奥巴马2020第二个线上毕业演讲是昨天下午东部时间8点。他在由智囊团XQ Institute与勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)基金会和慈善组织娱乐产业基金会(Entertainment Industry Foundation)合作举办的“一起毕业:2020年高中毕业班”直播节目中担任毕业演讲嘉宾。
对2020届高中毕业生,前总统巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)也给了三点建议:
1、 不要害怕
2、做你认为正确的事
3、建立一个社区
奥巴马说:“你不会每次都做对。” “你会像我们所有人一样犯错误。但是,即使很困难,很不方便,如果你听从自己的内心,人们也会注意到。他们会欣赏你。你将成为解决方案中的一部分,而不是成为问题中的一部分。”
我为2020年的高中毕业生,你们所有人感到无比的骄傲,还有为你们的老师和教练,尤其是一直指导你们的父母和家人,感到自豪。
在任何情况下,毕业都是个人人生的一项重大成就。你们当中有些人必须克服一些严重的障碍,这可能包括面对疾病或者父母失业带来的困难,有的可能生活在一个常被人拒之门外的社区中。
除了成长过程中常见的挑战,你们所有人都必须应对社交媒体带来的更大压力,诸如校园枪击事件的报道以及气候变化的阴影。然后,就在你们即将庆祝成功的时候,就在你们一直期待的毕业典礼、舞会、毕业生之夜和一大堆派对到来之际,我们不得不面对现实,整个世界都被全球瘟疫的大流行颠覆。
我敢肯定你们都深爱自己的父母,但我打赌,你们对毕业季最后几个月的生活的设想,一定不是与父母在家一起玩棋盘游戏或跟他们一起看《老虎王》电视剧这类方式。
不过我也可以诚实地告诉你们,大家对打破常规的毕业季和现场毕业典礼缺失的失望,这些很快就会过去。我对自己高中毕业的大部分过程就不记得。我知道不必坐在那里听人做毕业致辞,并不是一件坏事。我自己的演讲就经常太长。而且,也没有多少人戴着毕业生帽子会看起来多好看,尤其是像我这样有一对大耳朵的人。
一旦当下的公共卫生危机结束,你们将有足够的时间与你的朋友们聚会。但一个事实是,毕业标志着你们步入成年。开始掌管自己的未来人生。你将开始尝试决定一些未来的重要事情,包括,思考以后从事的职业,想与谁建立家庭,要追求的人生价值。鉴于目前的世界状况,这可能有点吓人。
如果您打算去上大学,在这个秋天被家长送到校园,那一切将不再是天经地义了。如果您打算在上学的同时工作,那么找到第一份工作将很困难。即使是相对优越的家庭,他们也面临着巨大的不确定性。那些曾在挣扎的人们,现在更加命运未卜。所有这些都意味着你们将不得不比前浪们更快地成长。
这场大流行动摇了现状,暴露了我国许多深层次的问题,从严重的经济不平等,持续的种族差距到缺乏全民基本医疗保健。许多年轻人意识到,旧的做事方式根本行不通。如果你们身边的人都贫困交加,那么你们挣多少钱都意义不大。我们的社会和民主制度,只有当我们不仅考虑自己,而且考虑彼此时,才能有意义地运作。
这也开启了另一个残酷事实,一旦少年时代结束,我们都必须最终接受这个事实。所有那些你们曾认为负责任的成年人,都知道他们在做什么吗?事实证明,他们并不知道一切的答案。他们中的很多人甚至没有提出正确的问题。所以,世界能否变得更好,取决于你们。
意识到这一点可能有点吓人,但是我希望这也能激励人心。面对我们国家现在所面临的各种挑战,没有人能够告诉你们“不,你们还太年轻,不能理解”或者“以前也是如此”。这么多的不确定性,一切问题突然都近在眼前,这是需要你们这代人去改变的世界。
作为前浪,我不会告诉你们如何使用你们手中的能量,但我将为你们提供三个简单的建议。
首先,不要害怕。美国经历过各种艰难的时期。奴隶制,内战,饥荒,疾病,大萧条和9·11,每次我们坚强地走出来了。根本原因之一,就是因为新一代,像你们这样的年轻人,从过去的错误中学到了经验教训,并想出了更好的解决方法。
第二,做你认为正确的事。做感觉良好、方便、容易的事情,这就是[孩子们的想法]。不幸的是,许多所谓的大人,包括一些拥有花哨头衔和重要工作的大人,仍然这样想,这就是为什么事情如此混乱。我希望你们改为以诚实,勤奋,责任,公平,慷慨,尊重他人的价值观为基础。你不会每次都正确。会像我们所有人一样犯错误。但是,如果你愿意倾听事实的真相,即使很难,即使不便,人们也会注意到。他们会吸引你们,你将成为解决方案的一部分,而不是问题的一部分。
最后,要有建设社区的意识。没有人能独自做成大事。现在,当人们感到害怕时,很容易愤世嫉俗地说:“让我只关心自己,我的家人或那些跟我想法、做事、信仰一致的人。”但是,如果我们要度过这些艰难的时期,如果我们要创建一个每个人都有机会找到工作并负担大学学费的世界,要拯救环境并战胜未来的流行病,那么我们将不得团结起来一起做。因此,要对别人的困境有同理心。捍卫彼此的权利。抛开所有旧的思维方式、偏见、性别歧视、种族偏见、地位、贪婪,开创不同的未来道路。
当您需要帮助时,我和米歇尔已经成立了基金会,我们的使命就是旨在为像您这样的年轻人提供技能和支持,帮助你们领导自己的社区,并与全国以及全球的其他青年领 袖建立联系。事实是,你们不需要我们告诉你该怎么做,因为你们已经开始展现了自己各具特色的领导能力。
恭喜,2020年高中毕业生,让我们感到骄傲!
英文版:
Read Obama's full Graduating Together speech below.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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 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. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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