In China, people often say, "Having connections is like having hard currency." In this society, while it appears to promote fair competition, in reality, it is rife with undercurrents, shrouded in the haze of personal networks. Relationships seem like a magical brush that can turn black into white, ugliness into beauty, wrong into right, lowliness into nobility, old into young, and cowardice into valor. In this society dominated by connections, the path of righteousness seems increasingly distant, while hypocrisy and falsehood flourish.
In this distorted societal atmosphere, relationships resemble a vast web, tightly binding individuals. Possessing connections feels like a privilege, a pass to trample upon rules. Consequently, undesirable practices persist within this network of connections. The pillars of social justice and fairness gradually fade under the weight of relationships.
With values inverted and beauty and ugliness interchanged, everything becomes a captive of connections. Those who should rightfully face consequences for their wrongdoings often evade punishment due to the protection of their connections, while those deserving of honor languish in obscurity due to their lack of "relationship power." In such a society, fair competition appears to be an unattainable ideal, with relationships emerging as the sole governing principle.
Hypocrisy and false pretenses surge within this relationship-driven society. People, in order to maintain their connections, resort to all means of flattery and sycophancy, where words no longer reflect genuine intentions, and every individual wears a mask to embellish their words and actions to uphold their relationships.
The fundamental problem of a relationship-oriented society lies in its distortion of societal truths. Values are inverted, justice is perverted, and morality is trampled upon. This not only challenges the societal system but also tests the bottom line of human nature. Within this narrow network of connections, people's perspectives and minds become confined, plunging society into a vicious cycle.
Relationships should not serve as a web that erodes moral boundaries but rather as a bond of mutual understanding and respect.
