Experiencing Harvard: A by CCTV Anchor Song Yiping

Author: Song Yiping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Everyone is a living Lei Feng
While Boston in the United States is an ancient city like Beijing, its road layout is completely different from Beijing's north-south grid. Newcomers often stand at an intersection, unsure which of the diverging roads to take, hesitating to step onto any of them. But don’t worry, "Where there is difficulty, there is help." At that moment, someone will proactively ask, "May I help you?" Especially in this cold winter, seeing such a sun-like smile and receiving family-like help makes one feel the warmth of spring. Over time, it becomes clear that if saying "How are you?" when meeting Americans is as meaningless as Chinese people asking "Have you eaten?" when greeting each other, then "" (being willing to help and do good deeds) has actually become an inevitable part of their daily habits and lifestyle. Most Americans are religious and believe that everyone is a child of God. If brothers, sisters, wives, and sisters don’t help each other, God the Father will be unhappy, and the consequences will be severe, making them unable to be God’s "good child." Additionally, the American understanding of a democratic society is that it should be a society where everyone participates. Whether you are willing or not, mutual help and assistance are considered one of the standards for becoming a volunteer in various organizations and for evaluating and assessing individuals in society. Otherwise, the "democracy" would result in everyone acting independently, leading to chaos, and society would inevitably fail to function, making it impossible to achieve the current stable and harmonious situation.
Many American universities, especially prestigious ones, consider whether students frequently participate in social activities and whether they are volunteers for charitable or non-profit organizations when admitting new students. This is evaluated alongside academic performance as one of the criteria for assessment, so America encourages children to engage in social activities from a young age. In the upbringing of American children, similar to how Chinese parents educate their children, parents also tell them stories of role models. One such story goes like this: "Look at Rice’s second daughter, Rice, who is now our Secretary of State." This child not only had excellent academic performance but also showed respect for the elderly and care for the young, determined to serve the people. She often helped her neighbor Reagan "Grandpa Reagan" walk his dog, helped Barbara "Grandma Barbara" at the corner shop buy groceries, and took care of Hillary "Aunt Hillary’s" children. Not only did she do good deeds herself, but she also founded a non-governmental volunteer organization, bringing people together to do good. Otherwise, how could she have been admitted to Stanford University? How could she have advanced so quickly to become the school’s academic dean? Or how could she have become our Secretary of State so soon?