瘋人瘋語

「我離港前到過一間精神科醫院。當時有位病人禮貌地問,一個以作為世上最悠久民主政體而自傲的國家,如何能夠將此地交給一個政治制度非常不同的國家,且既沒諮詢當地公民,又沒給予他們民主的前景,好讓他們捍衞自己的將來。一個隨行同事說,奇怪,香港提出最理智問題的人,竟在精神科醫院。」彭定康 金融時報

“During a visit to a mental hospital before I left Hong Kong, a patient politely asked me how a country that prided itself on being the oldest democracy in the world had come to be handing over his city to another country with a very different system of government, without either consulting the citizens or giving them the prospect of democracy to safeguard their future. Strange, said one of my aides, that the man with the sanest question in Hong Kong is in a mental hospital.”Chris Patten Financial Times

Non Chinese literate friends, please simply switch to English Version provided by LOUSY Google Translation

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Friday, February 24, 2012

史東 Soup

史東 Soup





【維基百科】The story was the basis of a 1947 children's book, Stone Soup (ISBN 9780689878367), by Marcia Brown, which featured soldiers tricking miserly villages into cooking them a feast. The book won a Caldecott Medal in 1947.





【維基百科】Some travellers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers. Then the travellers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire.

One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavour, which they are missing.

The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out.

More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.





【維基百科】Stone Soup is an old folk story in which hungry strangers persuade local people of a town to give them food. It is usually told as a lesson in cooperation, especially amid scarcity.

In varying traditions, the stone has been replaced with other common inedible objects, and therefore the fable is also known as button soup, wood soup, nail soup, and axe soup. In the Aarne-Thompson folktale classification system it is type 1548.





故事的寓意
以上的“石頭湯”寓言,是家母在我兒時,每晚講的 Bed Side Story 之一,當時只覺得很有趣,也想嚐嚐石頭湯的滋味。娘親知我年幼,沒有詳細解釋其中寓意,只說“集腋可以成裘,積少可以成多!“



引申到今時今日的社會
獨裁的寡頭領袖領導模式,經最高領導層頒下議決,由上而下全民跟隨依從執行。還是好像“史東 Soup” 由全民參與的民主政治,凡事經過公決公投,由下而上產生出來的決議,會得到更多更高的認受性?


可惜這個由民眾參與的認受性,卻並不保證是最佳的決議。回頭看看煲湯作餚,為何人們愛上館子,享受由專業廚師烹調的湯羹菜餚呢?


因此,民主政治發展至今,先由全民選出的領袖例如:總統、總理、主席的國家元首,由他她委派一班問責官員輔助,另加上經過民眾代表的代議政制,去審議問責官員提出的施政法例議案,希望可以得到較貼近“佳”這個境界。




後記:

2014年 11月 15日 明報專欄:法政隨筆
石 頭 湯 ~~ 戴 耀 廷


石頭湯是一個來自歐洲的古老故事,在不同國家都有不同版本。最近收到一群市民給我的一個把石頭湯故事移植至中國的繪本。故事最重要是要說,人們之間要懂得與人分享的道理。

這個中國化的故事是說有三個和尚來到一個村子,村子由於經歷許多災難,使得人與人之間彼此不信任,互不往來。三個和尚想到一個方法幫助村民們打開心扉,就是在村口處,透起火在一個鍋裏放進三塊石頭,煮起說是人間美味的石頭湯。奇特的石頭湯引來村民的好奇與注意,為了令湯更美味,村民不自覺地拿出家裡有的東西,加入湯鍋中,令石頭湯變得愈來愈香,愈來愈美味。最後湯煮好了,整個村的村民都走出來參加了一場石頭湯的盛宴。村民學懂與其他人分享自己所擁有的,而冷漠的關係也得以打破了。

記得在提出「佔領中環」初期,我也引用了石頭湯這故事來說明在香港以公民抗命去爭普選。我提出這意念,其實只是透起火在鍋裏放下三塊石頭,它們本身不為湯添加任何「味道」,只是開了一個頭。要使整鍋湯有真味道,也就是令這場公民抗命的運動產生真正果效,是需要更多公民參與。大家要注入這鍋公民抗命「石頭湯」的,也不需要太多,只要各人按自己所能承擔的就可以了。

各人所貢獻的,因各人的差異,會為這運動注入不同的力量(味道)。即使各人所付出的,客觀來說未必是太多,但願意付出的人若是夠多的話,那麼累積起來的力量(味道),就會是相當強大(香濃)的了。這就是雨傘運動發展至今的狀,由於參與人數眾多,部分人付出的代價也不小(因公民抗命要承擔罪責),故累積起的力量相當龐大,成為了香港有史以來最大規模的群眾運動。

雖然這公民抗命「石頭湯」能否改變得到現在不公平的制度,仍是未知之數,但這肯定已為香港舉行了一場有史以來最大型的爭取民主的盛宴,讓更多港人醒覺,要有民主就要大家一起付出。愈多人能參與其中,成功的機會就愈大。


戴 耀 廷



想不到兩年多之後, 戴耀庭 教授也借用 史東 Soup,來比喻今次的政改引申出來的 “雨傘運動“ !!!





伸延閱覽:
Fable:Stone Soup 維基百科


我的舊文(小故事):
小白兔
檸檬茶
第二次『龜兔賽跑』
第三次『龜兔賽跑』
聽過一個故事
A Self Explanatory Story
Bed Side Story 石頭王子
Horton and Dr. Seuss
Charlotte's Web 莎樂的神奇網網


我的舊文:
我的政治 101.0
我的政治 101.1

2 comments:

Ebenezer said...

希臘現在暫時由代總統獨裁執政,全世界可短暫鬆一鬆口氣。到了四月,新總統再由民主方式產生,那時他就要服在人民的慾望之下,到時,希臘就大鑊了!

the inner space said...

以便兄:兄台對時事局勢評論真是一針見血! 我曾在舊文:獨裁者的 Efficiency,指出獨裁者的執政是極具效率的,而一個精明和對人民仁慈的獨裁者,絕對是人民的幸福。

這個論點有一西諺:"The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination."

不竟絕對權力令人腐化,加上歲月的添加思維受到年老的影響,若獨裁者不知進退戀棧權位,到最後還是要除掉!



連結:獨裁者的 Efficiency