當年今日﹕Silent majority
【明報專訊】Who represents the "silent majority" (沉默大多數)? The political catchphrase, popularised forty-five years ago by late US President Richard Nixon (尼克遜) in a speech, is being used by our politicians when Hong Kong is embroiled in (捲入) an unprecedented (空前的) social crisis.
1. Who was Richard Nixon?
Richard Nixon was a Republican politician and the 37th President of the United States. He took office in 1969.
Soon after his 1972 re-election, however, he was forced to resign after he had been accused of ordering the bugging (安裝竊聽器) of his political opponents' offices (the Watergate scandal, 水門事件).
Nixon, as his nickname "Tricky Dick" suggests, was highly capable but machiavellian (計謀多端). The speech he delivered on 3 November 1969, for example, was seen as a calculated attempt to polarise the American people to his political advantage.
2. Who was the "silent majority" Nixon referring to?
Nixon's 1969 speech was set against the backdrop of widespread opposition to the Vietnam War fought between 1955 and 1975. Anti-war sentiments swept across the country. They were born out of the 1960s iconoclastic (反傳統) ideas and the relaxation of social taboos. The 1960s were an age of student activism (學生運動). Thousands of young Americans burned their draft cards (徵兵證), forcing Congress to pass a law to ban such an action.
It is easy to imagine that not every American was anti-war. Just as Nixon observed, opponents to the Vietnam War consisted of the liberals (自由派) — intellectuals, students and African Americans, while many white middle-class families were politically conservative (保守的) and thought the US forces should not withdraw.
Nixon's speech was pitched at the conservative-minded — those who did not approve of the mass protests. In this famous speech Nixon contrasted the "hard realities of great power politics" with the "idealism" of a "vocal minority", the "young people of this nation". He said the policy of the US could not be "dictated by the minority" who wanted America to lose the war in order to "bring the boys home". He said, "And so tonight — to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans — I ask for your support."
Nixon's speech boosted his popularity significantly. It contributed to his 1972 re-election.
3. The "silent majority" of HK?
Today's Hong Kong, like the US in Nixon's time, has a politically-conscious (有政治意識的)new generation. They crave democracy and are vocal in their opposition to the government, which has not been democratically elected. They have been at the forefront of the Occupy Movement (佔領運動).
It is easy to see that not everyone agrees with them. There have been repeated attempts to categorise those who disagree with them as Hong Kong's "silent majority". Robert Chow (周融), who named his pro-government movement "Silent Majority for Hong Kong" (幫幫香港出聲行動), claims most Hong Kong people are against using civil disobedience (公民抗命) as a means of fighting for democracy.
■Think and Study
Do you think there is a "silent majority" in Hong Kong? What beliefs or values do those in the silent majority hold? Are they necessarily at loggerheads (不和) with the occupiers about democracy, freedoms or human rights? Is there any objective way of determining what Hong Kong's "silent majority" stands for?
