The Boat Rocker by Ha Jin

Author:Ha Jin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2016-10-24T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

By mid-October I had read the Said and the Chomsky. I liked their views and arguments but was somewhat underwhelmed by their writing. The authors’ sense of the essay form seemed rather weak—most of the pieces were not carefully written stylistically, and some lacked shape and structure. In Said’s case, this defect might be due to the fact that his essays had originally been a series of lectures delivered on the BBC, their lengths limited by the half-hour segment on the air. But both authors’ thoughts and insights were rooted in their independent spirits and a constant engagement with the world. Their discussions of current issues often quickened and intensified their prose. Both were serious scholars, distinguished in their fields. Yet I doubted if either of them would have rejected an opportunity that could place them at the center of political power, say, overseeing a major ministry in the U.S. government. One can always march into the political arena under the banner of “get involved” and “make a difference.” So many intellectuals passionately criticize power, typically when they are not political insiders, but once they become part of the structure, they talk and act differently, and even their personalities undergo a metamorphosis. Few have the integrity to stay above the temptation of power.

I know a number of Chinese in North America who became dissidents mainly because they had failed to land suitable positions in the Communist Party. Some of them still dream of becoming president of a major Chinese university, whose official rank is equal to a vice minister’s. A few sick, old exiles, whenever I ran into them in New Jersey or Connecticut, griped that they didn’t have free health care like the officials back home—they believed that China ought to have picked up their medical bills here. That was out of the question, so they felt disgusted with the United States, the richest country in the world, which forced its people to pay for their own medical insurance. One of them went so far as to claim that the United States had violated human rights, because the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates that everyone has the right to medical care.

Whenever I think of those men, my heart is full of pity and contempt. Many of them are like dazed travelers, jettisoned by the ship of politics but still fantasizing that they are on board with their former peers. They cannot put down roots anyplace, nor can they imagine life without a country or affiliation. They exist mainly in the past and in the clouds of memory. Their exile hasn’t changed their psychology—they are still political animals.

I’m not positive that I could resist the temptation of a big offer from China. A consequential job usually comes with a high rank that guarantees a comfortable, secure life. Just work hard for a decade or so, make sure to follow the right superiors, and avoid stepping on any toes, and the Party will take care of you for the rest of your life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.