【www.tingchehu.com--美国留学】
2020年5月16日，前美国总统奥巴马为传统黑人大学院校2020届的毕业生们做了一次线上毕业演讲。在疫情期间，毕业生们面临的挑战比以往更多。奥巴马首先鼓励了这些毕业生，同时表示，未来就要交到这些年轻人手中了。贝拉克·侯赛因·奥巴马，1961年8月4日生，美国民主党籍政治家，第44任美国总统，美国历第一位非裔美国人总统。
对2020届高中毕业生，前总统巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)给了三点建议：
1、 不要害怕
2、做你认为正确的事
3、建立一个社区
Hi, everybody.
大家好。
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.
另外感谢Aniyah的开场介绍。我非常感谢你在奥巴马基金会这段时间以来的贡献。
And of course, I couldn"t be prouder of all of you and be graduating class of 2020, as well as the teachers and the coaches and most of all, the parents and families who guided you all the way.
当然，我也为各位2020届的毕业生感到自豪，另外还有教职工、教练以及这一路上教导你们成长的大部分家长和家庭。
Now, graduating is a big achievement under any circumstances. Some of you had to overcome serious obstacles along the way, whether it was an illness or a parent losing a job, we"re living in a neighborhood where people too often count you out. 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.
毕业在任何情形下，都是很大的成就。你们其中一些人这一路走来克服了很多困难。不管是疾病还是父母失业或者是生活在一个总是受到排挤的环境。除了成长过程中的挑战，你们所有人还要应对额外的社交媒体压力，校园枪击案的报道，还有气候变化。
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 was turned upside down by global pandemic.
然后，正当你准备庆祝自己终于熬过这些关，正当你满怀期待准备毕业舞会、毕业典礼，说实话，正常这段时间会有各种聚会的时候，这世界被新冠疫情打得猝不及防。
And as much as I"m sure you love your parents, I"ll bet the big stuck at home with him playing board games or watching Tiger King on TV is not exactly how you envisioned the last few months of your senior year.
我相信你们都很爱自己的父母，但我敢保证跟他们一起憋在家里，玩棋盘游戏或在电视上看《虎王》可跟你对毕业季的期许天差地别。
Now, I"ll be honest with you, the disappointments of missing, a live graduation, those will pass pretty quick. 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. Also, not that many people look great in those caps, especially if you have big ears like me. You"ll have plenty of time to catch up with your friends once the immediate public health crisis is over.
说实话，没有现场毕业典礼这种遗憾会很快消散的。我对自己的高中毕业典礼都没多少印象了。我知道坐在台下听着别人毕业典礼演讲并不很煎熬，但我经历的毕业演讲总是很久。另外，戴着学士帽没几个人会好看，尤其是如果你长着我这双大耳朵。另外，当这次疫情过去，你们还有大把的时间跟同学们叙旧。
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 want to pursue, who you want to build a family with, the values you want to live by. And given the current state of the world, that may be kind of scary.
但有一点没变，那就是毕业意味着你迈向成人世界。从此刻开始，你就要自己负责各自的人生了。你也能决定什么对你很重要。你想追求什么样的职业生涯？你想跟谁成家？还有你能恪守的价值观。就当前世界的局势来看，这也许会有点可怕。
If you planned on going away for college, getting dropped off at campus in the fall, that"s no longer a given. If you were planning to work while going to school, finding that first job is going to be tough. Even families that are relatively well off, they"re dealing with massive uncertainty. Those who were struggling before, they"re hanging on by a thread. All of which means that you"re going to have to grow up faster than some generations.
如果你想去外地上大学，今年秋季能否入学还是个疑问。如果你想边上学边打工，找到第一份工作会比以往更难。即使是那些相对殷实的家庭，现在也面临着很大的不确定性。对于之前就有困难的人，现在更是危如累卵。所有这些都意味着你要比以往几代人更快地成长。
This pandemic has shaken up the status quo, laid bare a lot of our country"s, deep-seated problems, from massive economic inequality, to ongoing racial disparities, to a lack of basic healthcare for people who need it. It"s woken a lot of young people up to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don"t work. That it doesn"t matter how much money you make if everyone around you is hungry and sick, and that our society are not democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves but about each other.
疫情已经很大程度影响了现状，也暴露出我们国家很多深层的问题。从巨大的收入不均，到持续的种族差异，还有就是为有需求的人提供基本医疗保障。同时也让很多年轻人清楚地认识到，老的办事方法不可靠。如果你身边的人都在挨饿生病，不管你赚多少钱都没有意义。另外我们的社会和民主只有在，我们不仅仅只想着自己，还为他人着想的时候才会有意义。
It"s also pull the curtain back on another hard truth, something that we all have to eventually accept once our childhood comes to an end. You know all those adults that used to think [they were] in charge or 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. So if the world"s going to get better, it"s going to be up to you.
另外毕业也渐渐拉开了另一项残酷现实的遮挡，这些事情一旦童年结束了，我们都得学着接受。那些我们小时候，认为掌管一切知晓一切的大人，原来他们也不是什么都懂。其中很多人提的问题都没有问到点子上。所以如果这世界要更加艰难，就要依靠你们了。
That realization may be kind of intimidating, but I hope it"s also inspiring. 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." Because with so much uncertainty, with everything suddenly up for grabs, this is your generation"s world to shape.
这样的顿悟有可能会有点可怕，但我希望同时也能上一种激励。现在我们国家面临如此多的挑战，没人能跟你说，“你还小理解不了”或者“我们一直就是这么干的”。因为目前不确定性太多，太多事情要去处理，世界怎么样，该各位去打造了。
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. First, don"t be afraid. America"s gone through tough times before. Slavery, civil war, famine, disease, the Great Depression, and 9/11, and each time we came out strong. Usually because a new generation, young people like you, learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.
对各位来说，我已经是老人家了。所以我就不对你们怎么行使权力指手画脚了。我就简单留3条建议。首先，不要害怕。美国之前也经历了困难时期，奴隶制、内战、饥荒、疾病、大萧条还有911，每次过后我们都更强大。一般来说都会有新生代，像你们一样的年轻人吸取教训，然后找出向好的解法。
Second, do what you think is right. Doing what feels good, what"s convenient, what"s easy, that"s [how kids] think. Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grownups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up. I hope that instead you decide to ground yourself in values that last like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others. You won"t get it right every time. You"ll make mistakes like we all do. 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 and you"ll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
第二，做你认为正确的事。做那些让你感觉最爽、最方便、最简单的事情，那是小孩子思维。不幸的是很多所谓成年人，包括一些有高大上职位的人也是这么想的，所以当前局势才一团糟。我希望你们能决定，选择隽永的价值观。比如诚实、勤奋、负责、公正、慷慨、尊重他人。当然不会每次都顺利，像所有人一样，你们也会犯错。但如果你遵从自己内心的真相，即便很困难，即便不方便，人们也会注意到，并被你吸引。这样你就成了解法的一部分，而不是问题的一部分。
And finally, build a community. No one does big things by themselves. 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." But if we"re going to get through these difficult times, if we"re going to create a world where everybody has opportunity to find a job and afford college, and we"re going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, then we"re going to have to do it together. So be alive to one another"s struggles. Stand up for one another"s rights. Leave behind all the old ways of thinking, the bias, sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed, and set the world on a different path.
最后，打造自己的团队。成大事者没有单打独斗的。现在，在人们害怕的时候，很容易变得愤世嫉俗然后说，我只要管好我自己或者我的家人，或者跟我有意义肤色、理念或者信仰的人。但如果我们要度过这场危机，如果我们要打造一个大家都有机会找到工作，有学可上的世界。如果我们要拯救环境，打败未来的疫情。我们就要凝心聚力，牵挂他人的困难，为他人的权益发声。把那些让我们有隔阂的东西都抛诸脑后，性别歧视、种族歧视、身份、贪婪，把这世界重新引回正轨。
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. But, the truth is, you don"t need us to tell you what to do because there"s so many ways you"ve already started to lead. Congratulations, class of 2020. Keep making us proud.
当你们需要帮助，Michelle和我把让年轻人学到领导团队需要的技能和支持，作为我们基金会的使命。并且让你们和全国乃至全球的年轻领导人联系起来。但事实是，你不需要我们告诉你怎么去做，因为在好多领域，你们已经开始主导了。恭喜，2020届毕业生，继续让我们引以为豪吧。
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