Is Your Sky Clear Today?

Among the Dowayo people of Cameroon in Africa, the polite greeting when meeting is as follows:

“Today, is your sky clear?”

“Very clear. And you?”

“My sky is clear too.”

People in the English-speaking world greet one another like this:

“How are you?”

“Fine, thank you. And you?”

“I am fine too.”

In my hometown, when acquaintances meet, the polite words are:

“Have you eaten yet?”

“I have. And you?”

“I have eaten too.”

The lives of ordinary people around the world are much the same; most people are in fact kind and amiable, and the hopes of different peoples and ethnic groups for a peaceful, beautiful life are basically identical. We hope for world peace, and hope that everyone may be free from hunger and cold, healthy and happy. But regrettably, there are always people who stir up hatred and division between ordinary people of different groups. Those who do so usually have ulterior motives, whether economic or political.

There is a passage in the Book of Songs (Shijing): “How shall it be said there is no clothing? I will share my long robe with you. The king raises his army; I will prepare my lance and spear. I will share the same hatred with you! How shall it be said there is no clothing? I will share the undergarment with you. The king raises his army; I will prepare my spear and halberd. I will stand together with you! How shall it be said there is no clothing? I will share the battle skirt with you. The king raises his army; I will prepare our armor and weapons. I will march together with you!” This is a biting satirical poem, mocking the affected posturing of those “kings” of the feudal age who, for their own interests, incited ordinary people to war.

People with a conscience should stand up and say no to those with ulterior motives, opposing their disregard for and trampling upon humanitarianism. But regrettably, as the Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro said not long ago, the COVID epidemic has driven many writers into a state of self-confinement and self-censorship, because hatred is now ubiquitous and many writers have been besieged by incited crowds. The prevalence of anti-intellectualism has led most intellectuals worldwide to choose the course of self-preservation, staying silent and letting the demons dance.

We are unfortunate enough to be witnessing an abnormal age, and this abnormal age may continue for a long time. Before this epidemic, most people had faith in human society in the twenty-first century. We believed that, having lived through the First and Second World Wars, although conflicts remained in some localities, the humanitarian spirit would allow humankind, as a community, by and large to stand united, love peace, and sympathize with and gladly help the weak.

An abnormal age has shattered this illusion. I regret and grieve to see many ordinary people, like myself, lose their precious lives. In an age when science and technology flourish, it is less that they died by natural disaster than that they died from man-made calamities created by anti-intellectualism.

Most people feel sympathy for those who have unfortunately passed away, but some stand by and gloat, uttering shrill voices and mocking the unfortunate. They have not only lost their humanity but also mock others as falsely aloof. Once they themselves encounter misfortune and hardship in life, I believe they too will hope that others will show them humanity and help them.

All humans alive today share a common ancestor who lived 150,000 years ago. In the hard struggle to survive in nature, we have encountered many crises that required everyone to pull together. But regrettably, many of us have forgotten the most basic goodness in human nature; instead of uniting and doing good together, we each act on our own, making enemies of our neighbors, bloodthirsty and belligerent.

This epidemic has made me cherish life all the more. Life comes only once, and once lost it will not return. No matter what happens in the world, I will cherish life, value every inch of time, and never let my own sky grow overcast. At the same time, I also hope that other people's skies are clear and their hearts are filled with sunshine.