High marks in English-Chinese translation (4) (continued)

The situation of dissidents, such as Jin Yingxian, is not much different. Their personalities also have two sides. They may be, and are usually more moral and kind, but their rebellious nature forces them to accept some characteristics of their opponents, just like a piece of metal placed near a strong magnetic field and gained magnetism. A dissident group demands that its members obey the collective individually and the whole partially. So they are totalitarian themselves. The only difference between oppressors and rebels is their goals and ideal moral standards. The drastic changes in today's society can be called "disintegration", which is induced by the global disintegration of socialism and the end of military rule. But in my opinion, the most urgent reason is that citizens are eager to escape from the totalitarian lifestyle and publicize their independence (personality). We are no longer fascinated by dictators' political slogans of peace and unity, nor by dissidents' demands for self-sacrifice. Therefore, each of us is now scattered, obeying only our own hobbies and positioning under the banner of freedom and individuality. Freedom has been restored, but we are confused about how to deal with that kind of freedom, which Erich Fromm defined a long time ago as the kind of freedom that people with heavy burdens are most eager to escape.