迈克尔杰克逊2001年牛津大学演讲稿（爱护儿童演讲稿迈克尔·杰克逊（Michael Jackson）2001年牛津大学演讲——《Heal the Kids》（拯救儿童）)

作者：【美】迈克尔杰克逊（Michael Jackson，1958-2009）

中译来源——《一生必读的世界名校励志演讲与口才》

侵删

Thank you, dear friends, from the bottom of my heart, for such a loving and spirited welcome, and thank you, Mr. President, for your kind invitation to me which I am so honored to accept. I also want to express a special thanks to you Shmuley, who for 11 years served as Rabbi here at Oxford. You and I have been working so hard to form Heal the Kids, as well as writing our book about childlike qualities, and in all of our efforts you have been such a supportive and loving friend.

谢谢各位亲爱的朋友，对大家如此热烈的欢迎，我由衷地表示感谢，谢谢校长，对您的盛意邀请，我感到万分荣幸。同时，我特别地感谢犹太教律法师施慕礼，感谢您十一年来在牛津所做的工作。您和我一起努力建立“拯救儿童”，就如创作我们的那本关于儿童特质的书一样艰辛，但自始至终您都给予极大的支持和爱心。

And I also want to thank Toba Friedman, our director of operations at Heal the Kids, who is returning tonight to the alma mater where she served as a Marshall scholar, as well as Marilyn Piels, another central member of our Heal the Kids team.

我还要感谢“拯救儿童”的执行总监多巴·弗里德曼，她将于今晚返回母校，在此，她曾经作为一个马歇尔学者工作过。当然还感谢我们“拯救儿童”组织的另一位核心成员玛丽琳·皮尔斯。

I am humbled to be lecturing in a place that has previously been filled by such notable figures as Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein, Ronald Reagan, Robert Kennedy and Malcolm X. Ive even heard that Kermit the Frog has made an appearance here, and Ive always felt a kinship with Kermits message that its not easy being green. Im sure he didnt find it any easier being up here than I do!

能来到这样一个曾经汇集过特蕾莎修女、阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦、罗纳德·里根、罗伯特·肯尼迪和马尔科姆·埃克斯等著名人物的地方演讲，我感到受宠若惊。听说美国布偶秀科米蛙曾经来过这里，我也和他有同感就是，没有深厚阅历的人来这里可不容易，我相信他做到这点不会比我容易多少。

As I looked around Oxford, I cant help but be aware of the majesty and grandeur of this great institution, not to mention the brilliance of the great and gifted minds that have roamed these streets for centuries. The walls of Oxford have not only housed the greatest philosophical and scientific geniuses-they also have ushered forth some of the most cherished creators of childrens literature, from J.R.R.Tolkien to C.S.Lewis. Lewis Carrolls Alice In Wonderland is immortalized in the stained glass windows in Christ Church. And even one of my own fellow Americans, the beloved Dr. Seuss, he graced these halls and then went on to leave his mark on the imagination of millions of children throughout the world.

当我参观牛津大学时，我情不自禁地被它的庄严和宏伟壮观所折服，更不用说几个世纪以来，在这座校园里，那些伟大而有才华的学者所创造的辉煌成就了。牛津不仅汇集了最伟大的哲学家和科学家，也是从托尔金到刘易斯时代，许多最宝贵的儿童文学创作者的圣地。今天在基督教堂的餐厅欣赏到彩色玻璃窗里路易斯·卡罗尔创作的永恒《爱丽丝漫游仙境》。同时，我还发现我的一位美国同胞，亲爱的苏斯博士就曾经被它的优雅魅力吸引，并由此在全世界几百万儿童的想象力里印上了他的标记。

I suppose I should start by listing my qualifications to speak before you this evening.

在开始我今晚的演讲之前，我想首先申明，为什么我有资格在此做演讲。

Friends, I do not have to claim the academic expertise of other speakers who have addressed this hall, just as they could lay little claim at being adept at the Moonwalk. And you know, Einstein in particular was really terrible at that.

朋友们，我并不具有其他来此做演讲的人所具有的学术专业知识，就像并不要求他们擅长“太空步”一样——而且大家都知道，爱因斯坦尤其不擅长。

But I do have a claim to having experienced more places and cultures than most people will ever see. Human knowledge consists not only of libraries of parchment and ink-it is also comprised of the volumes of knowledge that are written on the human heart, chiseled on the human soul, and engraved on the human psyche. And friends, I have encountered so much in this short lifetime of mine that I still cannot believe that I am only 42. I often tell Shmuley that in soul years Im sure that Im at least 80-and tonight I even walk like Im 80! So please harken to my message, because what I have to tell you tonight can bring healing to humanity and healing to our planet.

但我可以说，跟大多数人相比，我游历了更多的地方，也体验了更多不同的文化。人类的知识并不仅仅包括图书馆里典藏和由纸墨所记载的部分，还包括那些记在人们内心的，刻在人们灵魂深处和铭记在精神世界的大量知识。还有朋友们，在我相对较短暂的生命里，我经历了如此之多的事情，以至于我无法相信我只有四十二岁。我经常跟施慕礼说，我敢肯定我的心理年龄至少有八十岁，而今晚我走路的样子更像个八十岁的老人。那么就请大家仔细倾听我的演讲，因为今晚我所讲的内容，关于救赎人性和拯救地球。

Through the grace of God, I have been fortunate to have achieved many of my artistic and professional aspirations realized early in my lifetime. But these, friends, are accomplishments, and accomplishments alone are not who I am. Indeed, the cheery five-year-old who belted out Rockin Robin and Ben to adoring crowds was not indicative of the boy behind the smile.

多亏上帝的恩典，我很幸运地在我人生的早期就已实现了自己的许多艺术和职业抱负。但，朋友们，这些只是我的成就，成就本身并不构成我这个人。事实上，在崇拜者面前活泼快乐地表演《Rockin Robin》 和《Ben》的五岁小男孩在舞台下并不一定也同样快乐。

Tonight, I come before you less as an icon of pop (whatever that means anyway), and more as an icon of a generation, a generation that no longer knows what it means to be children. All of us are products of our childhood. But I am the product of a lack of a childhood, an absence of that precious and wondrous age when we frolic playfully without a care in the world, basking in the adoration of parents and relatives, where our biggest concern is studying for that big spelling test come Monday morning.

今晚，我并不是以一个流行偶像的身份出现在大家面前（不管那意味着什么），而是作为一代人的标志出现，这代人不了解作为一个孩子意味着什么。大家都拥有过童年，但我却是一个缺少童年的人，缺少那样一个宝贵的和充满好奇的年龄阶段，那是一个不用关心世界只用快乐地嬉戏的年龄，那是一段沉浸在父母和亲人的疼爱中的时光，那时我们最大的担忧就是星期一上午的拼写测试，我们为此而学习。

Those of you who are familiar with the Jackson Five know that I began performing at the tender age of five and that ever since then, I havent stopped dancing or singing. But while performing and making music undoubtedly remain as many of my greatest joys, when I was young I wanted more than anything else to be a typical little boy. I wanted to build tree houses, have water balloon fights, and play hide and seek with my friends. But fate had it otherwise and all I could do was envy the laughter and playtime that seemed to be going on all around me.

熟悉杰克逊五人组合的朋友都知道我五岁时就开始表演，从那以就再也没有停止过跳舞唱歌。毫无疑问，表演和音乐创作是我最大的乐趣，可是小时候的我更想和其他的男孩子一样，搭树巢、打水仗、捉迷藏。但是恰恰相反，命中注定我只能羡慕那些萦绕在我四周的笑声和欢乐。

There was no respite from my professional lifestyle. For on Sundays I would go Pioneering, the term used for the missionary work that Jehovahs Witnesses do. And it was then that I was able to see the magic of other peoples childhood.

从开始我的职业生涯以来，我从来就没有停歇过。但是每到周末，我会去“先锋会”，这是一个术语，专门用来形容耶和华见证会的传教工作。在那里我会看到别人充满魔力的童年。

Since I was already a celebrity, I would have to put on a disguise of fat suit, a wig, a beard and glasses and we would spend the day in the suburbs of Southern California, going door to-door or making the rounds of sopping malls, distributing our Watchtower magazine. I loved to set foot in all those regular suburban I houses and catch sight of the fireplaces and La-Z-Boy armchairs with kids playing Monopoly and grandmas baby-sitting and all those wonderful, ordinary and starry scenes of everyday life. Many, I know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal. But to me they were mesmerizing.

因为我已经是一个名人了，所以我不得不做一些伪装。我会穿上宽松的套装，戴上假发、假胡须和眼镜。我们会在加利福尼亚南部的郊区度过一整天，也会挨家挨户地串门，或者奔走于各大商场，派发我们的《望塔》杂志。我也喜欢到普通的郊区居民家里去，看壁炉旁和拉兹男孩扶手椅上，小孩子们在玩大富翁游戏、老奶奶在照看小孩，看所有那些普通却绚丽多彩的日常生活场景。我知道很多人会认为这些没什么大不了的，但它们对我来说却充满了诱惑。

I used to think that I was unique in feeling that I was without a childhood. I believed that indeed there were only a handful of people with whom I could share those feelings.

我过去常常认为唯独自己没有这种童年的感觉，我想能和我分享这种感觉的人更是少之又少。

When I recently met with Shirley Temple Black, the great child star of the 1930s and 40s, we said nothing to each other at first, we simply cried together, for she could share a pain with me that only others like my close friends Elizabeth Taylor and McCauley Culkin could.

近来，我有幸见到了三四十年代的一位很出名的童星秀兰·邓波儿·布莱克，一见面我们什么都不说，只是一起哭，因为她能分担我的痛苦，这种痛苦只有我的一些密友，像伊丽莎白·泰勒和麦考利·库尔金才能体会到。

I do not tell you this to gain your sympathy but to impress upon you my important point. It is not just Hollywood child stars that have suffered from a nonexistent childhood. Today, its a universal calamity, a global catastrophe. Childhood has become the great casualty of modern-day living. All around us we are producing scores of kids who have not had the joy, who have not been accorded the right, who have not been allowed the freedom, or knowing what its like to be a kid.

我说这些并不是要博得大家的同情，只是想让你们牢记我的一个重点：遭遇这种没有童年的痛苦的不只是好莱坞的童星。如今，这个问题已经成为世界性的灾难、全球性的灾难，童年已经成了现代生活的牺牲品。我们使很多孩子不曾享受童年的欢乐，不曾得到应有的权利，不曾获得自由，甚至不知道童年是什么样子的。

Todays children are constantly encouraged to grow up faster, as if this period known as childhood is a burdensome stage, to be endured and ushered through, as swiftly as possible. And on that subject, I am certainly one of the worlds greatest experts.

现在，人们常鼓励孩子要快点长大，好像这个叫做童年的时期是一个累赘的阶段，是一个折磨人的、需要被尽快度过的时期。在这个问题上，我无疑是世界上最专业的人士之一了。

Ours is a generation that has witnessed the abrogation of the parent-child covenant. Psychologists are publishing libraries of books detailing the destructive effects of denying ones children the unconditional love that is so necessary to the healthy development of their minds and character. And because of all the neglect, too many of our kids essentially have to raise themselves. They are growing more distant from their parents, grandparents and other family members, as all around us the indestructible bond that once glued together the generations, unravels.

我们这一代人见证了亲子盟约的废除。心理学家出版了大量的书籍详细表述了不给予孩子无条件的爱会导致的毁灭性影响，这种爱对孩子的思想和性格的健康发展极其重要。因为被忽视，很多孩子从根本上必须自己照顾自己。他们渐渐疏远自己的父母、祖父母以及其他家庭成员，曾经连接各代人的强有力的纽带已经瓦解。

This violation has bred a new generation, Generation O, let us call it Generation O, that has now picked up the torch from Generation X. The O stands for a generation that has everything on the outside wealth, success, fancy clothing and fancy cars, but an aching emptiness on the inside. That cavity in our chests, that barrenness at our core, that void in our centre is the place where the heart once beat and which love once occupied.

这种违背常理的行为造就了一代新人，让我们称之为“O时代”的人，他们承接了“X时代”人传递下来的“火炬”。“O时代”的人拥有所有外在的东西——财富、成功、时尚漂亮的衣服以及名车，但他们的内心却很空虚很痛苦。那种胸口的空洞，心灵的荒芜以及内在的空虚也曾经是我们的心脏搏动的地方，那里也曾经被爱占据。

O Its not just the kids who are suffering. Its the parents as well. For the more we cultivate little-adults in kids bodies, the more removed we ourselves become from our own childlike qualities, and there is so much about being a child that is worth retaining in adult life.

其实，不仅孩子们遭受着这种痛苦，父母也备受煎熬。我们越是让孩子们早熟，我们就越来越远离了天真，而这种天真就算成年人也值得拥有。

Love, ladies and gentlemen, love is the human familys most precious legacy, its richest bequest, its golden inheritance. And it is a treasure that is handed down from one generation to the other. Previous ages may not have had the wealth we enjoy. Their houses may have lacked electricity, and they squeezed their many kids into small homes without central heating. But those homes had no darkness, nor were they cold. They were lit bright with the glow of love and they were warmed snugly by the very heat of the human heart. Parents, undistracted by the lust for luxury and status, accorded their children primacy in their lives.

爱，女士们，先生们，爱是人类家庭最珍贵的遗产，是最贵重的馈赠，是最无价的传统，是我们应该世代相传的财富。前人可能没有我们现在所享有的财富，他们的房子里可能没有电，很多孩子挤在没有中央取暖设施的狭小房间里，但他们不会觉得黑暗，也不会觉得寒冷。爱的光芒照亮了他们的房间，炽热的心灵温暖了他们的身体。父母不会因贪求荣华富贵而分心，也不会因追求身份地位而心烦意乱，孩子才是他们生活中最重要的。

As you all know, our two countries broke from each other over what Thomas Jefferson referred to as certain inalienable rights".

我们都知道，我们两国曾因托马斯·杰斐逊提出的所谓“几个不可剥夺的权利”而决裂。

While we Americans and British might dispute the justice of his claims, what has never been in dispute is that children have certain obvious rights, and the gradual erosion of those rights has led to scores of children worldwide being denied the joys and security of childhood.

美国人和英国人也许会争议杰斐逊的主张是否公正，但绝不会有人质疑儿童享有不可剥夺的权利，对这些权利的逐步剥夺已经导致世界上很多儿童失去了童年的乐趣和安全保障。

I would therefore like to propose tonight that we install in every home a Childrens Universal Bill of Rights, the tenets of which are:

因此，我建议今晚我们就为每个家庭设立一部“世界儿童人权法案”，其条款如下：

1. The right to be loved without having to earn it.

不用去争取就可享受的被爱的权利。

2. The right to be protected, without having to deserve it.

不必乞求就可享有的被保护的权利。

3. The right to feel valuable, even if you came into the world with nothing.

即使来到这个世界时一无所有，也有被重视的权利。

4. The right to be listened to without having to be interesting.

即使不引人注意也有被倾听的权利。

5. The right to be read a bedtime story without having to compete with the evening news or Eastenders.

不需要与晚间新闻或《东区居民》抗争，就有在睡觉前听一段故事的权利。

6. The right to an education without having to dodge bullets at schools.

不需要躲避子弹，就可以在学校受教育的权利。

7. The right to be thought of as adorable even if you have a face that only a mother could love.

哪怕你只有妈妈才会爱的脸蛋，也有被人尊重的权利。

Friends, the foundation of all human knowledge, the beginning of human consciousness, must be that each and everyone of us is an object of love. Before you know if you have red hair or brown, before you know if you are black or white, before you know of what religion you are a part of, you have to know that you are loved.

朋友们，所有人类知识的基本原则、人类意识的起点必然是我们每一个人都成为被爱的对象。哪怕你还不知道自己的头发是红色还是棕色，还不知道自己是白人还是黑人，还不知道自己信仰哪种宗教，你也必须知道自己是被爱着的。

About twelve years ago, when I was just about to start my BAD tour, a little boy came with his parents to visit me at my California home. He was dying of cancer and he told me how much he loved me and my music. His parents told me that he wasnt going to live, that any day he could just go, and I said to him, "Look, I am going to be coming to your hometown in Kansas to start my tour in three months. I want you to come to the show. I am going to give you this jacket that I wore in one of my videos. His eyes lit up and he said, " You are gonna give me the jacket?" I said, "Yeah, Im going to give you the jacket, but you have to promise me that you will wear it to the show."

大约在十二年前，我即将开始我的《Bad》专辑巡演，这时一个小男孩和他的父母来加州我的家里看望我。癌症正在威胁着他的生命，他告诉我他非常喜欢我和我的音乐。他的父母告诉我他生命将尽，说不上哪一天就会离开，我就对他说：“你瞧， 三个月之后我就要到堪萨斯城，你的家乡去开演唱会，我希望你来看我的演出，我还要送给你一件我在录制一部录影带时穿过的夹克。”他眼睛一亮，说：“你要把夹克送给我？”我说：“是的，我要把夹克送给你，不过你必须答应我穿着它来看我的演出。”

I was trying to make him hold on. I said, "When you come to the show I want to see you in this jacket and in this glove", and I gave him one of my rhinestone gloves, which I never give to anyone. And he was just in heaven.

我只想尽力让他坚持住，就对他说：“我希望在我的演唱会上看见你穿着这件夹克戴着这只手套。”于是，我又送了一只镶着莱茵石的手套给他，一般我决不送这种手套给别人。他高兴得像进入天堂一般。

But maybe he was too close to heaven, because when I came to his town, he had already died, and they had buried him in the glove and jacket.

但也许他离天堂实在太近了，我来到他的城市时，他已经走了，他们埋葬他时给他穿了那件夹克、戴了那只手套。

He was just 10 years old. God knows, and I know, that he tried his best to hold on. But at least when he died, he knew that he was loved, not only by his parents, but even by me. As a near stranger, I also loved him. And with all of that love he knew that he didnt come into this world alone, and he certainly didnt leave it alone.

他只有十岁。上帝知道，我知道，他曾经多么努力地坚持过。但至少，在他离开时，他知道自己是被深爱着的，不仅被父母爱着，也被我爱着。虽然几乎是个陌生人，我也爱着他。拥有了这些爱，他知道他不是独自来到这个世界的，当然也不会孤独地离开。

If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with. A professor may degrade you, but you will not feel degraded; a boss may crush you, but you will not be crushed; a corporate gladiator might vanquish you, but you will still triumph. How could any of them truly prevail in pulling you down? For you know that you are an object worthy of love. The rest is just packaging.如果你降临和离开这个世界时都感到被爱着，那么其间发生的一切事情你都可以应付。教授可能给你降级，可你自己不会感到被降级；老板可能排挤你，可你不会被排挤掉；一个辩论对手可能会击败你，可你却仍能胜利。他们怎么能真正战胜你、击倒你呢？只要你知道自己值得被爱，其余的只是一层包装罢了。

But if you dont have that memory of being loved, you are condemned to search the world for something to fill you up. But no matter how much money you make or how famous you become, you will still feel empty. What you are really searching for is unconditional love, unqualified acceptance. And that was the one thing that was denied to you at birth.

但是，如果你没有被爱的记忆，你就无法发现世界上有什么东西能够让你充实。无论你挣了多少钱，无论你有多出名，你仍会觉得空虚。你真正寻找的只是无条件的爱和完全的包容。而那些在你诞生时就已把你拒之门外。

Friends, let me paint a picture for you. Here is a typical day in America six youths under the age of 20 will commit suicide, 12 children under the age of 20 will die from firearms remember this is a DAY, not a year 399 kids will bear rested for drug abuse, 1,352 babies will be born to teen mothers. This is happening in one of the richest, most developed countries in the history of the world.

朋友们，让我给大家描述一幅这样的情景，这是美国典型的一天——有6个不满20岁的青年自杀，12个20岁以下的孩子死于枪击——记住这只是一天，不是一年——另外还有399个少年因为服用毒品而被逮捕，1352 个婴儿被十几岁的妈妈生下来，这些都发生在世界上最富有、最发达的国家。

Yes, in my country, there is an epidemic of violence that parallels no other industrialized nation. These are the ways young people in America express their hurt and their anger. But dont think that there is not the same pain and anguish among their counter parts in the United Kingdom. Studies in this country show that every single hour, three teenagers in the UK inflict harm upon themselves, often by cutting or burning themselves burning their bodies or taking an overdose. This is how they have chosen to cope with the pain of neglect and emotional agony.

是的，我的国家所充斥的暴力，其他的工业化国家无法与之相比。这只是美国年轻人宣泄他们的伤痛和愤怒的方式，但是，不要认为英国就不存在有这样痛苦和烦恼的人。种种调查表明英国每小时都会有3个少年自残，他们通常会割伤或烫伤自己的身体或者服用过量药剂。这是他们所选择的用来发泄被忽视的痛苦和烦恼的方法。

In Britain, as many as 20% of families will only sit down and have dinner together once a year. Once a year! And what about the time-honored tradition of reading your kid a bedtime story? Research from the 1980s showed that children who are read to, had far greater literacy and significantly outperformed their peers at school. And yet, less than 33% of British children ages two to eight have a regular bedtime story read to them. You may not think much of that until you take into account that 75 % of their parents DID have that bedtime story when they were that age.

在大不列颠，多达20%的家庭一年只能聚在一起吃一次晚饭，一年才一次！那么给孩子们讲睡前故事的悠久传统又处于一种什么状况呢？20世纪80年代以来的研究表明，听睡前故事的孩子在读写方面远远胜过学校的同龄孩子。然而，英国只有不到33%的2至8岁的孩子能固定地在晚上睡觉前听段故事。如果大家想想75%的家长在那个年龄的时候都能在睡前听到故事，那么你们可能就会深思。

Clearly, we do not have to ask ourselves where all of this pain, anger and violent behavior comes from. It is self-evident that children are thundering against the neglect, quaking against the indifference and crying out just to be noticed. The various child protection agencies in the US say that millions of children are victims of maltreatment in the form of neglect, in the average year. Yes, neglect. In rich homes, privileged homes, wired to the hilt with every electronic gadget. Homes where parents come home, but they re not really home, because their heads are still at the office.

显然，我们没必要问自己所有这些痛苦、愤怒和暴力行为从何而来。显然，孩子们正在对这种忽视发出怒吼，以对抗来自长辈的漠视，他们大声疾呼只是为了引起注意。在美国，各种儿童保护机构表示，平均每年有数百万儿童成为被忽视的受害者。没错，是被忽视的受害者！富有的家庭、享有特权的家庭，完全被电子器件束缚了。父母回到了家里，可是他们的心并不在家里，他们还想着工作上的事情。

And their kids? Well, their kids just make do with whatever emotional crumbs they get. And you dont get much from watching a lot TV, computer games and videos.

那孩子们呢？啊，他们只好以所能得到的破碎的爱勉强生活。在大量电视节目、电脑游戏和录像带上又能得到多少感情呢！

These hard, cold numbers which for me, wrench the soul and shake the spirit, should indicate to you why I have devoted so much of my time and resources into making our new Heal the Kids initiative a colossal success.

我觉得，这些扭曲灵魂、震撼心灵的冷酷数字正好可以让大家明白，我为什么要花费这么多的时间和资源来使我们新成立的“拯救儿童”组织一开始就能获得巨大成功。

Our goal is simple - to recreate the parent-child bond, to renew its promise and light the way forward for all the beautiful children who are destined one day to walk this earth.

我们的目标很简单——重建父母与子女之间的融洽关系，重新许下承诺，为终究会在这个世界上留下脚印的孩子们照亮前行的道路。

But since this is my first public lecture, and you have so warmly welcomed me into your hearts, I feel that I want to tell you more. We each have our own story, and in that sense statistics can become personal.

因为这是我第一次公开演讲，而你们又从心底里如此热情地欢迎我，我觉得应该告诉你们更多。我们每个人都有自己的故事，从那个意义上来说，统计资料就属于私人信息了。

They say that parenting is like dancing. You take one step, your child takes another. I have discovered that getting parents to rededicate themselves to their children is only half the story, The other half is preparing the children to re-accept their parents.

有人说抚养孩子就像跳舞。你走一步，你的孩子跟一步。我发现让父母全心全意养育孩子只是故事的一半，另一半是父母还需要让孩子重新接受他们。

When I was very young I remember that we had this crazy mutt, I remember we had this crazy dog, it was a mutt dog named "Black Girl, she was a mix of wolf and retriever. Not only wasnt she much of a guard dog, she was such a scared and nervous thing that it is a wonder she did not pass out every time a truck rumbled by, or a thunder storm swept through Indiana. My sister Janet and I gave that dog so much love, but we never really won back the sense of trust that had been stolen by her previous owner. We knew he used to beat her. We didnt know with what. But whatever it was, it was enough to suck the spirit right out of that dog.

我记得在我小的时候，我们养了一条名叫“黑姑娘”的又疯又笨的狗，这种狗是狼和猎狗的杂交品种。她不仅不能看家，而且很胆小并且有点神经质，甚至对卡车的声音和印地安那的雷雨也恐惧不已。我和妹妹珍妮特对她非常怜爱，但是我们从没真正赢得过她的信任，这种信任感已经被她的前主人剥夺了。我们知道她以前的主人总是打她。虽然不知道用什么方式虐待她，但不管怎样，那已足以让这条狗精神崩溃。

A lot of kids today are hurt puppies who have weaned themselves off the need for love. They couldnt care less about their parents. Left to their own devices, they cherish their independence. They have moved on their life and have left their parents behind. Then there are the far worse cases of children who harbor animosity and resentment toward their parents, so that any overture that their parents might undertake would be thrown forcefully back in their face.

如今许多儿童就像受过伤害的小狗一样，放弃对爱的追求。他们一点也不关心他们的父母。他们独来独往，捍卫自己的独立。他们不停地向前，而把父母抛在了后面。还有更糟的孩子，他们对父母充满敌意和怨恨，父母可能采取的任何提议都会被激烈地驳回。

Tonight, I dont want any of us to make this mistake. Thats why Im calling upon all the worlds children beginning with all of us here tonight to forgive our parents, if we felt neglected, FORGIVE. Forgive them and teach them how to love again.

今晚，我不希望我们之中的任何一个人犯这样的错误，这就是我为什么呼吁全世界的孩子——和我们今晚在场的人一起开始——宽恕我们的父母，如果我们觉得被忽略，那么宽恕他们并且教他们怎样爱。

You probably werent surprised to hear that I did not have an idyllic childhood. The strain and tension that exists in my relationship with my own father is well documented. My father is a tough man and he pushed my brothers and me hard, really hard from the earliest age, for the best. He wanted us to be the best performers we could possibly be.

听到我没有拥有幸福的童年时你们可能并不吃惊，因为许多资料表明我和我父亲的关系不好。我父亲是个严厉的人，我和我的哥哥们在很小的时候，他对我们非常严格，要求我们尽可能地成为好演员。

He had great difficulty showing affection. He never really told me he loved me. And he never really complimented me either. If I did a great show, he would tell me it was a good show. And if I did an OK show, he would say nothing.

他不善于表达爱，他从未对我说过他爱我，也从未真正夸过我。如果我的表演很棒，他会说不错，如果我表演得还行，他就一言不发。

He seemed intent, above all else, (I need a tissue, Im sorry). He seemed intent, (excuse me). He seemed intent, above all else, on making us a commercial success. At that he was more than adept.

他是如此地迫切，（抱歉我需要一张纸巾）。他是如此迫切（抱歉）。他是如此迫切地让我们取得商业上的成功，而且他在这方面很内行。

My father was a managerial genius and my brothers and I owe our professional success, in no small measure, to the forceful way that he pushed us. He trained me as a showman and under his guidance I couldnt miss a step. But what I really wanted was a Dad. I wanted a father who showed me love. And my father never did that. He never said I love you while looking me straight in the eye. He never played a game with me. He never gave me a piggyback ride, he never threw a pillow at me, or a water balloon. But I remember once when I was about four years old, there was a little carnival and he picked me up and put me on a pony. It was a tiny gesture, probably something he forgot five minutes later. But because of that one moment I have this special place in my heart for him. Because thats how kids are, the little things mean so much. They mean so much. For me, that one moment meant everything. I only experienced it one time, but that one time made me feel really good, about him and about the world.

我的父亲是个天才管理者，我和我的兄弟们事业上的每一步成功都源自于他对我们采取的强迫方式。他训练我当演员，在他的指导下，我一步都不允许出错。但我真正想要的只是一个名副其实的父亲，一个能向我展示爱的父亲。然而我的父亲却从未那样做过，他直视着我时从不说爱我，他从未和我一起玩过游戏，也从来没有让我骑在他的背上玩耍，他不会亲昵地朝我扔枕头或水球。但我记得大约在我四岁那年的一个小的狂欢节，他把我抱起来放在小马上。那只是一个很小的举动，或许他五分钟就忘记了，但因为那一刻，他在我心里有了一个特别的位置。这就是孩子，很小的事情对他们意味着很多。对我来说，那一刻意味着一切。我仅仅经历过一次，但那一次让我对他和对这个世界的感觉都特别好！

But now I am a father myself, and one day I was thinking about my own children, Prince and Paris and how I wanted them to think of me when they grow up. To be sure, I would like them to remember how I always wanted them with me wherever I went, how I always tried to put them before everything else. But there are also challenges in their lives. Because my kids are stalked by paparazzi, they cant always go to a park or to a movie with me.

现在我自己也当爸爸了，有一天我正在想着我自己的孩子普林斯和帕瑞斯，想着我希望他们长大后怎样看我。我敢肯定，我希望他们能记得，不管我去哪儿，总想把他们带在身边，能记得我把他们看得比一切都重要。但他们的生活中也会有挑战。因为我的孩子们总是被狗仔队跟踪，他们不能经常和我去公园或去看电影。

So what if they resent me when they grow older, and what if they resent how my choices impacted their youth? Why werent we given an average childhood like all the other kids, they might ask? And at that moment I pray that my children will give me the benefit of the doubt. That they will say to themselves: "Our daddy did the best he could, given the unique circumstances that he faced. He may not have been perfect, but he was a warm and decent man, who tried to give us all the love in the world."

所以如果他们长大了之后怨恨我怎么办呢？如果他们怨恨我的选择给他们的童年带来影响，我该怎么办呢？他们也许会问，为什么我们没有和其他孩子一样的童年呢？在那一刻，我祈祷，我的孩子能够理解我。他们会对自己说：“ 在那种特殊的环境下，我们的爸爸已经尽了他最大的努力。或许不完美，但他却是个温和而正派的人，他想把这世上所有的爱都给我们”。

I hope that they will always focus on the positive things, on the sacrifices I willingly made for them, and not criticize the things they had to give up, or the errors Ive made, and will certainly continue to make, in raising them. For we have all been someones child, and we know that despite the very best of plans and efforts, mistakes will always occur. Thats just being human.

我希望他们能总是把焦点放在那些积极的方面，放在我心甘情愿为他们做出的牺牲上，而不是抱怨他们不得不放弃一些事情，或批判我在抚养他们的过程中犯过的或将来不免要犯的错误。因为我们都是父母的孩子，而且我们都清楚，尽管有最好的计划和努力，错误也在所难免。人，孰能无过？

And when I think about this, of how I hope that my children will not judge me unkindly, and will forgive me, forgive my shortcomings, I am forced to think of my own father and despite my earlier denials, I am forced to admit that he must have loved me. He did love me, and I know that. There were little things that showed it. When I was a kid I had a real sweet tooth - we all did. My father……he did try.

当我想到这个，想到我是多么希望我的孩子不会觉得我不够好，而且会原谅我，原谅我的缺点时，我不得不想起我自己的父亲，不管我之前怎样否定他，我必须承认他一定是爱我的。他的确爱我，我是知道的。这从一些小事就可以看出来，我小时候非常喜欢吃甜食——孩子们都这样。父亲……会尽力满足我。

But my favorite food to satisfy my sweet tooth was glazed doughnuts and my father knew that. So every few weeks I would come downstairs in the morning and there on the kitchen counter was a bag of glazed doughnuts no note, no explanation just the doughnuts. It was like Santa Claus.

我父亲知道我最喜欢吃甜面包圈。于是每隔几个星期，当我早上从楼上下来时，我都会在橱柜上发现一袋面包圈——没有字条、 没有说明——只有面包圈， 就像是圣诞老人送来的礼物。

Sometimes I would think about staying up late at night, so I could see him leave them there, but just like with Santa Claus, I didnt want to ruin the magic for fear that he would never do it again. My father had to leave them secretly at night, so as no one might catch him with his guard down. He was scared of human emotion, he didnt understand it or know how to deal with it. But he did know doughnuts.

有时我想待到深夜，希望能看到他把甜面包圈放在那儿。但就像对待圣诞老人一样，我不想破坏那种奇迹，唯恐他不再那样做。我父亲得在晚上悄悄地把它们留在那里，不想让任何人知道。他害怕提及人类的情感，他不懂也不知道怎么处理感情，但他懂得甜面包圈对我的意义。

And when I allow the floodgates to open up, there are other memories that come rushing back, memories of other tiny gestures, however imperfect, that showed that he did what he could. So tonight, rather than focusing on what my father did not do, I want to focus on all the things he did do and on his own personal challenges. I want to stop judging him.

当我打开记忆的闸门时，更多的回忆涌现出来，那些关于一些微妙举动的记忆，尽管已经不太清晰，但也足以表明他在尽力而为。所以今晚，我不想专注于我父亲所没有做到的，我想专注于所有他历尽艰难尽力做到的事情。我想停止对他的评判。

I have started reflecting on the fact that my father grew up in the South, in a very poor family. He came of age during the Depression and his own father, who struggled to feed his children, showed little affection towards his family and raised him. He raised my father and his siblings with an iron fist. Who could have imagined what it was like to grow up a poor black man in the South, robbed of dignity, bereft of hope, struggling to become a man in a world that saw my father as subordinate. I was the first black artist to be played on MTV and I remember how big a deal it was even then. And that was in the 1980s!

我回想我的父亲是在南方一个非常贫穷的家庭长大的。他生于大萧条时期，而他自己的父亲艰难地养育着孩子，也没有对家人表现出多少慈爱，我父亲和他的兄弟姐妹是在我爷爷的铁拳下长大的。谁能想到一个在南方长大的贫穷的黑人的处境是怎样的？被剥夺了尊严，失去希望，想拼命在这个视我父亲为下等人的世界里争得立足之地。我是第一个登上音乐电视台的黑人艺人。我还记得那有多艰难，那已是20世纪80年代！

My father moved to Indiana and had a large family of his own, working long hours in the steel mills, work that kills the lungs and humbles the spirit, all to support his family. Is it any wonder that he found it difficult to expose his feelings? Is it any mystery that he hardened his heart, that he raised the emotional ramparts?

后来我父亲搬到印地安那州并且有了自己的大家庭。他在炼钢厂长时间地工作，那种工作很低下，而且对肺有损害，这一切都是为了养家。难怪，他很难表露自己的感情。于是，他的心肠变硬了，他树起了感情壁垒，这一切都不足为怪，不是吗？

And most of all, is it any wonder why he pushed his sons so hard to succeed as performers so that they could be saved from what he knew to be a life of indignity and poverty. I have begun to see that even my fathers harshness was a kind of love, an imperfect love, to be sure, but love nonetheless. He pushed me because he loved me, because he wanted no man ever to look down at his offspring.

于是，他逼他的儿子们成为成功的演员，就是为了让他们不再过他所知道的那种没有尊严只有贫困的生活，这一切还奇怪吗？我开始明白，就连父亲的咆哮也是一种爱，尽管肯定是一种不完美的爱。他逼我是因为他爱我，他不希望有人会鄙视他的后代。

And now with time, rather than bitterness, I feel blessing. In the place of anger, I have found absolution. And in the place of revenge I have found reconciliation. And my initial fury has slowly given way to forgiveness.

现在，我不再感到痛苦，我感觉很幸福。在愤怒中，我发现了宽恕，在报复中，我发现了和解，就连最初的愤怒也慢慢变成了宽恕。

Almost a decade ago, I founded a childrens charity called "Heal the World". The title was something I felt inside me. Little did I know, as Shmuley later pointed out, that those two words form the cornerstone of Old Testament prophecy.

差不多在十年前，我成立了一个叫作“拯救世界”的儿童慈善机构，这个机构的名字本身只是我内心的感觉。直到施幕礼告诉我，我才知道这两个词构成了《圣经》旧约预言的基石。

Do I really believe that we can heal this world, that is riddled with war and genocide, even today? And do I really think that we can heal our children, the same children who as the papers reported this morning, can walk into a high school in San Diego and shoot down two beautiful students, just at the beginning of their lives? A horrifying reminder of the guns and hatred that shot through Columbine almost two years ago. Or children can beat a defenseless toddler to death, like the tragic story of Jamie Bulger? Of course I do. Of course I do, or I wouldnt be here tonight.

我真的能相信我们能拯救这个因战争和种族灭绝式屠杀而变得千疮百孔的世界吗？我真的相信我们能够拯救孩子吗？正如今早报纸报导的那样，正是这些孩子走进圣地亚哥的一所高中向两位漂亮的同学开枪，结束了他们年轻的生命。这些孩子能被拯救吗？这让人想起了大约两年前《科伦拜恩》里演的枪支和愤怒的可怕场面。或者说我们能拯救那些像杰米·巴尔格的悲剧故事一样，把毫无防御能力的蹒跚学步的小孩打死的孩子吗？当然可以。当然可以，否则我今晚就不会站在这里。

But it all begins with forgiveness, because to heal the world, we first have to heal ourselves. And to heal the kids, we first have to heal the child within, each and every one of us. As an adult, and as a parent, I realize that I cannot be a whole human being, nor a parent capable of unconditional love, until I put to rest the ghosts of my own childhood.

但是这一切都要从宽恕开始，因为要拯救世界我们必须先拯救自己。而要拯救儿童，我们首先要拯救孩子的内心，我们每一个人都有责任这样做。作为一个成年人，作为一名父亲，我知道，除非我把自己对童年的怨恨完全释放出来，我才能达到完美，才能给予孩子无条件的爱。

And thats what Im asking all of us to do tonight. Live up to the fifth of the Ten Commandments. Honor your parents by not judging them. Give them the benefit of the doubt.

这也是今晚我希望我们所有人能做到的事情。做到《圣经》十诫（犹太教、基督教的戒条；是上帝对以色列所讲的戒律，在西奈山上启示给摩西）中的第五诫：当孝敬父母，尊敬你们的父母而不要给予评判。要想着你们的父母是好的。

That is why I want to forgive my father and to stop judging him. I want to forgive my father, because I want a father, and this is the only one that Ive got. I want the weight of my past lifted from my shoulders and I want to be free to step into a new relationship with my father, for the rest of my life, unhindered by the goblins of the past.

这就是我要宽恕我的父亲并且不再评论他的原因。我想要原谅他，因为我想要一个“父亲”，而这也是我唯一得到的。在我的余生，我想卸掉一切包袱和我父亲和好，我想摆脱过去的阴影。

In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. Keep hope alive. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.

即使世界充满仇恨，我们也要勇于憧憬，让希望永存；即使世界充满愤怒，我们也要敢于安慰；即使世界充满绝望，我们也要勇于梦想；即使世界充满猜疑，我们仍要敢于信任。

To all of you tonight who feel let down by your parents, I ask you to let down your disappointment. To all of you tonight who feel cheated by your fathers or mothers, I ask you not to cheat yourself further. And to all of you who wish to push your parents away, I ask you to extend your hand to them instead. I am asking you, I am asking myself, to give our parents the gift of unconditional love, so that they too may learn how to love from us, their children. So that love will finally be restored to a desolate and lonely world.

今晚，你们当中因父母而失望的人，我希望你们不再失望；今晚，你们所有曾感觉被父母亲欺骗的人，我希望你们不要再欺骗自己；你们当中希望远离父母的人，我希望你们向他们伸出爱的双手。我在要求你，也在要求我自己，无条件地去爱我们的父母，这样他们会从自己的孩子这里学会如何去爱。这样，爱最终会改变这个冷漠的世界。

Shmuley once mentioned to me an ancient Biblical prophecy which says that a new world and a new time would come, when " the hearts of the parents would be restored through the hearts of their children. My friends, we are that world, we are those children.

施慕礼有一次曾向我提到《圣经》中的一段预言：“当父母的心能被他们的孩子拯救时，一个新的世界、一个新的时代就会到来。”朋友们，我们就是那个新的世界，我们就是那些拯救父母心灵的孩子。

Mahatma Gandhi said, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." Tonight, be strong. Beyond being strong, rise to the greatest challenge of all-to restore that broken covenant.

圣雄甘地曾说：“弱者从不原谅，宽恕是强者的特质。”今晚， 让我们做 一个强者，去迎接最大的挑战——去修复那已经被破坏了的亲子盟约。

We must all overcome whatever crippling effects our childhoods may have had on our lives and in the words of Jesse Jackson, forgive each other, redeem each other and move on.

我们必须克服一切我们的童年对我们的生活所造成的严重影响。用杰西·杰克逊（美国黑人民权领袖和演说家）的话来说，就是彼此宽恕，互相救赎，继续生活下去。

This call for forgiveness may not result in Oprah moments the world over, with thousands of children making up with their parents, but it will at least be a start, Well all be so much happier as a result.

呼吁宽恕或许不会带来奥普拉时代的重现，不会让成千上万的孩子与他们的父母重归于好，但这至少是一个开始。最终我们会为这个开始感到更加幸福。

And so ladies and gentlemen, I conclude my remarks tonight with faith, with joy and excitement.

好了，女士们，先生们，我满怀信念、愉悦和激动来总结我今晚的讲话。

From this day forward, let a new song be heard.

从今往后，可以听到一首新歌。

Let that new song be the sound of children laughing.让这首新歌成为孩子们欢笑的声音。

Let that new song be the sound of children playing.

让这首新歌成为孩子们玩耍的声音。

Let that new song be the sound of children singing.

让这首新歌成为孩子们歌唱的声音。

And let that new song be the sound of parents listening.

让这首新歌成为父母们聆听的声音。