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My American Journey

演讲原文

Written and Read by Colin Powell

(图)Colin PowellColin Powell


Nevertheless, I do not unequivocally rule out a political future. If I ever do decide to enter politics, however, it will not be because of high popularity ratings, but because I have a vision for this country. Frankly, the present atmosphere does not make entering public service especially attractive. I find that civility is being driven from our political discourse. For all the present sensitivity over correctness, we seem to have lost our sense of shame as a society.
We say we are appalled by the rise of sexually transmitted disease, by the wave of teenage pregnancies, by violent crime. Yet we drench ourselves in depictions of explicit sex and crime on television. In the movies and in pop music. How do we find our way again? How do we reestablish moral standards? How do we end the ethnic fragmentation  that is making us an increasingly hyphenated people? How do we restore a sense of family to our national life? On a speech circuit, I tell a story that goes to the heart of America’s longing. The ABC correspondent Sam Donaldson was interviewing a young African-American solider in a tank platoon on the eve of battle in Desert Storm. Donaldson asked, “How do you think the battle will go? Are you afraid?”
“We’ll do okay. We’re well trained. And I’m not afraid,” the GI answered, gesturing toward his buddies around him. “I’m not afraid because I’m with my family.”
The other soldiers shouted: “Tell him again. He didn’t hear you.”
The soldier repeated: “This is my family and we’ll take care of each other.”
That story never fails to touch me or the audience. It is a metaphor for what we have to do as a nation. We have to start thinking of America as a family. We have to stop screeching at each other, stop hurting each other, and instead start caring for, sacrificing for, and sharing with each other. We have to stop continually criticizing, which is the cry of the ideologue, and instead get back to the can-do attitude that made America. We have to keep trying, and risk failing, in order to solve this country’s problems. We can not move forward if cynics and critics swoop down and pick apart anything that goes wrong to a point where we lose sight of what is right, decent, and uniquely good about America.

生词注释

discourse n.演讲, 论述, 论文, 讲道, 谈话, 谈论 vi.谈论, 演说
depiction n.描写, 叙述
explicit adj.外在的, 清楚的, 直率的, (租金等)直接付款的
ethnic adj.人种的, 种族的, 异教徒的
fragmentation n.分裂, 破碎
metaphor n.[修辞]隐喻, 暗喻, 比喻说话
ideologue n.理论家, 思想家,空想家
cynic n.愤世嫉俗者

中文对照

我的美国之旅

然而,我并不是决定以后绝对不再从政。如果我一旦决定涉足政坛,那并不是因为民意对我支持率高,而是因为我对这个国家还怀有一个梦想。坦率地说,在目前的形势下,担任公职并不是很具有吸引力。我觉得在我们的政治言论中礼貌修养正在消逝。尽管目前人们对是非曲直很敏感,但作为一个社会整体,我们似乎已丧失了羞耻感。
我们总是说,我们对性病的上升、少女怀孕现象的激增以及暴力罪行感到震惊,然而,我们的电视、电影和流行音乐对性和暴力赤裸裸的描写。我们怎样才能找到一条出路呢?怎样重建道德标准?怎样结束那使我们不断成为归化民族的种族复杂状态呢?怎样使家庭的感觉回到国民的生活中?在一次巡回演讲中,我讲了一个触及到美国人心灵的故事。美国广播公司记者山姆•唐纳逊于“沙漠风暴”战役的前夕在某坦克排采访了一位非裔美国士兵。唐纳逊问他:“你觉得这场战争会怎样发展?你害怕吗?”
“我们会打好的,我们训练有素,我不害怕。”这位美国士兵回答,他边说边指着他身边的伙伴们。“我不害怕是因为我和我的家人在一起。”
其他士兵高声喊道:“再给他说一遍。他没听到。”
士兵又说了一遍:“这是我的家人,我们互相关照。”
这个故事一直感动着我和听众。作为一个民族,我们应该照着这个比喻所说的去做。我们必须把美国看做一个大家庭,必须停止相互间的恶言恶语,停止相互伤害。相反,我们应该互相关心,互相做出牺牲,同甘共苦。我们应停止不断地指责,那只是理论家的发泄方式罢了,相反,应重新恢复不怕困难的精神,正是这种精神造就了美国。解决这个国家的问题,我们要不断尝试,敢于失败。如果听任那些愤世嫉俗者和吹毛求疵的人不分青红皂白,不论事情大小都大做文章,那么我们就看不出美国正确、大气和独有的长处。这样的话,我们就不会前进。

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