Dark corners of contemporary people

(Baonghean) - Normally, there are things that happen that seem to have nothing to do with each other, but the more you think about it, the more you realize that everything is actually related to each other. That connection can be invisible, tangible, or of varying degrees, but it is definitely "connected" to each other.

Like what happened a few days ago in Long An province. There, there was a bridge built during the French colonial period. Fearing that the old bridge could collapse at any time, causing harm to passersby, people decided to demolish it to build a new bridge. But unfortunately, the old, old bridge, hundreds of years old, was not as rickety and dilapidated as people thought. On the contrary, even the most modern and heavy excavators, after a few hits, were defeated by something more solid than stone or copper. As described by a local journalist, each hit was painful. The rumbling sounds kept ringing, but the bridge remained calm as if nothing had happened. And then the hoe was hit with another loud bang, and then he fell unconscious. Upon inspection, the hoe's "ti" was broken. The hundred-year-old bridge is hurting even the most modern excavators, which means it is also hurting the reason "too weak", hurting the fear "the most fearful thing is that the bridge is too old, if it collapses and leads to death, it is very dangerous".

Illustration: Internet

Only then did it turn out that the bridge was not as weak as people thought, or more precisely, as people wanted it to be, in order to have a legitimate reason to use the budget to build a new bridge. From here, the irresponsible and careless business practices of some responsible people were revealed, they kept declaring that the bridge was weak and needed to be removed without bothering to organize an assessment to determine whether it was really weak or not. And from here, people thought of some newly built, very modern bridges in the region, as the local journalist listed: Vinh Binh Bridge, cable-stayed structure, cost 2.5 billion VND, inaugurated on May 13. By May 26, some cracks began to appear on the bridge abutments. The authorities had just put up a barrier in time, but the next day (May 27) when the weather was "windy", the 2.5 billion VND bridge collapsed, "living" only 12 days. On October 22, the Binh Phong Thanh cable-stayed bridge across the Vam Co Tay River with a total investment of 15 billion VND collapsed while under construction. On October 24, a newly built bridge, Chua Noi Bridge, was "requested to be inspected by the government to ensure safety". The reason was recorded by a newspaper: Every time a vehicle passes by, the bridge shakes violently, making people hold their breath. And a question arises: why is there a hundred-year-old bridge that stands the test of time, in the style of "no one can shake it, no one can shake it" and why are there bridges that have collapsed or are waiting to collapse after being built? What is the reason?

It seems a bit redundant to ask that. Of course, whether a bridge is durable forever or is damaged after completion depends on its good or bad quality. And quality depends not only on the level and conscience of the contractor but also on the level and conscience of the people who directly carry out the construction. That is, the workers. Comparing the old bridge and the new bridges, it is clear that the skills of the workers in the past were many times better than those of today. Thus, it is clear that today's workers, despite being supported by many machines and having highly durable materials, still cannot compete with the quality of the ancients.

So is it because of poorer skills than before or is there another reason here? Only then did I remember that cultural researcher Vuong Tri Nhan had an article about the occupational status of contemporary people. In it, he mentioned that looking at handicrafts, many older and more meticulous people often immediately realized that if compared to a craftsman in the past, the craftsman today is much more inexperienced. Famous communal houses and pagodas, which are now under construction, cannot be rebuilt. Try putting old bells in front of foundry workers, statues in front of carpenters... Even if you give them billions, they still shake their heads and do not dare to do it. And he came to the conclusion: The degeneration of workers is taking place in contemporary society.

People today are degenerate compared to the past. Lying, cheating, doing wrong regardless of the law... There is another simpler aspect: the laxity in the relationship between people and work. The poor quality of the work they complete. Perhaps in no other country like ours, goods are only good in the first batches, but the later they are, the more they deteriorate. Many newly built roads are cracked and broken. Temples and pagodas are being renovated more and more indiscriminately... The chaos is not only due to the laxity and lack of standards and the incompetence of those in charge, but also due to the degeneration of the workers themselves. Many people completely lack enthusiasm for their daily work, which is the reason for their lives.

At this point, everyone must have realized the connection between the story of the old bridge and the new bridge all the way to Long An with a researcher’s “Facebook” post. And thanks to that, the reason why “the old bridge is strong, the young bridge is weak” has been pointed out vividly and deeply. That is due to the degradation, the degeneration of the personality and profession of the workers in particular and that is the dark corner of contemporary people in general.

Buddha Mountain