"Terrible" flattery

The story goes that two sycophants were sitting and conversing with a high-ranking official when the official let out a fart. One sycophant listened intently and exclaimed, "It sounds like the sound of a stringed instrument!" The other sycophant sniffed and exclaimed, "It smells faintly of orchids and jasmine!" But the official was displeased: "If farts smell good, I fear my lifespan will not be long." Hearing this, one sycophant nodded and said, "Your Honor, it doesn't smell good anymore!" The other sycophant affirmed, "Your Honor, it smells terrible now!" From that, the saying "Flattery smells so bad it's unbearable" arose.

As society develops, so too does the art of flattery, taking on countless forms. One official recounted that his house had a pot of artificial flowers that had no scent whatsoever, yet a subordinate still flattered him excessively: "The boss's flowers smell so good." When guests came to his house, his wife offered them a glass of boiled and cooled water, and they still praised it, saying, "The water you made tastes so good."

When a certain Provincial Party Secretary first arrived in the province to take up his post, he was delighted to hear a song from his hometown at a conference. Knowing this, almost every provincial conference attended by the Party Secretary featured a "song from the Secretary's hometown." It was sung at the opening, during breaks, and at food receptions... He heard it so often that he grew tired of it and issued a directive prohibiting the song from being played.

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Flattery is a bad habit, and "rotten" flattery is even worse. Nowadays, it's not just subordinates flattering their superiors, employees flattering their bosses, and the masses flattering party members... but there's also the phenomenon of "reverse" flattery: superiors flattering subordinates, especially during confidence votes, cadre evaluations, emulation campaigns, preparations for congresses, and personnel elections at all levels and in all sectors... This flattery isn't just about sweet words; it's also expressed subtly, through various channels, material means, mechanisms, and policies...

Our ancestors once said, "Sweet words kill flies," and our forefathers also warned, "Flattery leads to great decline"—meaning that allowing flattery to flourish inevitably leads to great decline.

Therefore, it is necessary to declare war on the problem of flattery, especially "rotten" flattery in society. To achieve this, we need to build a truly democratic environment; maximize the role of Party organizations; and strengthen the participation, supervision, and criticism of the Fatherland Front, political and social organizations, and the people. When cadres and Party members are found to exhibit signs of flattery, we must resolutely fight against and remove them.

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Source: https://cuuchienbinh.vn/ninh-thoi-d43142.html