Washington USA 美国华盛顿 4/2019 (4)

Caution: If you do not understand sarcasm or see compliments, you may not want to read further

注：内容含讽刺和隐喻，无意不敬

30/4-1/5/2015. After Cancun, Havana, Cuba, and the Bahamas, I returned to Houston for a little business, then resumed my travel and came to my last stop of this trip, Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital.

Never been here. This is a very impressive city, showcasing modern architecture. This is, after all, the capital of arguably the only superpower of the world, and by default, the universe, since there is no one out there, yet. The buildings looked newish; they do not have a long history, unlike the Europeans, having come ashore only a few hundred years ago. As such a powerful country, the government has to be big, and with many bureaucrats to house, the buildings must be majestic. There are also many memorials, memorializing the greats and the ideals they portray. This is where modern men demonstrate what they are capable of in modern architecture; more importantly, what they value. I was impressed.

They say a black man runs this country. Some even contend he came from Kenya. It makes no difference to me. Mr. Deng Xiaoping was right when he said—it does not matter if it is a black or white cat (or yellow), so long as it catches mice. This is, nevertheless, a shocker to me, that a white-majority country would choose a black man to lead them. After picking him, they put this black man in a white house, built with the sweat of enslaved black men, and officially called it the White House. They even allow him to keep his dog. That’s nice. I then go to this house to see close up what the fuss is about this white house that I have been hearing about since I was born. They wouldn’t let me get near it. Instead, I was left standing outside the fence, staring at a stand with magazines displayed by some preachers, captioned, “Is the end near?” This is no sabotage or protest, but freedom to speak one’s mind. It is freedom of speech, freedom of expression, including telling your political leaders to go fly kite if they mess up.

I am constantly reminded the president’s is no small job. I don’t know about that—he works from home, is on a four-year renewable contract, subject to satisfactory performance; otherwise, he is booted out in four years. Hmm, it does not sound much like he is the boss; he is the boss only if the people let him. Oh, I get it; the people are the real boss! But they trust him; he does not carry a gun or a bazooka with him; he carries nuclear bombs in his briefcase! Whoa! No wonder when he tells the world, “jump,” they all ask, “How high?” It is for good reason it is what it is, the superpower, and this is its capital.

30/4-1/5/2015 坎昆，古巴和巴哈马后，又回到美国休斯顿处理些公事后又继续这趟旅行，最后一站到华盛顿，一睹这美国首都风采。华盛顿没欧洲的悠久历史，移民几百年前才在这里登陆。但这大都充满现代设计，华丽别致的建筑，虽然很多抢眼的建筑都是政府办公大楼，但政府也要像样，总不该都是朝南水泥大方块。也有许多纪念碑和纪念堂，纪念以往伟人和壮举，设计别出心裁，意义深远。在这里看到现代人的智慧和创意，我还是惊叹不已。

他们说这国家是一个黑人领导，还有人说他可能来自肯尼亚。我很惊讶，一个多数白人的国家， 有些人甚至称之为世界霸主，会选一个黑人做他们领导。还挺幽默的，把一个黑人领导安置在全白，名为白宫作为他的上班地方，不过可养狗。邓小平曾说，不管白猫还是黑猫，能捉老鼠的就是好猫。我想这也是他们的理念和智慧，无论肤色，只要能胜任就上。但我看这份工作也不怎样，四年干不好就会被老百姓炒鱿鱼；好像是临时工； 如干得好，可再干四 年， 顶多就八年，有点像合同工，过后告老回乡，安分过自己日子；这样的职位老实说我肯定没兴趣，且听说工资也不高。干得好，别人好话也不多，干得不好，还会遭辱骂， 是吃力不讨好的活。但奇怪的是，很多人都蠢蠢欲试，听说是为了荣誉，为了报效； 这到底是什么概念呀！但也不完全没好处；听说他们让他公事包里携带很多核弹，必要自卫时从包里发射。作为游客我很好奇，就借机到他家门看看，可是架子太高，我根本无法接近大门。我以为戒备森严，固若金汤，但眼前就一堵廋矮铁枝篱笆拦着，这就是开放？但成为超级大国不是靠核弹，是我肤浅眼光看不到，体会不了的崇高理念和坚定信念铸成的。