In his famous speech "I Have a Dream," Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned a day when people of all colors--black and white--could ride on buses together and go to the same schools. That was in the 1960s, the time of the civil rights movement, women's liberation, the sexual revolution, the Cold War, hippies. . . an era of earthshaking change.
Young people who regret having missed out on the sixties have received abundant recompense in the last few years. The late 80s and early 90s have seen dramatic, epochal changes of their own: dreams of democracy in the Communist world; dreams of prosperity in the newly industrialized countries, dreams of reunification in divided countries. Once again, now is a time for having dreams and being able to make them come true.
I Have a Dream: At a time when our friends and even our neighbors' children are full of ambition and with beaming faces say they "want to be this or do that," the hopes and dreams of the people of Taiwan stand out even more clearly.
Children are becoming"worldly wise" earlier than ever. Little boys don't dream of being the president or a rocket scientist any more. Instead, they want to be chairman of the board and drive a big Mercedes. Princes and princesses still have a hold on the imaginations of little girls, but reality and fantasy are two separate things. Five-year-old girl to mother: "After I grow up, I'll go to work and make money, and you can stay at home and take care of the kids."
For young people, the conventional goals of marrying, raising a family, building a career, owning house and car, and having children who grow up to be even more successful than they were are no longer enough. Economic development and social mobility have afforded them the imaginative space for dreams about getting rich quick and the possibility of realizing them.
For the elderly, the dreams are financial independence and the companionship of a spouse in old age; happiness and success for the children and grandchildren, so there's no need to worry and fret; good health and freedom from pain and illness thanks to modern medicine; and when the times comes to go, to go quickly. . . .
Every stage of life has its dreams. Even people entering their forties, who should have settled down to a steady pace after half a lifetime of hustling and bustling about at the gradual expense of their dreams, are chasing dreams of all kinds these days.
Some, who have boldly charged forward despite the "high wear and tear" produced by the heavy pressures of competition today, dream of starting to enjoy life after they turn 40. Others expect to keep plugging away until their children have grown before having the time to relax and live for themselves, freed from long-standing obligations and responsibilities. Others want to start out again by changing careers or founding a new business, using the resources and abilities they have accumulated over the years to realize a dream they have held from their youth. More moving still are the leaders and achievers who have foregone the accomplishments that have won their renown in the past to follow roads of greater risk and higher ideals in pursuit of realizing their dreams.
Many Roads to a Dream: Compared with younger people, they have a stronger foundation to build on and a real ability to make their dreams come true. Compared with their elders, they have a stronger financial background and a higher level of education, making them more sure of themselves. They made their mark early in life, so that by their forties, at the peak of their productivity, they may already face the disappointment of having no more mountains to climb. In addition, the greater social environment has changed, opening up new roads to follow."Open your eyes and take a look around you. Everything can change," a sociologist, 40 years old himself, has said. Social factors, real ability and confidence in themselves have combined to produce a potent mix: people in their forties are chasing their dreams.
This issue's cover story, "I Still Have a Dream," presents the stories of leaders and achievers in their forties who are chasing their dreams and making them come true. With their dreams, Huang Jui-hsiang, Hsiao Yeh, Lin Huai-min, Tsai Jung-pin, Lu Chao-chun, Liu Ying-wu, Wang Nien-tzu, Shih Ying, Robert C.Y. Wu and others have set up goals and ideals for themselves and added spark and drive to society at the same time.
The spark and drive added to life on Taiwan by pursuing dreams and making them come true can be glimpsed in other articles this issue as well. Their lives may lack the dramatic turnabouts of the subjects described in the cover story, but Tsai Meng-hsia, featured in "Trademarks of the Chinese" The Ch'i-p'ao," who has worked on improving this elegant Chinese garment for many years, has a dream of her own: to create a splendid wardrobe for the modern Chinese woman. The sponsors of the Hakka Cultural Camp described in "I Never Dreamed I Was a Hakka" had a dream of helping their People appreciate their roots. And Kao Chingyuan--"Always a Winner"--dreams of making profits, creating jobs, enriching society, and even helping the Chinese on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. . . .
We at Sinorama have a dream, too. We hope that we can reflect the lives of Chinese people all over the world in even greater depth and draw them even closer together in spirit.
[Picture Caption]
Senior editor Jackie Chen talks with Lin Huai-min about his "Cloud Gate"Dream.(photo by Vincent chang)