Even street beggars corrupt moral standards

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By Chen Weihua (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-06-23 15:20

Most people don't hesitate to help strangers asking for directions. But, not in Shanghai these days.

When someone stops you on the street, you might pause or slow down as you give the person the once-over.

If your gut instinct tells you they're about to go on at length, chances are you'll walk away in a hurry.

There are a lot of these types around the city. Many appear in pairs. They can be a couple, a mother-and-daughter, or two sisters. Like everyone else on the streets, they're usually decently dressed.

Their stories, as I've heard once or twice before, are about how they finally ran penniless after failing to find their friends or relatives in Shanghai, or how their wallets were stolen. All they're asking for is 20 yuan to buy a train ticket, or 10 yuan to buy some bread.

I recently met one of these people in my neighborhood. A neatly dressed woman in her 50s approached me with tears in her eyes. She told me she forgot to bring enough money with her and asked for 20 yuan to get home.

She seemed genuine, so much so, I felt nothing but sympathy for her. And so I gave her 20 yuan.

I had helped a person in need - and I felt proud, until our paths crossed again a few days later.

Having forgotten all about me, she started in on the same story.

Outraged, I shouted at her.

Over the last few decades, we have become increasingly disappointed at the lack of trust and declining moral standards in society.

We put that blame on corrupt officials who talk publicly about honest politics but take bribes under the table. We accuse greedy businessmen who produce tainted milk formula and fake drugs. And, we point our fingers at an indifferent public who are less willing to help the others.

We have never thought to hold the people begging on our streets responsible. They are, after all, an underprivileged group of our society. We never assume these people will behave like crooked officials and businessmen to destroy the trust and moral standards in our society. And, we never expect them to steal the trust and sympathy we hold deep in our hearts.

These people, whether dressed neatly like the woman I met, or kneeling along the sidewalks, with a moving story written on a piece of paper, are challenging the bottom line of our moral standards just like dishonest officials and businessmen.

It is easy to blame our moral crisis today on the Cultural Revolution (1967-77), when people were brainwashed to persecute each other, including their friends and loved ones. In fact, there were far more lofty doctors and teachers back then; there were also far fewer tricky officials and far more helpful people on the streets and in the communities.

Unlike decades ago when a person was judged first and foremost by his or her moral actions, the criterion today is often materialistic in nature.

We have not made much effort to restore our proud Confucian philosophy regarding honesty, trust and integrity after they were destroyed decades ago.

We have given up the quest for the moral high ground in almost every profession in the pursuit of economic success.

People aren't concerned with morality or ethics anymore. It's a topic that doesn't even enter mainstream conversation, and if it does, the subject is often seen as archaic or mundane.

With beggars, too, now jumping on the bandwagon, the time bomb of our moral crisis is ticking even faster. We need to respond swiftly and aggressively in order to avert the outcome, which can only be a disaster.

E-mail: chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn