美国前总统奥巴马寄语“后浪”：这是你们这代人要塑造的世界

美国前总统奥巴马通过基金会YouTube频道发表线上讲话，寄语2020届毕业生，提出了三点建议，顺便还表达了对当前美国政府某些成年人所做工作的不满。

Hi everybody, and Aniyah thank you for that beautiful introduction. I could not be prouder of everything you’ve done in your time with the Obama Foundation.

大家好，谢谢阿尼亚的精彩介绍。我为你在奥巴马基金会工作期间所做的一切感到无比骄傲。

And of course, I couldn’t be prouder of all of you in the graduating class of 2020, as well as the teachers and the coaches, and most of all parents and family who guided you along the way.

当然，我也为所有2020届毕业生感到无比骄傲，还有老师和教练们，以及众多一路指引你们的父母和家人。

Now, graduating is a big achievement under any circumstances.

如今，毕业在任何情况下都是一个巨大成就。

Some of you have had to overcome serious obstacles along the way, whether it was an illness, or a parent losing a job, or living in a neighborhood where people too often count you out.

你们中的一些人必须克服前进道路上的重大障碍，无论是疾病、父母失业，还是生活在一个人们经常孤立你的社区。

Along with the usual challenges of growing up, all of you have had to deal with the added pressures of social media, reports of school shootings, and the specter of climate change.

除了成长中常见的挑战，你们所有人都必须应对社交媒体、校园枪击事件报道和气候变化的威胁带来的额外压力。

And then, just as you’re about to celebrate having made it through, just as you’ve been looking forward to proms and senior nights, graduation ceremonies, and let’s face it, a whole bunch of parties, the world is turned upside down by a global pandemic.

随后，就在你们即将庆祝成功的时候，就在你们期待毕业舞会、毕业晚会、毕业典礼的时候，让我们面对现实吧，各种聚会，和这个世界都被一场全球大流行彻底颠覆了。

And as much as I’m sure you love your parents I bet that being stuck at home with them, and playing board games are watching Tiger King on TV is not exactly how you envisioned the last few months of your senior year.

虽然我相信你爱你的父母，但我敢打赌，和他们呆在家里、玩棋类游戏、在电视上看《虎王》，并不是你想象中高中的最后几个月。

*Tiger King是Netflix在疫情期间推出的热门纪录片，讲述富豪养老虎做宠物的故事。

Now I’ll be honest with you, the disappointments of missing a live graduation, those will pass pretty quick.

说实话，错过现场毕业典礼的失望，很快就会过去的。

I don’t remember much of my own high school graduation. I know that not having to sit there and listen to a commencement speaker isn’t all that bad. Mine usually go on way too long.

我不太记得我自己的高中毕业典礼了。我了解，无需坐在那里听毕业典礼演讲并不是那么糟糕。我的毕业典礼通常持续的时间太长了。

Also, not that many people look great in those caps, especially if you have big ears like me.

而且，并不是大家戴着这种毕业帽都看起来很漂亮，特别是如果你有像我这样的大耳朵。

And you’ll have plenty of time to catch up with your friends once the immediate public health crisis is over.

一旦当前的公共卫生危机结束，你们将有足够的时间与你的朋友们交流。

But what remains true is that your graduation marks your passage into adulthood. The time when you begin to take charge of your own life. It’s when you get to decide what’s important to you. The kind of career you wanna pursue, who you wanna build a family with, the values you wanna live by.

但不变的事实是，毕业标志着你步入成年。这是你开始掌控自己生活的时刻。这是你决定什么更重要的时刻。你想要追求什么事业，你想要和谁组建家庭，你想要遵循怎样的价值观。

And given the current state of the world that may be kind of scary.

考虑到当前全世界的状况，可能有点让人感到害怕。

If you’d planned on going away for college, getting dropped off at campus in the fall, that’s no longer a given. If you’re planning to work while going to school, finding that first job is going to be tougher.

如果你打算毕业后去上大学，在秋天进入大学校园，不再是理所当然的了。如果你打算一边上学一边工作，那么找到第一份工作将会更加困难。

Even families that are relatively well off are dealing with massive uncertainty. Those who were struggling before they’re hanging on by a thread.

即使是相对富裕的家庭也面临着巨大的不确定性，何况那些挣扎在生死边缘的人。

All of which means that you’re gonna have to grow up faster than some generations.

所有这些都意味着你们要比前几代人成长得更快。

This pandemic has shaking up the status quo, and laid bare a lot of our country’s deep seated problems, from massive economic inequality, to ongoing racial disparities, to a lack of basic health care for people who need it.

这场大流行改变了现状，暴露了我们国家的许多根深蒂固的问题，从大规模的经济不平等到持续的种族不平等，再到缺乏为需要的人提供基本医疗保健。

It’s woken a lot of young people up to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don’t work.

许多年轻人已经意识到，过去的做事方法已经不管用了。

That it doesn’t matter how much money you make, if everyone around you is hungry and sick, and that our society and our democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves, but about each other.

不管你挣多少钱，如果你身边的每个人都饥饿和生病呢，我们的社会和我们的民主只有在我们不仅考虑自己，而且考虑彼此的时候才会起作用。

It’s also pulled the curtain back on another hard truth, something that we all have to eventually accept once our childhood comes to an end.

这也揭开了另一个残酷的事实，一旦我们的童年结束，我们都必须最终接受这个事实。

You know all those adults, that used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing, turns out they don’t have all the answers. A lot of them aren’t even asking the right questions.

你知道，所有那些过去认为自己是掌权者、知道自己在做什么的成年人，结果发现他们并没有所有的答案。他们中的很多人甚至没有提出正确的问题。

So if the world is gonna get better, it’s gonna be up to you.

所以如果世界会变好，就看你们的了。

That realization may be kind of intimidating, but I hope it’s also inspiring.

这种认知可能有点令人生畏，但我希望它也能鼓舞人心。

With all the challenges this country faces right now, nobody can tell you, no you’re too young to understand or this is how it’s always been done.

面对这个国家现在面临的所有挑战，没有人能对你们说：“你太年轻了不能理解”，或者“一直以来就是这样做的”。

Because with so much uncertainty, with everything suddenly up for grabs, this is your generation’s world to shape.

因为有如此多的不确定性，一切都可以争取，这是你们这代人要塑造的世界。

Since I’m one of the old guys, I won’t tell you what to do with this power that rests in your hands, but I’ll leave you with three quick pieces of advice.

我是一个老家伙，我不会告诉你们如何使用手中的权力，但我会给你们三个简短的建议。

First, don’t be afraid.

首先，不要害怕。

America has gone through tough times before, slavery, civil war, famine, disease, the Great Depression, and 911. And each time, we came out stronger, usually because a new generation, young people like you, learn from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.

美国曾经经历过奴隶制、内战、饥荒、疾病、大萧条和911。每一次，我们都变得更强大，通常是因为像你们这样的新一代年轻人，从过去的错误中吸取教训，找到了把事情做得更好的方法。

Second, do what you think is right.

其次，做你们认为正确的事。

Doing what feels good, what’s convenient, what’s easy, that’s how little kids think. Unfortunately a lot of so called grown ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up.

小孩子总想做那些感觉好、方便、简单的事情。不幸的是，很多所谓的成年人，包括一些有着眼花缭乱的头衔和从事重要工作的人，仍然这么想，所以情况如此糟糕。

I hope that instead you decide to ground yourself in values that last. Like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others.

我希望你们能下定决心，坚持自己的价值观，比如诚实、勤奋、尽责、公平、慷慨、尊重他人。

You won’t get it right every time. You’ll make mistakes like we all do.

你们不可能每次都做对。你们会像我们一样犯错误。

But if you listen to the truth that’s inside yourself, even when it’s hard, even when it’s inconvenient, people will notice, they’ll gravitate towards you.

但如果你们听从自己内心的真实想法，即使这很困难、很不便，人们也会注意到，会被你们吸引。

And you’ll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

你们将成为解决方案的一部分，而不是问题的一部分。

And finally, build the community.

最后，组建团队。

No one does big things by themselves.

没有人能独自完成大事。

Right now, when people are scared, it’s easy to be cynical and say, let me just look out for myself, or my family or people who look or think or pray like me.

现在，当人们感到害怕的时候，很容易变得愤世嫉俗，说：“让我为自己、为家人，为那些和我同样外观、以同样方式思考和祈祷的人着想吧。”

But if we’re gonna get through these difficult times, if we’re gonna create a world where everybody has opportunity to find a job and afford college, if we’re gonna save the environment, and defeat future pandemics, then we’re gonna have to do it together.

但是，如果我们要度过这些困难时期，如果我们要创造一个人人都有机会找到工作和上大学的世界，如果我们要拯救环境、战胜未来的流行病，那么我们就必须共同努力。

So be alive to one another’s struggles. Stand up for one another’s rights. Leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed, and set the world on a different path.

所以要关注彼此的奋斗，维护彼此的权利。抛弃所有那些为我们带来性别歧视、种族偏见、地位差异和贪婪的旧思维方式，让世界走上一条不同的道路。

When you need help, Michelle and I have made it the mission of our foundation to give young people like you the skills and support to lead in your own communities. And to connect you with other young leaders around the country and around the globe.

当你们需要帮助的时候，米歇尔和我已经将之作为我们的基金会的使命，给你们这样的年轻人提供在自己的社区中发挥领导作用的技能和支撑。并把你们和全国各地的年轻领导人联系起来。

But the truth is, you don’t need us to tell you what to do. Because in so many ways, you’ve already started to lead.

但事实上，你们不需要我们告诉你们该怎么做。因为在很多方面，你们已经开始领先了。

Congratulations, class of 2020. Keep making us proud.

祝贺你们，2020年的毕业生们。请继续让我们骄傲。