The new reforms of every era get their power from the ideals of the young. Some of these succeed while others fail. What are the factors that determine this? They lie in the three points listed below: accurately recognizing reality, self-examination, and paying an appropriate price.
Using the recent trend of people's direct demand for legal remedy as an example, every individual case can be seen to have its own special background as well as man-made factors. It's not easy to judge right and wrong. We need sufficient and complete information to enable us to clarify the objective and subjective causes of certain phenomena. A single result can often come about from many causes. On the other hand, a single cause can often lead to many different consequences. The cause and effect relationship in human society is definitely not as clear as it is in the world of nature. Today many different problems sometimes take shape not because there are too few experts, but rather because there are too many pseudo-experts. Society has no way to distinguish these. So public opinion becomes confused and a severe rift occurs between differing opinions.
Self-examination is as an expression of assuming responsibility. American president John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Society is everybody's. Every problem has a complicated background. "What role am I playing here?" "What can I do for society?" "Could I overlook the difficulties encountered in the real situation for the sake of an abstract rational cause?" "If I am allowed to do this, am I certain to do it any better?" This chain of reflections can help us better understand the truth and put forth reasonable opinions.
As for paying an appropriate price, we can't merely stand idly by, mouthing words of no importance. However, the price mentioned here is not the suggestion that young people should immediately go out and take part in social movements, but rather the opposite; they should remain calm and watch tactfully until the time when they can truly contribute something.
Freedom is a beautiful word, but its implications are quite complicated. It at once indicates no outside interference and deciding things for yourself. Freedom and responsibility exist together. If you talk of freedom and not of responsibility, it is difficult to avoid having a world in chaos. If you talk of responsibility and not of freedom, it is difficult to avoid having the appearance of repression.
Concern and criticism give us the beautiful ideal of believing that man can change in all ways for the better. If you consider the concepts in this article when deciding about an ideal, you not only allow it to receive a broader response, but you also make it easier to carry out.