这场演讲发表于2008年民主党总统提名人初选阶段,奥巴马与希拉里的角逐正酣之际。以防被抨击为打种族牌,一直以来双方都沉着谨慎,避免围绕种族问题发表演讲。促使奥巴马首次就种族问题开腔的原因是奥巴马的前牧师耶利米·赖特(Jeremiah Wright)在布道时说出仇视白人的种族主义言论,各界纷纷要求奥巴马表态。
2008年3月18日,奥巴马选择了在费城的美国宪法中心发表了这篇长达30多分钟的演讲。演讲中,奥巴马一方面明确谴责了赖特牧师所持的种族主义的观点是扭曲的,另一方面他解释了这类观点的历史渊源,认清矛盾的真相并引导国民以发展的观点和客观的态度看问题。当时奥巴马在党内的民调还远远落后于希拉里,但这篇演讲犹如一剂定心丸,使他原有的支持者恢复了信心,更赢得了一片额外的掌声。
美式发音 适合精读
感染力一:唤醒尘封的理想
“1)We the people, in order to form a more perfect union…”
“我们人民,为建立更完善的联邦……”
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy.
两百二十一年以前,在一个现今仍屹立在对街的大厅中,一群人汇聚一堂,以这寥寥数语,推启了美国这在当时看来机会渺茫的民主实验。
And yet words on a 2)parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from 3)bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and 4) obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part—through protests and struggles, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and 5)civil disobedience and always at great risk—to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.
然而区区羊皮纸上的文字,并不足以助奴隶脱离桎梏;或是赋予各种肤色及信仰的男男女女,作为美国公民应有的完整权利及义务。所需要的,是世世代代愿意尽一己之力的美国人——通过在街头与法庭上的抗争与奋斗、通过内战及非暴力不合作运动并且始终冒着极大风险——以行动缩小我们的理想承诺与各时代现实之间的差距。
感染力二:擦亮现实的镜子
The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of 6)Reverend Wright’s 7)sermons simply reminds us of the old 8)truism that the most 9)segregated hour of American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own 10)complicity within the African-American community, in our own condition. It prevents the African-American community from forging the 11)alliances it needs to bring about real change.
许多人惊诧于赖特牧师在布道中的某些言论所表现出来的愤怒,这个事件不过是验证了一句老话:美国生活中种族界限最鲜明的时刻是星期天上午(大家做礼拜的时候)。那份怒气并不总是有正面效应的。事实上,很多时候它分散了本该用来解决真正问题的注意力。这使我们不能直面我们自己在美国非裔群体这境况下所应负的非难,也妨碍了美国非裔群体组成促进真正改变所需要的联盟。
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseasor their pensions dumped after a lifetime of labor. And they feel their dreams slipping away; and in an era of 12)stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. They’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudice, 13)resentment builds over time. And just as black anger often proved 14)counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real 15)culprits of the middle class squeeze.
事实上,一些白人群体之中,也存在着相类似的愤怒情绪。他们一生努力工作,但很多时候却看到自己的职位被转移到海外,或是退休金在奋斗一辈子后化为乌有。他们渐渐感到与自己的梦想失之交臂。在一个工资涨幅停滞与竞争全球化的时代,机会被视为一个零和游戏,也就是你的梦想成真是以我的梦想破灭为代价的。当他们对城区犯罪活动的忧虑被说成是某种偏见时,埋怨便随时间逐渐累积。就如同黑人的愤怒往往产生反效果,这些白人的积怨也使得注意力从中产阶级生活压力的真正根源上转移。
感染力三:点燃前进的方向
Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single 16)candidate—particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.
与某些批评我的人,无论是黑人或白人所说的相反,我从未天真到相信我们可以在一次选举周期中,或是凭候选人的一人之力——尤其是如我一般不完美的竞选人——就可超越我们的种族歧见。
But I have asserted a firm 17)conviction—a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people—that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice…we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
但我要表明一个坚定的信念,这个信念植根于我对上帝的信仰和对美国人民的信心——只要齐心协力,我们便能愈合一些历史遗留的种族伤痕。事实上,若想在完善联邦的道路上继续走下去,我们别无选择。
For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. But it also means binding our particular 18)grievances—for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs—to the larger 19)aspirations of all Americans; the white woman struggling to 20)break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means, also, taking full responsibility for our own lives—by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and 21)discrimination in their own lives, they must never 22)succumb to despair or 23)cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.
对于美国非裔群体,这条道路意味着承受我们的历史重负,但不做历史的牺牲品。但也意味着将我们的具体诉求——要求改善医疗、教育和就业状况等,同全体美国人民的共同愿望相结合——为打破玻璃天花板效应而艰苦奋斗的白人女性、被解雇的白人男子、忙于养家糊口的外来移民等。这意味着对自己的生活承担全部责任——要求做父亲的尽更多的义务,花更多的时间陪伴子女,读书给他们听,让他们懂得虽然在今后的生活中可能遇到挑战和歧视,但绝不能丧失希望或消极厌世;必须始终坚信能由自己书写今后命运的篇章。
It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.
这需要所有美国人都明白,你的理想的实现不必以牺牲我的理想为代价;明白投资改善黑人、黄种人和白人的孩子的健康、福利及教育,最终会促进整个美国的繁荣。
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand—that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the 221 years since a band of patriots signed that document right here in Philadelphia, that is where perfection begins.
那么,最后所提出的这个要求,恰恰是世界上所有伟大的宗教所要求的:希望别人怎样对待自己,便以同样的方式对待别人。这个联邦也许永远不够完美,但是一代又一代已经显示了,它永远可以不断完善。自一批爱国者在费城签署这份文件以来,世世代代的人们在这两百二十一年中已经认识到这一点。这就是走向完美的起点。
Thank you very much.
非常感谢。
