Jun 2, 2020 6月 2, 2020
Can you recall the experience of waking up for the first time in a new city? Your senses are filled with sights and sounds that you couldn’t easily relay to someone, not without a lot of poetic talent, yet they’re as real to you as a block of wood? You know how you never quite forget those sights and sounds? If you wake up in this city again, even twenty years later, your senses awaken all those memories you didn’t think you had in you anymore.
你能回忆起第一次在新城市醒来的经历吗?你的感官充满了你无法轻易传达给某人的景象和声音,并非没有很多诗歌天赋,但它们对你来说就像一块木头一样真实?你知道你永远不会忘记那些景象和声音吗?如果你再次在这个城市醒来,即使二十年后,你的感官也会唤醒所有你认为你不再拥有的记忆。
I was born in a country that does not exist today. I was only a child, but I still remember the world of doublespeak and tyranny, the world of budding freedom, and the world of tragedy and chaos. Like cities, each of these worlds has a sound and a smell. I couldn’t relay them to you here, but they’re very real to me. As real as anything I’ve ever experienced. The smells and sounds that are in the air now are familiar. All the memories I didn’t think I’d remembered are rushing in.
我出生在一个今天不存在的国家。我只是个孩子,但我仍然记得那个双面派和暴政的世界,一个萌芽的自由的世界,以及悲剧和混乱的世界。就像城市一样,这些世界中的每一个都有声音和气味。我不能在这里向你传达它们,但它们对我来说非常真实。和我经历过的任何事情一样真实。现在空气中的气味和声音很熟悉。所有我以为我不记得的记忆都涌了进来。
What I can relay to you is that some of these sounds, these smells, these memories are not good. Not good for you, not good for me, not good for the disenfranchised people, not good for George Floyd’s family, not good for the world. The intentions are good, but good intentions aren’t enough– history is littered with countless examples when good intentions led to unthinkable tragedy.
我能告诉你们的是,这些声音、气味、记忆中的一些并不好。对你不好,对我不好,对被剥夺权利的人不好,对乔治·弗洛伊德的家人不好,对世界不好。意图是好的,但光有善意是不够的——历史上充斥着无数善意导致难以想象的悲剧的例子。
From here, the road we’re collectively on forks into many different paths. Some of them lead to tragedy of unimaginable scale, and some lead to a better world for all of us. Everyone around us– the democrats, the republicans, the protest organizers, celebrities, our political leaders, tech CEOs, Twitter bots, friends, family members– everyone, seems incredibly certain about which path we should take. But among this sea of certainty I feel incredibly uncertain.
从这里开始,我们共同走的路分叉成许多不同的道路。其中一些导致了难以想象的悲剧,而另一些则为我们所有人带来了一个更美好的世界。我们周围的每个人——民主党人、共和党人、抗议组织者、名人、我们的政治领导人、科技首席执行官、推特机器人、朋友、家人——每个人,似乎都非常确定我们应该走哪条路。但在这片确定的海洋中,我感到难以置信的不确定性。
There is only one thing I know with absolute certainty, and it’s that nobody– not the democrats, not the republicans, not the protest organizers, not the celebrities, not our political leaders, not the tech CEOs, not Twitter bots, not friends, not family members– nobody, knows which paths lead to tragedy and which paths lead to a just, prosperous world. All of them are pulling us along with absolute zeal and boundless energy, striking iron while it’s hot, many without giving a single thought to the sparks that may ignite America and the planet.
我只有一件事是绝对肯定的,那就是没有人——不是民主党人,不是共和党人,不是抗议组织者,不是名人,不是我们的政治领导人,不是科技CEO,不是Twitter机器人,不是朋友,不是家人——没有人知道哪条路通向悲剧,哪条路通向正义, 繁荣的世界。他们都以绝对的热情和无限的能量拉着我们前进,趁热打铁,许多人没有考虑可能点燃美国和地球的火花。
I do not advocate for slowing down the progress of civil rights, or waiting for a more opportune moment, or for staying moderate in the face of injustice. All I ask is that we trust our leaders and our passions a little less, and trust our hearts and our neighbors a little more.
我不主张放慢民权的进步,或等待更合适的时机,或在面对不公正时保持温和。我只要求我们少一点信任我们的领导人和我们的激情,多一点信任我们的心和我们的邻居。
I am an atheist, but I am praying we choose peace and prosperity, not violence and annihilation. Nobody knows the future.
我是一个无神论者,但我祈祷我们选择和平与繁荣,而不是暴力和毁灭。没有人知道未来。
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