There is no doubt that some people are selfish and greedy. For example, some
merchants sell their fake commodities at the market place for more profit. They are rich and want to be richer. There are also government officials who sell people's trust. Senior officials who take bribes by selling the power in their hands are not a few. Those people believe in the precept "Everyone for himself and the devil take the hind most."
However, the majority of people are neither selfish nor greedy. They contribute much and ask for little. Countless examples can be found around us, the PLA soldiers who sacrificed themselves for saving people's lives in fighting the disastrous floods and the warriors in white who risked their lives to save SARS victims being two of the most typical contrast to the selfish and corrupt official they are heroes, who set up glorious images for us.
The idea that nowadays people are selfish and greedy is probably attributed to the influence of the mass media which tend to over exaggerate the negative aspects of life. Many newspapers, particularly many local evening papers, and TV films play up nastiness by reporting and showing too much about violence and sex. A lot of books, too, portray selfishness and greed to seek sensational effect and economic profit. I wonder whether they are selfish and greedy, too?
