Once, an owner of an unlocking factory in Jiangnan said that his business was very prosperous and that Rijin Doujin would soon be listed. I asked him why he is so developed? He replied: "Now that people are rich, they have money and things, they naturally have to add locks to buy locks; besides, my locks are high in technology, and general technology is difficult to open, and the technology is constantly updated, so the market is always in my hands. in."
I smiled and said, "A good friend of mine said that the most disliked thing in the world is locks because locks do not trust people and are used to guard against others."
The owner of the lock factory-raised his eyebrows and said, "Who is not defending against people? What I earn is money for defending against people. Do you think there is a place in this world that does not close at night?
I said: "It was true in the 1950s. In the 1970s, I lived on the top floor of a house. There was only a hook on the door and no lock. During the day when I went to work, the door was closed and hooked. I had never been stolen."
The owner of the lock factory said: "When is that? It's gone. If you don't believe me, try without locking the door."
I smiled and said nothing, I believed him. I admit that in an age of material desire and age of non-material desire, human bottom lines are different. The bottom line of society is also declining. The so-called decline in the bottom line of society is the relaxation of tolerance. What was previously unacceptable, now has one eye closed; what was previously unacceptable, now does not accept it also exists. In the business game, lies and deception have all become "wisdom"; in the competition of social interests, the benefit of others has become a universal profitable reality; sometimes honesty is not only unfulfilled but even becomes a commercial call or trap. In such a social ecology, people's bottom line is declining unknowingly.
But this bottom line is like the waterline of a river, the water has a certain height, boats are easy to move, and people are easy to swim. If it reaches the bottom one day, everyone will be stuck in the mud together. We don't even know whether we are dirty, clean, or who it is.
Therefore, people must have their bottom line. The bottom line was originally very clear. For example, people cannot "see a profit and forget righteousness", "sell friends to seek glory", "trait the country and seek glory", "take advantage of others' danger", "abuse their parents", "use the strong to bully the weak", "repay gratitude for revenge", "delay the enemy", and " Don't take ill-gotten wealth", "A friend's wife must not be deceived" and so on.
This bottom line, well-known in the ancient world, is also the standard for being a person in the world. Does it seem that it is being broken across the board?
The bottom line is that it exists in two places invisibly. One in society, one in everyone's heart. If people lower their bottom line, the bottom line of society must drop. If society loses the bottom line of common observance, the world and human relations must be corrupted; if everyone holds the bottom line, society will have a beautiful standard line-civilization. Therefore, keeping the bottom line is not only for the sake of perfecting society but also for perfecting ourselves.
However, these two bottom lines influence each other. The key is that when you sometimes encounter a bottom line below yours, do you lower your bottom line and follow the trend, or stick to yourself, keep yourself clean, and stick to the principle of being a person and doing things on your own? Some people say that in a materialistic and utilitarian society, the bottom line is fragile. In my opinion, the bottom line of society is fragile, and people's bottom line can still be strong and unbreakable.
The bottom line is the self-standard of man, the standard of morality, the standard of being a man in the world.
People's self-confidence is built on the bottom line. Without a bottom line, it will be a mess of the failed self and even a failed life.
There is a bottom line, at least on the level of "people", a successful self and a successful life.