A Grievance-Ridden Society

If someone were to say that Taiwan is a grievance-ridden society, likely no one would object. From top to bottom, people everywhere are complaining and airing their grievances—truly a spectacle. Ordinary citizens feel aggrieved about being unable to get ahead; civil servants feel aggrieved that they can no longer kick back and relax like before; the unemployed feel aggrieved at being dragged down by the economic downturn; cultural figures feel aggrieved by cultural degradation; intellectuals feel aggrieved at having no kindred spirits... At every single level of society, it seems possible to find a reason to feel aggrieved. The strangest thing, however, is that it would be one thing if this were merely the expression of the disadvantaged and oppressed, but we are far more accustomed to hearing the grievances of those in power. Legislators, when indicted or treated like thugs, cry judicial persecution; party leaders shed tears on the campaign trail, full of bitterness; election candidates at all levels, despite being dying to run, constantly lament stepping onto the path of no return in politics; party-state elders constantly dredge up old accounts and bitterly complain, or enter the race while "bearing humiliation and carrying heavy burdens"; even capitalists who control Taiwan's "financial future" aggrievedly blame the economic downturn on the government, complaining that the government does not mobilize its entire national strength to help them achieve personal enterprise; as for the nation's highest political leader, they have not been absent either, chiming in by publishing a book to vent their own grievances and mistreatment... One cannot help but feel disoriented: What has happened to Taiwan? Are grievances not the exclusive domain of the disadvantaged? How is it that the more capable people are, the more endless grievances they seem to have?

This phenomenon perhaps illustrates the prevalent mindset in Taiwan of general dissatisfaction with the status quo coupled with an unwillingness to take responsibility. Because the status quo is not good enough, those in lower positions complain that those above them are certainly not wise enough, while those above believe that those below are surely not working hard enough. In short, the reason the status quo is bad must be because someone made a mistake, and that person is definitely not me. Thus, we always see mutual blame and accusation, racing to make the "broad masses of the people" see (and even identify with) our grievances, turning what ought to be an objective, issue-oriented attitude into an emotional appeal comparing who is more pitiful. Consequently, a lack of self-reflection and the evasion of oversight have become the most dominant ideologies in society.

I do not intend to make moral appeals or ask everyone to engage in self-reflection; rather, I wish to remind those in power: Even if this path is truly as fraught as you claim, is this not a choice made of your own free will? Is this not the lifelong vocation you pursued? If so, should you not take responsibility for your own choices? And if not, please rethink your life choices! Do not shift the responsibility onto clichés like "taking the nation's rise and fall as one's own duty, disregarding personal life and death." If having power and wealth is truly so unenjoyable, please choose anew a path in life for which you are willing to take responsibility and which truly brings you fulfillment and happiness! As for us ordinary citizens, who have neither power nor influence, we would not mind at all having the chance to trade places with you!

※ Published in: Taiwan Daily