It’s been 50 years since we lost Bobby, and because we still seem to be grappling with some of the same issues that he was in 1968, when I was 7 years old, because we are still dealing with poverty and inequality and racism and injustice and environmental degradation and a constant stream of senseless violence, because of all that, it can be tempting sometimes to succumb to the cynicism, the belief that hope is a fool’s game for suckers. And worse, at a time when the media are splintered and our leaders seem content to make up whatever facts they consider expedient, a lot of people have come to doubt even the very notion of common ground, insisting that the best we can do is retreat into our respective corners, circle the wagons and then do battle with anybody who is not like ourselves.
我們失去鮑比已經(jīng)50年了，因?yàn)槲覀兯坪踹€在努力解決1968年他遇到的一些問題，當(dāng)時我7歲，因?yàn)槲覀內(nèi)匀辉谔幚碡毟F、不平等、種族主義、不公正、環(huán)境退化和持續(xù)不斷的毫無意義的暴力，正因?yàn)槿绱耍袝r人們很容易被犬儒主義所吸引，認(rèn)為希望是傻瓜的游戲。更糟糕的是，媒體四分五裂時，我們的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人似乎滿足于編造他們認(rèn)為是權(quán)宜之計的任何事實(shí)時，很多人甚至開始懷疑共識的概念，堅持認(rèn)為我們能做的最好的事情就是退回到各自的角落，繞著馬車轉(zhuǎn)，然后與任何與我們不同的人作戰(zhàn)。
Bobby Kennedy’s life reminds us to reject such cynicism. He reminds us that because of the men and women that he helped inspire, because of the ripples that he sent out, because of the often-unrecognized efforts of union organizers and civil rights workers and peace activists and student leaders, things did in fact get better.
鮑比·肯尼迪的一生提醒我們拒絕這種玩世不恭。他提醒我們，因?yàn)樗麕椭畹哪心信驗(yàn)樗l(fā)出的漣漪，由于工會組織者、民權(quán)工作者、和平活動人士和學(xué)生領(lǐng)袖的努力（常常得不到承認(rèn)），情況確實(shí)有所好轉(zhuǎn)。
In the years since Bobby’s death, tens of millions would be lifted out of poverty. Around the world, extreme poverty would be slashed, and more girls would begin to gain access to an education. Millions of Americans would be shielded by health insurance that wasn’t available to them before. That progress is fueled—by hope. It’s not fueled by fear. It’s not fueled by cynicism. And this is maybe the most important thing: It’s not dependent on one charismatic leader but, instead, depends on the steady efforts of dreamers and doers from every walk of life, who fight the good fight each and every day even when they’re not noticed.
鮑比死后的幾年里，數(shù)千萬人將擺脫貧困。在世界各地，極端貧困將得到削減，更多女孩將開始獲得受教育的機(jī)會。數(shù)以百萬計的美國人將得到他們以前得不到的醫(yī)保保障。這一進(jìn)步是由希望推動的。不是由恐懼驅(qū)動的。不是憤世嫉俗。這也許是最重要的事情：它不依賴于一個有魅力的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，相反，它依賴于各行各業(yè)夢想家和實(shí)干家的不懈努力，他們每天都在為美好的未來而奮斗，即使沒有人注意到他們。
Six years ago, Lucy McBath’s son was shot and killed in the parking lot of a gas station because the kids in the car were playing music too loud, apparently, and she turned her grief into hope and her hope into a seat in the next Congress, running unabashedly against the gun lobby in the great state of Georgia. She won.
六年前，露西·麥克巴斯的兒子在一家加油站的停車場被槍殺，原因是車?yán)锏暮⒆硬シ乓魳返穆曇籼螅又炎约旱谋瘋兂闪讼Ｍ严Ｍ兂闪讼聦脟鴷囊粋€席位，毫不掩飾地與大州喬治亞州的槍支游說團(tuán)體對抗。她贏了。
And then there are the Parkland students. It hasn’t even been a year since a mass shooting stole 17 lives at their school, but less than a month later those students had helped to raise the age to buy a rifle in Florida. They’d lengthened waiting periods before purchase. A couple of weeks after that, they’d inspired hundreds of thousands to march in the nation’s capital and all across the country. And, of course, they haven’t won every battle, but online, in the media, in the streets, on college campuses, they have become some of our most eloquent, effective voices against gun violence. And they are just getting started. Who knows what they’re going to do once they can actually rent a car?
這兒還有帕克蘭的學(xué)生。一年前，一場大規(guī)模槍擊事件奪走了這個學(xué)校17條生命，但不到一個月后，這些學(xué)生在佛羅里達(dá)幫助提高了購槍年齡。他們延長了購買前的等待時間。此后幾個星期，他們鼓舞了數(shù)十萬人在首都和全國各地游行。當(dāng)然，不是每一次抗?fàn)幎寄苴A，但是在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上、媒體上、大街上、大學(xué)校園里，他們已經(jīng)成為我們反對槍支暴力的最有力的聲音。他們才剛剛開始。一旦他們能租到車，誰會知道他們會怎么做呢？
Ripples of hope. That’s the legacy, that’s the spirit, that Bobby Kennedy captured, standing on top of a beat-up car 50 years ago. Those are the descendants of the men and women and children who reached up into the sky, trying to get a touch of hope.
希望的漣漪。這是博比·肯尼迪在50年前站在一輛破舊的汽車上所獲得的精神遺產(chǎn)。這些人是那些展翅高飛、試圖獲得一絲希望的男男女女和孩子們的子孫后代。
The 44th president of the United States, Obama was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award on December 12. This is an excerpt from his speech, shared with Newsweek.
12月12日，美國第44任總統(tǒng)奧巴馬被授予羅伯特·肯尼迪人權(quán)希望漣漪獎。這是他的演講節(jié)選，由《新聞周刊》分享。
譯文由可可原創(chuàng)，僅供學(xué)習(xí)交流使用，未經(jīng)許可請勿轉(zhuǎn)載。
評論
打印
