2012年9月14日星期五

【斷章寫意‧反思民主之二十三】別逼我吃三明治




……“選誰都差不多”又是好事,因為它說明不同的政黨都在使勁諂媚“多數老百姓”。好比我喜歡吃麵條,不喜歡吃三明治,那麼一個黨請我吃拉麵,另一個黨請我吃刀削麵,我當然“選誰都差不多了”——反正沒人逼我吃三明治。投票率低,至少對某些人來說,恰恰說明他們對政治體制的信任:旣然我就算不投票,也要麼能吃到拉麵,要麼吃到刀削麵,那我投不投票也無所謂了。【摘自《民主的細節:美國當代政治觀察隨筆》,劉瑜著,上海三聯書店,二○○九年六月】



不少成熟民主國家的投票率連年走低,相反,不少民主制度仍在發展階段的國家或地區,投票率卻大多高開,偶而更有媒體將之標榜為“公民意識覺醒”或“民主素質提升”。但其實這可能只是一廂情願的解讀,因為“高投票率”往往代表民衆無法就重大社會議題達成共識,一派要往東走,另一派要向西去,誰也說服不了誰,最後只有投票站見眞章。但就像一輛好車絕非單靠一副好引擎,民主制度要有效運作,也不能單靠數年一次的選舉投票。運轉良好的成熟民主社會,民衆表達意見的渠道決非只有“投票”一途,除了行政、司法體系,多元對話渠道、活躍公民團體也擔當重要角色,行之多年的民主選舉經驗,令社會各層各界已建立起一套反饋問題、吸納意見的方法和默契,大家便不再一門心思地逼對方“吃三明治”。


民衆以“投票”來贊成或反對政府(或執政黨/派)的權力,平日大多引而不發,只有當社會出現重大問題或爭議之際,你才會看見選民們紛紛湧向投票站,用手中選票表態,所以說投票率高,未必是好兆頭。從台灣到香港乃至未來澳門,其實也有相似之處:“對抗式政治”(藍綠之爭或建制與民主派之爭)的大氛圍下,本應引發社會開展政策辯論的“選戰”很容易變成某種站隊歸邊的兩極拉鋸,選民平時被逼吃自己不喜歡的“三明治”,心有不忿又無計可施,只好用手中選票當“出氣筒”。所以說,咱們的投票率連年向上,或許非因公民素養不斷提高,而是社會不滿正在不斷加大。(反思民主·二十三)

2012年9月7日星期五

The First Lady's Democratic Convention Speech



The First Lady's Democratic Convention Speech


(Source: www.huffingtonpost.com)

Over the past few years as First Lady, I have had the extraordinary privilege of traveling all across this country.


And everywhere I’ve gone, in the people I’ve met, and the stories I’ve heard, I have seen the very best of the American spirit.

I have seen it in the incredible kindness and warmth that people have shown me and my family, especially our girls.

I’ve seen it in teachers in a near-bankrupt school district who vowed to keep teaching without pay.

I’ve seen it in people who become heroes at a moment’s notice, diving into harm’s way to save others…flying across the country to put out a fire…driving for hours to bail out a flooded town.

And I’ve seen it in our men and women in uniform and our proud military families…in wounded warriors who tell me they’re not just going to walk again, they’re going to run, and they’re going to run marathons…in the young man blinded by a bomb in Afghanistan who said, simply, “…I’d give my eyes 100 times again to have the chance to do what I have done and what I can still do.”

Every day, the people I meet inspire me…every day, they make me proud…every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth.

Serving as your First Lady is an honor and a privilege…but back when we first came together four years ago, I still had some concerns about this journey we’d begun.

While I believed deeply in my husband’s vision for this country…and I was certain he would make an extraordinary President…like any mother, I was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance.

How would we keep them grounded under the glare of the national spotlight?

How would they feel being uprooted from their school, their friends, and the only home they’d ever known?

Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys…Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma’s house…and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn’t stay awake for both.

And the truth is, I loved the life we had built for our girls…I deeply loved the man I had built that life with…and I didn’t want that to change if he became President.

I loved Barack just the way he was.

You see, even though back then Barack was a Senator and a presidential candidate…to me, he was still the guy who’d picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door…he was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he’d found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small.

But when Barack started telling me about his family – that’s when I knew I had found a kindred spirit, someone whose values and upbringing were so much like mine.

You see, Barack and I were both raised by families who didn’t have much in the way of money or material possessions but who had given us something far more valuable – their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves.

My father was a pump operator at the city water plant, and he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when my brother and I were young.

And even as a kid, I knew there were plenty of days when he was in pain…I knew there were plenty of mornings when it was a struggle for him to simply get out of bed.

But every morning, I watched my father wake up with a smile, grab his walker, prop himself up against the bathroom sink, and slowly shave and button his uniform.

And when he returned home after a long day’s work, my brother and I would stand at the top of the stairs to our little apartment, patiently waiting to greet him…watching as he reached down to lift one leg, and then the other, to slowly climb his way into our arms.

But despite these challenges, my dad hardly ever missed a day of work…he and my mom were determined to give me and my brother the kind of education they could only dream of.

And when my brother and I finally made it to college, nearly all of our tuition came from student loans and grants.

But my dad still had to pay a tiny portion of that tuition himself.

And every semester, he was determined to pay that bill right on time, even taking out loans when he fell short.

He was so proud to be sending his kids to college…and he made sure we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late.

You see, for my dad, that’s what it meant to be a man.

Like so many of us, that was the measure of his success in life – being able to earn a decent living that allowed him to support his family.

And as I got to know Barack, I realized that even though he’d grown up all the way across the country, he’d been brought up just like me.

Barack was raised by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills, and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help.

Barack’s grandmother started out as a secretary at a community bank…and she moved quickly up the ranks…but like so many women, she hit a glass ceiling.

And for years, men no more qualified than she was – men she had actually trained – were promoted up the ladder ahead of her, earning more and more money while Barack’s family continued to scrape by.

But day after day, she kept on waking up at dawn to catch the bus…arriving at work before anyone else…giving her best without complaint or regret.

And she would often tell Barack, “So long as you kids do well, Bar, that’s all that really matters.”

Like so many American families, our families weren’t asking for much.

They didn’t begrudge anyone else’s success or care that others had much more than they did...in fact, they admired it.

They simply believed in that fundamental American promise that, even if you don’t start out with much, if you work hard and do what you’re supposed to do, then you should be able to build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and grandkids.

That’s how they raised us…that’s what we learned from their example.

We learned about dignity and decency – that how hard you work matters more than how much you make…that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself.

We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters…that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules…and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.

We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean…and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.

Those are the values Barack and I – and so many of you – are trying to pass on to our own children.

That’s who we are.

And standing before you four years ago, I knew that I didn’t want any of that to change if Barack became President.

Well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways I never could have imagined, I have seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are – it reveals who you are.

You see, I’ve gotten to see up close and personal what being president really looks like.

And I’ve seen how the issues that come across a President’s desk are always the hard ones – the problems where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer…the judgment calls where the stakes are so high, and there is no margin for error.

And as President, you can get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people.

But at the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as President, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.

So when it comes to rebuilding our economy, Barack is thinking about folks like my dad and like his grandmother.

He’s thinking about the pride that comes from a hard day’s work.

That’s why he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help women get equal pay for equal work.

That’s why he cut taxes for working families and small businesses and fought to get the auto industry back on its feet.

That’s how he brought our economy from the brink of collapse to creating jobs again – jobs you can raise a family on, good jobs right here in the United States of America.

When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president.

He didn’t care whether it was the easy thing to do politically – that’s not how he was raised – he cared that it was the right thing to do.

He did it because he believes that here in America, our grandparents should be able to afford their medicine…our kids should be able to see a doctor when they’re sick…and no one in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or illness.

And he believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our health care…that’s what my husband stands for.

When it comes to giving our kids the education they deserve, Barack knows that like me and like so many of you, he never could’ve attended college without financial aid.

And believe it or not, when we were first married, our combined monthly student loan bills were actually higher than our mortgage.

We were so young, so in love, and so in debt.

That’s why Barack has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep interest rates down, because he wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend college without a mountain of debt.

So in the end, for Barack, these issues aren’t political – they’re personal.

Because Barack knows what it means when a family struggles.

He knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids.

Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it…and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love.

And he believes that when you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity…you do not slam it shut behind you…you reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.

So when people ask me whether being in the White House has changed my husband, I can honestly say that when it comes to his character, and his convictions, and his heart, Barack Obama is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago.

He’s the same man who started his career by turning down high paying jobs and instead working in struggling neighborhoods where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work…because for Barack, success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.

He’s the same man who, when our girls were first born, would anxiously check their cribs every few minutes to ensure they were still breathing, proudly showing them off to everyone we knew.

That’s the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering their questions about issues in the news, and strategizing about middle school friendships.

That’s the man I see in those quiet moments late at night, hunched over his desk, poring over the letters people have sent him.

The letter from the father struggling to pay his bills…from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won’t cover her care…from the young person with so much promise but so few opportunities.

I see the concern in his eyes...and I hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, “You won’t believe what these folks are going through, Michelle…it’s not right. We’ve got to keep working to fix this. We’ve got so much more to do.”

I see how those stories – our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams – I see how that’s what drives Barack Obama every single day.

And I didn’t think it was possible, but today, I love my husband even more than I did four years ago…even more than I did 23 years ago, when we first met.

I love that he’s never forgotten how he started.

I love that we can trust Barack to do what he says he’s going to do, even when it’s hard – especially when it’s hard.

I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as “us” and “them” – he doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above…he knows that we all love our country…and he’s always ready to listen to good ideas…he’s always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.

And I love that even in the toughest moments, when we’re all sweating it – when we’re worried that the bill won’t pass, and it seems like all is lost – Barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise.

Just like his grandmother, he just keeps getting up and moving forward…with patience and wisdom, and courage and grace.

And he reminds me that we are playing a long game here…and that change is hard, and change is slow, and it never happens all at once.

But eventually we get there, we always do.

We get there because of folks like my Dad…folks like Barack’s grandmother…men and women who said to themselves, “I may not have a chance to fulfill my dreams, but maybe my children will…maybe my grandchildren will.”

So many of us stand here tonight because of their sacrifice, and longing, and steadfast love…because time and again, they swallowed their fears and doubts and did what was hard.

So today, when the challenges we face start to seem overwhelming – or even impossible – let us never forget that doing the impossible is the history of this nation…it’s who we are as Americans…it’s how this country was built.

And if our parents and grandparents could toil and struggle for us…if they could raise beams of steel to the sky, send a man to the moon, and connect the world with the touch of a button…then surely we can keep on sacrificing and building for our own kids and grandkids.

And if so many brave men and women could wear our country’s uniform and sacrifice their lives for our most fundamental rights…then surely we can do our part as citizens of this great democracy to exercise those rights…surely, we can get to the polls and make our voices heard on Election Day.

If farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire…if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores…if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote…if a generation could defeat a depression, and define greatness for all time…if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dream…and if proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love…then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream.

Because in the end, more than anything else, that is the story of this country – the story of unwavering hope grounded in unyielding struggle.

That is what has made my story, and Barack’s story, and so many other American stories possible.

And I say all of this tonight not just as First Lady…and not just as a wife.

You see, at the end of the day, my most important title is still “mom-in-chief.”

My daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world.

But today, I have none of those worries from four years ago about whether Barack and I were doing what’s best for our girls.

Because today, I know from experience that if I truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and all our sons and daughters…if we want to give all our children a foundation for their dreams and opportunities worthy of their promise…if we want to give them that sense of limitless possibility – that belief that here in America, there is always something better out there if you’re willing to work for it…then we must work like never before…and we must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward…my husband, our President, President Barack Obama.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

2012年9月6日星期四

【斷章寫意‧反思民主之二十二】民主化的“社會準備”



……一個社會裡如果沒有基本一致的“國家認同”,民主化不但可能解決不了問題,反而可能帶來很多新問題。如果說專制時代還可能一個“大流氓”鎭住無數“小流氓”,民主化過程中則有可能出現“群氓亂舞”。……畢竟,眞正的民主化,不僅僅是政治體制的變化,而且是政治文化、社會形態的轉型。在崇揚民主價値的同時,對民主化進程中的陷阱保持警覺,才是眞正的“民主現實主義”。【摘自《民主的細節:美國當代政治觀察隨筆》,劉瑜著,上海三聯書店,二○○九年六月】



“國民敎育”及其衍生議題在香港社會不斷發酵,又逢同期立法會選舉,社會瀰漫躁動不安,對一衣帶水的澳門也影響不小。單就“國民敎育”本身而言,即如有論者指出應改為“公民敎育”或替以“國史敎育”,但問題核心其實還在敎育模式——在敎育過程中是否容得下多元批判聲音?是否注重和鼓勵學生獨立思考?畢竟,在媒體相對自由、發達之地如香港,“洗腦式”敎育模式已很難立足(香港此起彼伏的民間聲音已是例證,甚至筆者不少內地朋友亦早已不再buy那套只曉“歌功頌德”的官樣文章)。眞正需要警惕的,反倒是為爭取選票而逐漸形成的“對抗式”民主模式,只論立場,不辯是非。


國家認同首先源自眞實、深入的了解,除了多閱讀、多討論,也應多走多看,畢竟中國太大,問題太多,很多時我們談論“民主化”總覺得問題的根在體制變革,但其實在大衆層面還有很多更切實細微的問題,如:公民力量如何成長,民衆智慧如何凝聚,民權運動如何深化,均是龐大社會如中國或微型社會如澳門所需面對的。


劉瑜指出,在一個族群、階級裂痕很深的社會,“民主化”需要一個“社會準備”的過程:“如果沒有強大的公共領域在意識形態上與政治煽動家相抗爭,如果沒有一定的民權運動作為民主化的基礎,如果沒有種族調和甚至同化的政策相配合,民主化很可能被煽動成多數對少數的暴政甚至內戰。”此番分析絕非危言聳聽,放在衆聲喧嘩的當下港澳社會,尤其發人深省。

(反思民主·二十二)

2012年9月5日星期三

(轉引) The Future of Newspaper:奇連伊士活的創意



The Future of Newspaper:奇連伊士活的創意


奧巴馬民望一直領先,但最近兩天,選情出現逆轉,羅姆尼支持度超前奧巴馬,中間發生了甚麼事?
在共和黨的全國代表大會上,年屆82歲的奇連伊士活,放棄千篇一律的發言方式,相反,他選擇對着一張空凳自問自答,當作自己正與奧巴馬對話,質詢最難招架(事實上也沒法招架)的政績問題。

結果這幕獨腳戲非常奏效,短短十分鐘的「談話」,立即在Twitter、facebook、Instagram等社交媒體瘋傳,奇連伊士活變成潮流指標,更有人受啟發馬上開了「Invisible Obama」的Twitter賬號,不到一小時,追隨者人數已突破二萬。

有人或會問:究竟這齣獨腳戲,是經過周密計算的創意,還是奇連伊士活幾十年演戲功力的神來之筆?而選舉工程的背後,又有幾多後着?Invisible Obama是否計劃內的一步棋?真相大概只有羅姆尼團隊自己才知道。

對觀眾而言,是否計算的結果,並不重要,但對選舉工程管理者而言,「空凳」有可能影響最後賽果。問題是,世上是否有系統性的方法,可以預知一個創意、一段對話或一則內容的受歡迎程度?

《Great By Choice》作者Jim Collins,在全美24000家企業當中,找出7家效率遠超越對手10倍的企業,並用上了九年時間,研究和分析這些企業的管理者,其中一個值得參考的結論:「創意非王牌,10倍效率企業並不特別富創意,但他們善於把創新系統化、規模化,善於結合創意和紀律,其間要下苦功,成功非僥倖。」

書中進一步解釋,所謂將創意結合紀律,即是基於實證的創意(Empirical Creativity),因為企業在漫長而且動盪的環境下,將不斷受到過往經驗、主流意見、專家權威等左右決策,問題是如果創新路向過份依賴「人的意見」,一旦遇上環境驟變,企業可能不只迷失方向,更有機會走上倒退之路。相反,10倍企業選擇不斷實驗和收集數據,事實證明,作出的決定更經得起時間和環境的考驗。

媒體踏入網絡年代,收集數據的工夫變得簡單,以奇連伊士活的演出為例,簡短、幽默、有創意、而且內容兼備,完全符合社交媒體觀眾的口味,瘋傳的結果,只要善用專門分析社交媒體的工具,久而久之,其實也不難預計得到。報業能否在逆境中自強,與運氣無關,其實是關乎選擇。

方己程