雖然這篇文章在網站上流傳得很廣﹐但真正以「最後一代的內地人」一分子的身份﹐「正式」寫回應文的人並不多。陳敏教授傳來的“The Mission of NDR” 算是第一篇。陳敏教授在物理界是有名的學者。我在這裡想利用機會談一談這些年來我對「最後一代的內地人」這個名稱的後續感想。這些感想﹐和陳教授的文章沒有直接的關係。我純粹是「趁機揩油」搭他的順風車。
也許有人覺得我把《最後一代的內地人》寫得過份傷感﹐其實我的本意正好相反。我不覺得我們這一代有什麼值得好傷感的。陳教授的文章在這方面釋放出來的訊息比較正面和積極。我很感謝。
每當我看到我自己的小孩﹐無論他們讀的學校多好﹐無論他們的英文程度比我好多少﹐無論他們將來的成就多高﹐無論他們多麼能融入美國的主流社會。但在我的眼中﹐我們這一代仍然比他們那一代「強」。這個「強」字的涵義很廣﹐算是一種「生存的韌力」吧。我們的小孩﹐他們嘴裡雖然不說﹐但在他們的心目中﹐我想他們會默認這個事實。如果他們沒有這樣的感覺﹐那是我們沒有盡到我們的責任。我也許有點阿 Q﹐ 但我們真的認為我們這一代相當棒。
但在另方面﹐我們經歷過美國的黃金時代。我們的後代﹐他們在美國追求並實現「美國之俊」(American Dream) 的機會比我們要難很多。陳教授的文章中也特別指出這點來。因此﹐我們應該惜福和感恩。總的來說﹐我們是非常幸運的一代人。
我也常想到我用《最後一代》和《內地人》是否恰當的問題。根據我的估計﹐看我文章﹐尤其是上我網站看和支持我們的 FNDR 工程的朋友﹐至少三分之二不屬於狹義的「最後一代的內地人」。如果我們太重視和太強調這個狹義的定義﹐我們會變成一個非常薄弱﹐非常排外的「少數族群」。曾經有我的忠實讀者當面告訴我﹐他不上我的網站﹐因為他覺得他不屬於這夥人。
有人問我為什麼不用比較通俗的「外省人」而用現在很少人用的「內地人」﹖我們小的時候﹐好像沒有「外省人」這個名詞。「外省人」在近年來變成了一個充滿族群割裂意味的政治名詞而非地理名詞。這是為什麼我選擇用「內地人」而不用「外省人」的原因。但不管我怎麼解釋﹐《最後一代的內地人》這八個字總難免給人一個 exclusive 而非 inclusive 的感覺。這本來就是無可奈何的事。從一開始﹐我就知道我們這一代遲早都會過去的。以後也不會再有像我們這樣的一代人了。就像我的文章一樣﹐看的人只會越來越少而不會越來越多。你認為年輕的一代還會在乎我們這一代的人生旅程和感覺嗎﹖不會的。這是你我的「宿命」。沒什麼大了不起。
對那些在出生地和出生年代不在我們狹義《最後一代的內地人》定義內的朋友。我在這裡正式向你們道歉。在我的心目中﹐不管你生在那裡﹐不管你生在那年。只要你認同我們的理念﹐試著了解我們的感覺﹐願意分享我們的經驗﹐我們就是「同行者」。Glad to have you walk with us.
Indeed, we, the last generation of Nei Di Ren, are not Taiwanese, not Chinese, nor real Americans.
We are better, mentally stronger, more confident than any of them, since our lives and experiences are richer than theirs. Each of us was almost randomly blown by fate over the Taiwan Strait and then across the Pacific, like a leaf of Chinese Hai Tang flower (銀星海棠花), which develops roots wherever it touches ground. We started out with nothing and build our world brick by brick using our hands, brains, and whatever diverse environments have placed at our disposal. China has hardly ever had 50 years of peace to afford their people with such luxury. We have inherited the culture, the intellect, and the work ethic from our native land, and we have made good of America’s offer of stability, freedom, equal opportunity, abundant resources and protected environments.
We are eagles. An Eagle flies mostly alone, sometimes in pair, and is never afraid, so long as it knows that there are others of its kind soaring near and far.
Our children are Americans. So are our daughters-in-law and sons-in-law. So will our grandchildren be. This is the way it is. Not being able to share the best part of our culture with our loved ones is precisely what makes us feel lonely. Still, we fear nothing. Indeed we are the most fortunate generation. Our living conditions improve daily, partly because we started with nothing, thus have no place else to go but up, and partly because what we need most to stay connected, such as smart phones, computers, GPS, and Internet, gets cheaper and better each day, which helps to bridge the souls of us eagles together.
We are now likely near the peak of the historical human living conditions, after having been steadily rising from the rock bottom level of our refugee days between the Japanese invasion and the civil wars. This is how fortunate we are to be here at this juncture in time.
Our grandchildren and the generations that follow might be less fortunate than we are today, as America's debts spin out of control, the natural resources of the world become scarcer, and global warming approaches. Our children, as decent Americans, are busily working and consuming. It is our responsibility to educate them using our vast experience of being able to thrive under very difficult circumstances and thus prepare them better for what may lie ahead. Let them innovate, conserve, not wasteful like current Americans, and never despair under any hardships. This is the last mission of us - NDR near retirement.