从杨荣文的演说谈起
今天在联合早报上看到了标题为《杨荣文：社交媒体催化传统体制瓦解》的新闻报导。
有关报导引述前外交部长杨荣文在李光耀公共政策学院的演说谈话。不知是否已经下野（或“下海”？），旁观者清以致有感而发？无论如何，这些话不但耐人寻味，引人深思，也仿佛和本地当前的政治环境气氛有着“如幻如真”以及“若即若离”的意味。
有关新闻报导（片段）如下：
（杨荣文说：）“社交媒体对世界最重大的影响是它正侵蚀着等级制度（hierarchy）。以前维系着等级制度的元素包括无知（！），虚伪（！！），仪式，以及选择性提供消息和假消息（！！！）。这些造成隔阂的元素正因资讯科技而受到冲击。”
“他（杨荣文）说：以前孩子可以做皇帝，因为他穿上华丽的衣服，受到宫廷的保护，民众只能毕恭毕敬地远远看着他。但在今时今日，到处都有相机和麦克风，你若没有真材实料就会被取笑，别人可以一眼识穿你这皇帝一丝不挂。”
“杨荣文表示，越接近金字塔形状，越复杂及绵密的体制，越不得人心……………….因为跟群众有一段距离，所以经常被视为是只顾及自身利益，陶醉在自己的世界里，与群众脱节。”
“他（杨荣文）以建筑物为比喻：当老旧的建筑物出现裂缝时，体制的本能是进行修补。如果天花板要掉了，就赶快把它撑起来。但如果是地面本身出现了裂缝，如果地基已不如基岩般稳固，而是地壳构造板块上的裂缝，那么建筑物终究会坍塌。”
以上的话道理简单明了，言之成理，相信很能引起许多人的共鸣以及联想。但至于（杨荣文所言）：“越小的地方，如香港或新加坡，越容易适应新的现实局面（生活上？政治上？）。年轻人因为生长在网络化的时代，已习惯网络的思维，因此会比年长者更灵活地适应新局面（怎样的新局面？）。”就或许见仁见智吧？（语焉不详或报导不周？）
18.10.2014
From one of the source:
回复删除Speaking at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy’s 10th Anniversary Conference yesterday (17 Oct), former foreign minister George Yeo said that the most profound impact of social media is in the way it weakens traditional hierarchies.
“In the past, a child could become an emperor because he’s all dressed up, protected by courts, by music, by distance, and people bow. Today, the cameras are everywhere, the microphones are everywhere. And if you’re not authentic, well, you’ll be laughed at. The emperor has no clothes.”
It’s not known if Mr Yeo had any person in his mind when he was giving the example of a child becoming an emperor.
This has led to what he calls a crisis of institutions around the world with relationships being changed in a profound way, where hierarchies are being eroded and authority questioned.
“What we are seeing is still very much a destructive phase of old structures being brought down. New ones are being built up… on different assumptions (and) foundations, but it will be some time before those new forms become dominant,” he said.
He also added, “The more pyramidal, elaborate and byzantine institutions are… the less the public affection. Because of their distance, they are oftentimes seen as self-serving and disconnected, absorbed in their own world.”
Sparking this change is social media which has kept people informed but also distorts, and is sometimes deliberately manipulated, he said.
The digital revolution has played a part in causing the corrosion of hierarchies, as those at the top find their authority and knowledge questioned and challenged by those below across all manner of relationships and institutions, he continued.