Summary:
Why do powerful countries badmouth themselves? Because it requires self-reflection. Why do countries with false prosperity want to badmouth others, because they need to use this to paralyze their citizens! Those who are afraid of being bad-mouthed are all because they are too weak. Truly strong people have never been bad-mouthed. There is a saying that "a wise man always reflects, a fool is always complacent".
Recently, Internet celebrity Argentinian economist and President Milai came up with a new saying: "Strong countries will badmouth themselves because they need self-reflection; falsely prosperous countries will badmouth others because they need to be paralyzed. Citizens!
I have to say that Milai’s golden words reveal the true meaning of human nature and hurt some people’s eyes.
First, why do powerful countries talk bad about themselves?
Views show an attitude of introspection and self-criticism. On the one hand, powerful countries are good at finding their own problems and shortcomings through reflection and badmouthing themselves, and arousing public attention and discussion on the issues in order to carry out internal reforms and reforms. Improvement, thereby promoting social change and progress.
On the other hand, some countries may deliberately denigrate their military strength or economic prospects to create excuses to gain more support or resources.
In addition, powerful Countries usually have enough self-confidence to withstand criticism of themselves and negative evaluations from outsiders, and will not feel threatened by it.
Therefore, Chairman Mao Zedong once said, "Those in power must be good at listening to criticism, otherwise they will be criticized. Losing room for improvement.
Therefore, in 1978, our party had the courage to carry out a major discussion on the idea that practice is the only criterion for testing truth, self-analyzed the existing problems, thus unified its thinking, launched the first reform and opening up, and won three-year victory Ten years of rapid economic and social development.
Therefore, a research institution in the United States found that 97% of the articles published in the American media that comment on the U.S. government and economy analyze the problems of the United States and criticize the government’s mistakes, and the remaining 3% It only objectively introduces economic and social development trends, and none of the articles praises the US government or officials. The characteristic of American citizenship is "I love my country, but be wary of my government." Maybe this is what the United States can maintain. The main reason why it has been developing for hundreds of years!
Second, why do countries with false prosperity want to talk down others, because they need to use this to paralyze their citizens!
We will find that some countries that are particularly difficult always like to use their control. The media boast about its great achievements and assert that the United States is in decline. In fact, they are just distracting its citizens from their own governance failures by badmouthing one or a few imaginary enemies.
Of course, badmouthing others may also stem from it. Jealousy. Jealousy is one of the basic human emotions. It occurs when we see something that others have that we don’t have. When others perform better than themselves in some aspects, some people may feel jealous. Choosing to badmouth others as a way to relieve your own pain may provide temporary relief, but it can have long-term negative consequences on relationships.
For example, on January 11, 2024, Russian President Putin expressed his views on Russia’s economic prospects when meeting with entrepreneurs in the Russian Far East. He praised Russia's performance under the pressure of Western sanctions and told them that Russia has become Europe's largest economy and fifth in the world in terms of purchasing power parity.
Putin said: We seem to be strangled and suppressed from all sides, but we have become the largest economy in Europe. The size of our economy in purchasing power parity terms puts us first in Europe, behind Germany, behind China, the United States, India and Japan.
He also said that Russia did not succumb to foreign pressure and showed real resilience. In contrast, EU member states are going through difficult times. The EU is more dependent on Russia than Russia needs the EU.
But in fact, ppp is just an auxiliary observation indicator estimated by a few World Bank economists to study basic living standards. Because it cannot measure the value of newly created wealth, statistical offices of various countries, including the Russian Statistical Service, do not bother to calculate it. . Therefore, the GDP of Russia, which has a population 1.7 times that of Germany, fell to US$1.99 trillion in 2023, a decrease of 11.2%, which is only 44.7% of Germany's GDP of US$4.45 trillion.
As for whether it is difficult for EU members to be members, is the EU more dependent on Russia, or is Russia inseparable from the EU? Looking at the oil and gas revenue reported to him by the Russian Ministry of Finance in 2023, which has fallen sharply by 23.9% due to the EU's implementation of energy de-Russianization, he In fact, I know it better than anyone else.
What Putin said to entrepreneurs in the Far East is a typical example of how he used badmouthing the EU to distract its citizens from the failure of his decision to attack Ukraine while giving himself a good look.
Third, the fear of being bad-mouthed is because you are too weak. A truly strong person has never been bad-mouthed.
Here I will tell you two stories, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign.
One is Shiji. But anyone who has read historical records knows that Liu Bang is a person who often talks down on himself. For example, when paying homage to the general in Hanzhong, Han Xin asked Liu Bang: Who is more powerful between you and Xiang Yu?
Liu Bang replied very simply: Xiang Yu is amazing!
After hearing this, Han Xin kowtowed to Liu Bang and said very respectfully: I also think Xiang Yu is better than you!
Do you know why Han Xin kowtowed to Liu Bang at this time? Because Liu Bang dared to boldly admit that he was weaker than Xiang Yu. This is an essential quality of a leader.
You must know that it is very difficult for leaders to openly admit that they are weaker than others. But Liu Bang dared to admit it, so he finally established the Han Dynasty. And Xiang Yu, who felt all day long that he was invincible and would not allow anyone to look down on him, finally committed suicide by the Wujiang River.
The other one is Russia. After Putin entered the Kremlin, relying on the oil and gas revenue buried underground by his ancestors and the huge arsenal left by the Soviet Union, he believed that he had the second most powerful military force in the world, and looked down upon most countries in the world. His neighbor Xiaoguo can beat up whoever he wants. Not content with Crimea, which occupied Ukraine in 2014, it brazenly invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and even dreamed of using the so-called torrent of steel to destroy Ukraine in a week.
Who knew that the torrent of steel that blew through the sky, the hypersonic missiles that were said to be impossible to intercept, the Black Sea Fleet that had occupied the Black Sea for hundreds of years, Soviet fighter jets, early warning aircraft, and bombers all fell from the altar in this war and became bulky, A synonym for outdated.
In Russia, Putin issued a presidential decree that anyone who dares to criticize its military operations in Ukraine or the Russian army’s disadvantages on the battlefield will be directly arrested and punished in court. Even so, in the past two years, from the economy to the war, has Russia not been on the road to decline? Which one of the United States and Europe, which is being vilified by Russia every day, is not economically prosperous?
How can a powerful country decline because of a few comments? How can a declining country change its fate and become prosperous just because of boasting? Just like the common people in the old society who cursed the other person to death by pricking the villain with a needle, how could the other person really die just because you pricked the villain? If that's the case, then what kind of weapons are we going to develop? What kind of Dongfeng Express is needed? The Ministry of National Defense directly recruits millions of elderly Chinese women to stab American and European villains. Each one stabs one, and almost all American and European soldiers die.
So, the fear of being criticized by others is because you are too weak, which often stems from the inferiority and insecurity deep in your heart. This kind of emotion is often due to one's own lack of strength and inability to remain confident and firm in the face of external doubts. The truly powerful people of
have never been talked down by others. Because real strength is the power that comes from deep inside. It allows us to remain calm and rational when facing challenges and difficulties, so as to find the best way to solve problems. Real strength is not only an external expression, but also an inner temperament.It comes from our understanding and cognition of ourselves, a clear grasp of our own strengths and weaknesses, and a clear plan for future development. When we have full confidence in our own strength and potential, we will naturally be able to calmly deal with various evaluations and doubts from the outside world and not be influenced by others.
Fourth, wise men often reflect, while fools are often complacent. The sentence
conveys the mentality and attitude of two different types of people.
Wise people, they often reflect on their actions and thoughts to seek improvement and growth. Because reflection is the source of wisdom, enabling people to understand themselves and transcend themselves.
Fools tend to be self-satisfied and unwilling to examine their own behavior or recognize their own shortcomings. And people who are easily self-satisfied also like to belittle others.
There is a saying in "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic": A wise man will detect similarities, and a fool will detect differences. Although this sentence talks about health preservation, it succinctly and comprehensively describes two completely opposite ways of observing the world, and the results are also very different.
A wise person will tolerate each other, seek common ground while reserving differences, and achieve a win-win situation. A fool will create conflicts if he notices differences, and will be unjust and helpless, leading to failure.
Therefore, wise men often improve themselves through self-examination, and tolerate others through observing common ground, and finally the wise man becomes a strong man; while fools are often blindly complacent and unable to make progress, create contradictions and demean others through observing differences, and finally become fools. Became the weak one.
Therefore, we must fully understand that powerful countries will badmouth themselves because they need self-reflection; false and prosperous countries will badmouth others because they need to paralyze their citizens and themselves at the same time!
[Author: Xu Sanlang]
