance and ignorance. After all, how can a government organized by people be any better? Tower of Babel? forget it.
One of Chieko's
Mysteries Chieko's first mystery is psychological-ethical.
The Chieko incident is basically a typical psychological case. Because of her disability, she was discriminated against, which caused intense psychological stress. In order to cope with this pressure, in order to express herself, she had to resort to very extreme methods of physical seduction.
Clothes, especially underwear, actually symbolize private territory and represent human dignity. Like private property, it is absolutely sacred and inviolable. Mr. Xu Ben said, "Underwear is the last barrier on the visual boundary. Ordinary people will feel ashamed if they remove this barrier and expose themselves to the public eye." That's true. If purely private spheres like sex and underwear are exposed to the public sphere unreservedly, then the reasonable boundaries between public and private are ruthlessly broken. On the one hand, the consequence of this is the loss of dignity of the exposed person, and on the other hand, the public's visual and psychological rape. Those gangsters looked at Chieko with the eyes of lust rather than respect, and in the end the exposed person didn't get anything but emptiness.
The incident of Chieko revealed the two limitations of human beings. The first limitation stems from the public. People blindly dislike ugliness and love beauty, people almost instinctively have a discriminatory concept of "otherness" towards disabled people, and people's almost bestial desire to spy on other people's private domains, all make people very hateful (in this point, the author himself no exceptions).
The second kind of finitude originates from Chieko herself. Indeed, failing to give her the dignity she deserves is a public problem; but in this case, by what means to obtain dignity? It's its own problem. Regrettably, Chieko adopted a very unwise method of abandoning dignity to gain dignity, which is irresponsible to herself, shortsighted and ignorant, and the result is of course just failure. Does dignity come from a beautiful body? Isn't the bell ringer of Notre Dame de Paris inherently undeserving of dignity?
The virtues of man—indifference and shortsightedness—are also revealed here.
Chieko's
Mystery The second Chieko's mystery is political and philosophical.
Obviously, after watching the film, most people would think that Chieko did not enjoy equality.
This seems to return to the old question in political philosophy: in what sense should equality be understood? What kind of institutional arrangement can guarantee equality to the greatest extent?
The difficulty here is that the "hardware conditions" of people are indeed unequal. In this way, two questions arise logically: First, hardware is not equal, does equality still have its value? Second, if equality is still necessary, what method is used to achieve equality?
For the first point, we say that equality has existential value. Because the basis of equality does not lie in hardware (please note that the hardware here does not only refer to physical categories such as body and wealth, but also includes spiritual categories such as reaction power, thinking power, imagination, etc., as well as practical ability such as hands-on ability and creative ability. The category of sexuality even includes the category of moral practice. Hardware is a full name for human beings), but lies in the transcendence of human beings—the finiteness of human rationality. A person is inferior in this respect, but may excel in another respect, and even a disabled person has the ability to freely reach his fullest potential (there are countless examples of disabled people in history). Equality means that this is a moral law, a duty, which one must obey unconditionally, and that obedience to this moral law is the supreme honor and greatest freedom; equality also means that each person does not fully understand others (rationality). limited). It is out of this ignorance that we are willing to respect the untapped potential of others. (Of course, this respect is only possible under a political system that fully guarantees individual freedom).
Since equality is necessary, the question of how to achieve equality is before people. Although equality is a good thing, the various bad virtues of people still make us very worried. For example, discrimination against persons with disabilities appears to be deeply ingrained. So what can institutional arrangements do in such a situation? Sadly, there seems to be a limit to what can be done. A good political system is one that respects human nature—and that includes respect for the worst aspects of human nature. In terms of system design, equality only means that Chieko and the handsome guy who discriminates against her have the same right to vote, and that everyone is equal before the law. Equality and respect in the moral realm are not accomplished by institutional design.
This also shows once again the importance of civil society. I think Chieko should set up an association with her friends to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities after receiving the warmth and respect of the police, to publicize the concept of eliminating discrimination against persons with disabilities to the whole society, as well as to promote self-improvement and enterprising spirit to the disabled. provide them with psychological counseling services. I believe that this kind of gradual, small-scale social transformation will definitely have a subtle guiding effect on people.
The virtue of being half devil and half angel
does not mean that human beings have only bad virtues, but that human beings are just that kind of thing that is good or bad, and not bad either. If only cruelty, arrogance, ignorance, indifference and shortsightedness remained, human civilization would have been wiped out long ago. Humans still have so much promise, and with good system design, they can still shine with so much brilliance.
"Tower of Babel" mercilessly exposes those bad virtues of man, but it also truly reflects those good virtues of man. When Susan was suffering to the death, she had her husband's deep love by her side and her African friends' efforts to help. The old African mother held her hand tightly and gave her a cigarette—although she could not speak the language, her love for life did not diminish. Susan's innocent encounter has affected three countries. The Moroccan police and the Japanese police are conducting in-depth investigations, and the US government has also sent a helicopter. These all reflect people's respect for life - although this respect has been fought because of political struggles. Discount. Susan was finally saved, and this salvation itself reflects the brilliance of human nature, showing that people have the ability to get rid of the cruelty of children, and have the ability to break free from those absurd fates.
What about children? The scene of his "surrender" at the end moved me very, very much - it was the death of his brother, the brother who got along with each other day and night, that told him that life is definitely not for playing. Perhaps from this time onwards, the child vaguely felt a little responsibility. Maybe he understands how much pain a gun can bring to a person! If he doesn't want his loving father to die, he can only go up bravely and take responsibility for his own mistakes! Very impressed, he really chose to do so. Of course, those bastard police officers shooting at the children were still extremely disgusting.
Chieko, that beautiful and sensitive girl. Of course, gangsters without a sense of responsibility will not know how to respect others, but the police know how to bring warmth and respect to others. When the handsome policeman resolutely suppressed his impulsive desire, the brilliance of human nature instantly illuminated himself and Keiko. Man is not just an animal driven by desire. Man has reason, morality, and responsibility. It is these things that constitute the cornerstone of love and human happiness. Just imagine that if the police officer couldn't hold back and took possession of Keiko, then I'm afraid they won't bring her anything except extreme emptiness. Sex without love is nothing but the moon in the water and the flowers in the mirror. In the end, I am afraid that it cannot escape the ending of "the white land is really clean", but trust and respect can bring lasting warmth to people. The police officer's refusal can be said to have saved Keiko from the confusion.
Although Amelia was deported, children Mike and Debbie trapped in the desert on the US-Mexico border were eventually found. They were lucky that none of them died in very dangerous situations. A judicial system, no matter how independent it is and how much it protects people's freedom, still has its bureaucratic and impersonal aspects.
"Babel Tower" almost ends with a warm scene, which makes people feel very moved and very comfortable. Saved—yes, they were all saved. Although this salvation is not in the religious sense or the other side, it also shows that by virtue of love, respect for life, and commitment to responsibilities (and of course, reasonable institutional arrangements), people can live within their limits. within the scope of salvation. What kind of virtue is a person? After watching the film, I have a clearer understanding. The Tower of Babel is certainly a distant delusion, but people are not hopeless slaves.
People are kind of interesting. Ha ha.
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