Former President Barack Obama gave a commencement address to the nation’s high school seniors.
阅读奥巴马高中毕业典礼演讲全文
前总统巴拉克·奥巴马向全国高三学生发表毕业典礼演讲。
Former President Barack Obama spoke Saturday at “Graduate Together: High School Class of 2020 Commencement,” an event organized byXQ Institute, a think tank that works with schools, in partnership with LeBron James’s foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation.
周六，美国前总统巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)在“一起毕业：2020年高中毕业典礼”上发表了讲话，这是一场由XQ研究所组织的活动，XQ研究所是一家与学校合作的智库，与勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)的基金会和娱乐产业基金会(Entertainment Industry Foundation)合作。
Here are Mr. Obama’s remarks in full:
Hi, everybody. Aniyah, thank you for that beautiful introduction. I could not be prouder of everything you’ve done in your time with the Obama Foundation.
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 have you along the way.
以下是奥巴马的讲话全文：
大家好。安妮娅，谢谢你漂亮的介绍。我对你们在奥巴马基金会工作期间所做的一切感到无比自豪。当然，我为2020届毕业班的你们所有人以及老师、教练，最重要的是，指导你们一路走来的父母和家人感到自豪。
Now graduating is a big achievement under any circumstances. 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. 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. 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. And as much as I’m sure you love your parents, I’ll bet that being stuck at home with them and playing board games or watching Tiger King on TV is not exactly how you envisioned the last few months of your senior year.
现在毕业在任何情况下都是一项巨大的成就。你们中的一些人不得不克服沿途的严重障碍，无论是生病，还是父母失业，或者生活在人们经常把你们排除在外的社区。除了通常的成长挑战，你们所有人都必须应对社交媒体带来的额外压力，校园枪击事件的报道，以及气候变化的幽灵。然后，就在你即将庆祝成功度过难关的时候，就像你一直期待着毕业舞会和毕业夜一样，毕业典礼--让我们面对现实吧，还有一大堆派对--世界被一场全球流行病搞得天翻地覆。虽然我相信你很爱你的父母，但我敢打赌，和他们呆在家里，玩棋盘游戏，或者在电视上看虎王，都不是你想象的高三最后几个月的样子。
Now I’ll be honest with you — the disappointments of missing a live graduation — those will pass pretty quick. I don’t remember much from 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. And you’ll have plenty of time to catch up with your friends once the immediate public health crisis is over.
现在我要跟你说实话--错过现场毕业典礼的失望--那些很快就会过去。我对自己的高中毕业不太记得了。我知道不必坐在那里听毕业典礼演讲并不是那么糟糕--我的演讲通常持续得太久了。而且，并不是很多人戴着这些帽子看起来都很棒，特别是如果你有像我这样的大耳朵的话。一旦迫在眉睫的公共卫生危机过去，你将有充足的时间与你的朋友们叙旧。
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.
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 were planning to work while going to school, finding that first job is going to be tougher. Even families that are relatively well-off are dealing with massive uncertainty. Those who were struggling before — they’re hanging on by a thread.
但事实仍然是，你的毕业标志着你进入成年--这是你开始主宰自己生活的时候。这是你决定什么对你来说最重要的时候：你想要追求的职业。你想和谁一起组建家庭。你想要遵循的价值观。考虑到目前的世界状况，这可能有点可怕。如果你计划去上大学，秋天被送到校园去--这已经不再是既定的事情了。如果你打算边上学边工作，那么找第一份工作会更难。即使是相对富裕的家庭也在应对巨大的不确定性。那些以前苦苦挣扎的人--他们现在危在旦夕。
All of which means that you’re going to have to grow up faster than some generations. This pandemic has shaken 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. 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 and our democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves, but about each other.
所有这些都意味着你将不得不比某些世代成长得更快。这场流行病动摇了现状，暴露了我们国家的许多深层次问题-从严重的经济不平等到持续的种族差距，再到缺乏对需要它的人的基本医疗保健。这让许多年轻人意识到，旧的做事方式根本行不通；如果你周围的每个人都饿了、生病了，你赚多少钱都无关紧要；我们的社会和我们的民主只有在我们不仅为自己着想，而且为彼此着想的情况下才能发挥作用。
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. All those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing? Turns out that 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 going to be up to you.
这也拉开了另一个残酷的事实的帷幕，一旦我们的童年结束，我们最终都必须接受这个事实。所有那些你过去认为是负责人并且知道他们在做什么的成年人？事实证明，他们并不知道所有的答案。他们中的很多人甚至没有问对问题。所以，如果世界要变得更好，那将取决于你。
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.
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.
这种认识可能有点吓人。但我希望它也能鼓舞人心。面对这个国家现在面临的所有挑战，没有人能告诉你“不，你太年轻了，无法理解”或“这是一直以来的做法”。因为有如此多的不确定性，所有的东西突然都可以被抓住，这是你们这一代人要塑造的世界。因为我是老家伙之一，我不会告诉你怎么利用掌握在你手中的权力。但我会给你三条快速的建议。
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 stronger, usually because a new generation, young people like you, learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.
Second, do what you think is right. 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.
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 its inconvenient, people will notice. They’ll gravitate towards you. And you’ll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
首先，不要害怕。美国以前也经历过艰难时期--奴隶制、内战、饥荒、疾病、大萧条和9/11。每一次我们都变得更加强大，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了教训，找到了如何让事情变得更好的办法。第二，做你认为正确的事。做感觉好的事，做方便的事，做容易的事--这就是小孩子们的想法。不幸的是，许多所谓的成年人，包括一些拥有花哨头衔和重要工作的人，仍然这样认为-这就是事情如此糟糕的原因。相反，我希望你决定将自己建立在持久的价值观上，比如诚实、努力、责任、公平、慷慨和尊重他人。你不会每次都做对的，你会像我们一样犯错误。但是，如果你倾听自己内心的真相，即使很难，即使很不方便，人们也会注意到的。他们会被你吸引的。你将成为解决方案的一部分，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 the opportunity to find a job, and afford college; if 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 that divide us — sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed — and set the world on a different path.
最后，建立一个社区。没有人会自己做大事。现在，当人们害怕的时候，很容易变得愤世嫉俗，说让我为我自己、我的家人、或者那些看起来、思考或祈祷像我一样的人照看一下。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、负担得起大学学费的世界；如果我们要拯救环境、战胜未来的流行病，那么我们就必须齐心协力。所以要对彼此的挣扎保持活力。为彼此的权利挺身而出。摒弃所有分裂我们的旧思维方式--性别歧视、种族偏见、地位、贪婪--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.
But the truth is that you don’t need us to tell you what to do.
Because in so many ways, you’ve already started to lead.
Congratulations, Class of 2020. Keep making us proud.
当你们需要帮助时，米歇尔和我已经把给像你们这样的年轻人在你们自己的社区中领导的技能和支持作为我们基金会的使命，并将你们与全国和全球各地的其他年轻领导人联系起来。但事实是你不需要我们告诉你该怎么做。因为在很多方面，你已经开始领导了。恭喜，2020届毕业生。继续让我们感到骄傲。
