I have recently read more than half of Che Guevara's "Motorcycle Diaries". Che Guevara has been a symbol of young people's anti-hegemony and counterculture in the past thirty years. His iconic image appears on T-shirts, bar wall paintings, flags, cups and other items. A bunch of adjectives and labels cannot fully describe a person, let alone a special and complex figure like Guevara.
From an ignorant and reckless Argentine youth who traveled to the Americas on motorcycles, to later becoming the most important senior leader of Cuba, and then to the leader who later gave up on Cuba, and then started to go to various parts of the Americas to help locals fight liberation wars and get rid of oppression and injustice, to finally being captured and secretly shot by the enemy without trial. Then thirty years later, the Cuban leader Castro, his comrade at the time, came to Bolivia to find his body and escorted him back to Cuba for a grand state funeral. This life is amazing. Perhaps this is why he is full of personal charm and has been admired by many people in recent decades.
摩托日记中的青年格瓦拉
The motorcycle diary records the history of his motorcycle travel in the American continent when he was young. At that time, if he could travel long distances and stay close to the ground, he would gain a lot, understand the society, understand the people's lives, all kinds of ridiculous experiences, the ups and downs of the public, as well as social contradictions and social problems, expand his horizons and comprehensive understanding, so as to form his later values and outlook on life, allowing him to fight to solve these social contradictions and problems, and become the Che Guevara we later saw.
During this journey, Guevara did not act like a great leader in the future. Sometimes he also had the characteristics of a small person and was very real.
对英雄的重新理解
No one will always be a hero, but a specific hero is born in a specific environment, adapts to the needs of the environment and the times, and emerges from ordinary people. The hero himself is an ordinary person, but at that time and environment, some of his characteristics make him a hero at that time or period. In normal times, he may be a mediocre and inactive person. This explanation of heroes seems more reasonable and real.
复杂的历史人物
Maybe Guevara does have another side. He massacred many people who opposed the revolution in Cuba. The killing was a bit excessive and brought him a lot of controversy, so it is difficult to judge him comprehensively. However, we still appreciate the radiance of ideal romanticism he once brought to people.
Historical figures are often complex, with both bright and dark sides. The important thing is that we can draw positive power from it while maintaining rational thinking and critical spirit.