America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

Thirty minutes later.

Inside the Golden Dragon Restaurant, Tony had finished his third bottle of beer and was now dozing off against the bar. Chen Guoqiang, on the other hand, was busy preparing ingredients for dinner in the kitchen, occasionally peeking out to check on the situation outside.

Sean and Matthew sat at a table by the window, talking face to face. In less than an hour, they gradually became acquainted.

"So, you're in history at Penn?" Sean asked.

In the US, studying history and politics is a standard requirement for entering politics, since most people don't study law at the undergraduate level.

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "I majored in history and minored in political science."

"Then you should know me quite well." Sean smiled. "After all, I'm a 'historical figure' now, albeit the kind that will be written into the history of scandals."

Matthew didn't laugh. He stared at Sean for a moment before saying:

"Mr. Pan, may I ask you a question?"

"Please go ahead."

"What kind of person do you see yourself as?"

Sean shook his head helplessly: "This is a very philosophical question, and I don't know how to answer it."

"I'm serious," Matthew said. "I've studied your life. From child star to celebrity, from celebrity to being forgotten, to being despised by everyone, and now to this level of success. Your life trajectory is very interesting, but also very contradictory."

"Contradictory?" Sean's interest was piqued. "Tell me, where am I contradicting myself?"

Matthew took a small notebook out of his pocket and turned to a page.

There are even notes!

“I’ve compiled your public information,” he said. “You were born in 1998 into a working-class family in Scranton. Your father was a steelworker and your mother was a supermarket cashier. As a child, you started photographing children for local businesses. In 2008, both your parents died in a car accident, and you were placed in foster care.”

"The following year, you were discovered by a Hollywood talent scout and began your acting career. Subsequently, your first starring role in 'Our Town' was a huge success, and you became one of the most popular child stars in the United States."

"But after 2017, your foster parents also passed away, and you were heartbroken, so your career began to decline. You tried to transition into an adult actor, but your subsequent works received little response."

"At the same time, you started drinking heavily and were arrested multiple times for drunk driving."

"Then, you almost disappeared from the public eye. Until this year, when the Avalon Foundation scandal came to light, you were in the spotlight again. But this time, you were a fraudster, a criminal who ruined more than 10,000 people."

"And then it happened. You stepped forward, claiming you were a victim too, and vowing to expose the real masterminds behind it all. You gave that speech in Vandenberg, announcing your candidacy for president."

Matthew closed his notebook and looked up at Sean.

"Can you see where the contradiction lies?"

"Hmm...you might as well be more direct."

"The first contradiction: you are a victim, but you are also a perpetrator," Matthew said. "The Avalon Foundation certainly had a mastermind behind it, but you were also involved in the scam. Some of the victims' money was obtained through your name and face. You can't say you're completely innocent."

"The second contradiction: you oppose the system, but you yourself are a product of the system. Hollywood is the core of the American cultural industry. You grew up in this system, became famous because of this system, but now you turn around and oppose it."

"The third contradiction: You say you want to speak up for the underprivileged, but you yourself were once a member of the upper class. You lived in mansions, drove sports cars, and attended countless celebrity parties. Do you really understand those struggling in the slums? Can you truly represent them?"

Finally, Matthew stated his conclusion:

"Mr. Pan, your biggest contradiction is that you are a person who contradicts yourself. Your past and your present, your words and actions and your identity are in conflict everywhere. This makes it difficult for me to judge whether you genuinely want to change anything or are just putting on another performance."

The restaurant fell silent.

Even Tony, who was dozing off, was startled awake by these words. He looked up at them, but seemed somewhat bewildered.

"Matthew, your analysis is brilliant." Sean was silent for less than a moment, then smiled: "But I think contradictions are quite normal."

"What do you mean?"

"You only see my personal contradictions, but you don't see the root of these contradictions," Sean said with a gentle smile. "You say I'm someone who opposes myself. Yes, I admit it. But the problem is, it's not just me; this entire country is opposing itself."

"Let me ask you a question: What is the founding spirit of our nation?"

"Freedom, equality, democracy," Matthew answered without hesitation.

"Very good." Sean nodded. "Then let me ask you again, has this country truly achieved these ideals?"

Matthew did not answer immediately.

"Let me analyze this for you," Sean said. "First, there's freedom. The United States claims to be the freest country in the world, but what kind of freedom is it? It's the freedom of the strong to exploit the weak."

"Does an ordinary worker have the freedom to choose their job? Theoretically yes, but in reality, when your mortgage, car loan, and medical bills are weighing you down, you have no right to say no. You have to accept whatever conditions your boss sets, or you'll end up on the streets and lose everything. Even corpses can be sold online!"

"Is this freedom? No, it's another form of slavery. Only the slave owners have changed from plantation owners to Wall Street bankers, and the chains have changed from iron chains to debt."

After he finished speaking wittily, Matthew wanted to retort, but Sean didn't give him the chance.

"Then there's equality," Sean continued. "The Declaration of Independence says that all men are created equal. But look at reality."

Are the starting points in life the same for a child born on Manhattan's Upper East Side and a child born in a West Philadelphia slum? Do they receive the same educational, medical, and social resources?

"Equality in America is equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. But the problem is, when the starting points are unequal, equality of opportunity is just a beautiful lie."

"Finally, there's democracy." Sean's tone became sharper. "What is our democracy? It's congressional elections every two years, and presidential elections every four years. But can this kind of democracy truly represent the will of the people?"

"Look at those members of Congress, where do their campaign funds come from? From big corporations to lobbying groups. When half of a member's campaign funds come from pharmaceutical companies, who do you think he'll speak for?"

"American democracy is a democracy of money, a democracy of the elite. The vote of ordinary people is just a ticket to qualify you to watch this political game dominated by the rich."

Sean looked Matthew in the eyes: "Do you understand what I mean? This country is negating itself: freedom is negating order, poverty is negating prosperity. Ideals are negating reality, and reality is negating ideals."

“And I,” Sean pointed to himself, “am merely a microcosm of this contradiction. All the conflicts within me are a projection of the inherent conflicts within this country.”

Matthew fell silent.

He found himself unable to refute Sean's words.

As a history student, he studied the founding history of the United States, the drafting process of the Constitution, and the rise and fall of the civil rights movement.

He knew that there was a huge gap between the country's ideals and reality.

But he had never expressed this contradiction as bluntly and sharply as Sean. Although the man in front of him was only three years older than him, he seemed to have little idealism about him.

"Sir," Matthew finally spoke, "I need time to process what you've said. But I have one more question."

"Please speak."

"Since you believe that the contradictions in this country are structural and irreconcilable, what's the point of running for president? Even if you were elected, what could you change?"

"That's a good question," Sean said, "but you're asking the wrong question."

"The question now is not what I can change, but what I can reveal. I don't expect to save this country, but I can let more people see the true face of this country."

"When enough people realize the problem, change will happen naturally. Maybe not through elections, maybe not through me, but it will happen."

He took a few banknotes out of his pocket and placed them on the table.

"Thank you for the food, it was delicious," he said to Matthew. "And thank you for your insightful questions."

Actually, Sean came today mainly to learn about the union ecosystem in Philadelphia through Tony, but looking at this young man full of promising prospects, a wicked idea suddenly sprouted in his mind.

"If you're interested, you can come to me. I happen to need someone who understands history and politics to help me with some research," he added at the end.

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door.

Before leaving, he took one last look. He discovered that the other person's favorability towards him had reached [66].