布隆伯格華盛頓大學(xué)畢業(yè)演講：民主到了最危機(jī)的時(shí)刻，需要你們站出來(lái)（附視頻&演講稿）

點(diǎn)擊上方精彩英文演講，設(shè)為星標(biāo)

每天一個(gè)英文演講，讓你從此與眾不同

當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間5月17日，前紐約市長(zhǎng)布隆伯格在圣路易斯華盛頓大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上，直指美國(guó)黨派斗爭(zhēng)加劇導(dǎo)致民主難以為繼，告誡2019屆畢業(yè)生們不畏強(qiáng)權(quán)保護(hù)自由言論權(quán)。

21:31

布隆伯格華盛頓大學(xué)畢業(yè)演講稿雙語(yǔ)版

Well good morning, everyone. Hello, WashU, how is everyone doing?

Let me start with the most important words I can say today: Congratulations to the distinguished graduates of the great class of 2019.

I’d like to welcome everyone here — and Chancellor Wrighton for extending the invitation. I’ve known the chancellor for more than a decade, and I want to congratulate him for everything he has done to both transform this campus and raise academic standards.

If there are any older alumni present, be glad you applied back when you did. I can just tell you that certainly I would not have gotten into WashU today. For the record, I was the kind of student who always made the top half of the class possible.

Graduates, it’s a great honor to be your Commencement speaker. I accept the fact that I wasn’t your first choice. But unfortunately, T-Pain couldn’t make it. Mandatory vocal rest, he said. Actually, that’s the same reason I didn’t go out last night and sing karaoke at T’s.

Today’s a beautiful day. But this is St. Louis, and so before leaving my hotel this morning I also packed a winter parka.

I drove over here, and I was lucky: I found a very convenient parking space — on West Campus — so I took the shuttle over. It was worth it. What an amazing place this is. Where else could I see the bunny? And the DUC.

Still, I was disappointed that, in all my walking around, I did not get to see the school’s most famous icon: Ninja Turtle Backpack Guy. Demetri, way to dance to your own beat.

Graduates, you’re probably asking yourself some big, important questions right now on this important day, like how am I going to make a living? Will I ever have a mattress as nice as the one I had in the Forty? Will I ever again experience the magic of free Uber rides?

And the biggest question of all, after Chancellor Wrighton retires, will he still wear double-breasted suits? I’m going to say yes to that one.

Today, you’ll have to say farewell to many of the things that served as your support system and that got you through these stressful times.

Things like Ted Drewes, toasted ravs, John’s Donuts, gooey butter cake.

Thank goodness WashU has also one of the world’s best medical centers.

Now, before I go any further, let me take a moment to congratulate another group who is here today and deserves a lot of credit, and I’m talking about your parents and your family. How about a nice round of applause for them.

They’re out there beaming, not even thinking about the cost of tuition, and I’m sure they are just thrilled that some of you will be moving back into their basements.

Wherever you’re headed in the days and months ahead, I want to leave you with some food for thought, so let me turn to the real message of my speech.

In composing my remarks, I thought about the fact that WashU was originally named Eliot Seminary after one of the founders, Reverend William Eliot. Apparently, he was uncomfortable naming things after himself. So the Board of Trustees at the time changed the name of the school to honor George Washington.

I can appreciate what Reverend Eliot was thinking. I hate it when people name things after themselves — we had a story about that recently on Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio, maybe it was in Bloomberg Businessweek or Bloomberg News, who knows.

In all seriousness, the board back then made an inspiring decision to choose Washington. And anyone who thinks this school is in D.C. or near Seattle clearly hasn’t been paying attention.

It seems fitting that an institution named for Washington has played such an important role in presidential elections in recent decades. WashU has hosted a number of nationally televised debates, including the last one you saw in 2016.

Hosting a presidential debate is an experience that few schools or students get. But I can’t stand here and tell you it provided a great civics lesson. I wish I could.

Instead of focusing on the critical issues facing the country, that debate was more about locker room talk and ‘lock her up.’ Lincoln-Douglas, I think it’s fair to say, it was not.

That brings me to the topic du jour. It would be easy to blame the candidates or the moderators for the poor quality of that debate. But the problem runs much deeper.

All across America — at family gatherings, in social settings and workplaces, on college campuses, and certainly on social media, Americans are losing the ability to conduct civil and productive dialogue with those who hold different political views.

That has profound implications for our ability to function as a society. After all, when you can’t talk with one another, you can’t understand one another. When we can’t understand one another, we can’t work together. When we can’t work together, we can’t do anything. At least not anything big and important.

We face a lot of hard challenges in America today — from climate change to gun violence, to failing schools to the opioid epidemic, and on campuses, from the frightening trend toward racism, sexism, hatred, anti-Semitism and intolerance of unpopular views and opinions.

To have any hope of overcoming these challenges, we have to start by reclaiming our civic dialogue from those who are debasing and degrading it — and preventing us from getting things done.

All of you can help do that — no matter what your politics are and no matter what line of work you pursue later on. Maybe your passion is science or the environment. Or the arts or education. Or medicine or health care. Or business. There is not a single issue that isn’t affected by political debates. And there is not a single issue that isn’t threatened by the breakdown in our civic discourse.

So even if you hate politics — and there are a lot of reasons to hate politics these days — you will have to engage in political dialogue, if only to survive Thanksgiving dinner with your crazy uncle. And you will have to judge the arguments made by candidates if you are going to vote intelligently.

The question I hope you will ask yourself is: on what basis will you make those judgments?

It would be natural to think that a degree from one of America’s top colleges has prepared you as a skilled judge of political debates. But unfortunately a recent study found that the smartest and most knowledgeable voters can actually be the worst judges. And the reason is they are most likely to make judgments based on which party is making the argument rather than on the argument itself.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘I would never do that,’ you say. But it happens unconsciously all the time. People have a tendency to assume the worst about those on the other side of the aisle. And when it comes to those on your side, they tend to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. That’s why educated and knowledgeable people excuse these actions that are ethically wrong and defend statements that are blatant lies.

Of course, some people say defending the indefensible is just politics as usual, but I don’t accept that — and I hope you won’t either.

When extreme partisanship replaces reason, logic, facts and data, the country suffers — and special interests win. I’ve seen it time and time again, on issue after issue: gun violence, education, public health, and even one that threatens life as we know it: climate change.

Yesterday, I stood with WashU’s next chancellor, Andrew Martin, and the president of Ohio State University to announce that Bloomberg Philanthropies will help sponsor the first-ever climate summit of Midwestern universities next year right here on this campus.

We were joined by your mayor here, Lyda Krewson, because St. Louis, like WashU, has always been a real leader on climate change.

Last year, this city was one of the winners of a climate competition my foundation ran. And we are now providing about $2.5 million of resources to help St. Louis increase energy efficiency and expand solar power — a goal that WashU is helping the city to achieve. Thank you very much.

Universities have a critical role to play in helping our country tackle this challenge, and I want to thank everyone at WashU who has been part of that work.

There really is no time to waste. The problems driven by climate change are getting worse — and that’s something you’ve seen right here during your lifetime.

The recent Mississippi River floods have affected life in St. Louis and they have devastated farmers across the Midwest. Those types of natural disasters will continue to get more severe with climate change, according to the best scientific data.

The trouble is too many politicians aren’t interested in hard science. They’re only interested in political science and winning their next election. So they ignore the data, they try to cut funding for climate research — because they know it will undermine their political argument. Sometimes they even try to block public employees from uttering the words climate change.

You can’t make this stuff up. You just have to wonder, what are they trying to hide? The only conclusion I have drawn is that they’re either hiding their own ignorance or their own bad faith.

Either way, when government tries to gag scientists and censor our conclusions, watch out and speak up.

America’s progress depends on a dialogue that treats these issues not as pawns in a political battle, but as problems to be solved. Ignoring data and facts — and defending indefensible positions — happens in both parties. But during your time on campus, it has enabled new levels of dishonesty and wrongdoing and it has reached a point that, I believe, no democracy can long sustain.

Our democracy, as the Founding Fathers understood, relies on more than just votes. George Washington wrote in his farewell address, ‘Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.’

If the spring runs dry, democracy withers away — and the rights that we hold dear disappear.

Graduates, that spring of virtue is now yours to protect. And make no mistake, it is more polluted with toxic dialogue than it has ever been in modern history.

The good news is the way to clean up the pollution can be found in the three words written on the cover of your diploma. It’s the motto of this great university: ‘Per Veritatem Vis’ (strength through truth). And it’s a motto that fits perfectly with a university named for George Washington.

In 1794, during President Washington’s second term, there was a faction ginning up support for secession. Washington recognized the threat it posed — and he was confident that it would not succeed. He wrote in a letter, and I quote, ‘It is not difficult by concealment of some facts, and exaggeration of others to bias a well-meaning mind, at least for a time.’

But, he continued, ‘Truth will ultimately prevail where pains is taken to bring it to light.’

Now, I know the phrase ‘pains is taken’ probably just horrified every English major here. As kids we were taught that Washington never told a lie, but they never told us he had trouble with subject-verb agreements.

In fairness to George, ‘pains is taken’ is the way they spoke back then. Today, Washington would probably say ‘take pains.’ Or maybe T-Pain.

But really, Washington’s point, and Washington U.’s motto, are principles I hope that all of you will take to heart: truth will prevail where pains are taken to bring it to light. And with truth comes strength.

The pains that every generation has taken to bring truth to light are why secession didn’t succeed in 1794 or 1861. The pains taken by abolitionists, and suffragettes, and civil rights marchers, and marriage equality advocates brought America’s core truth to light: that all people are created equal.

Today, the necessity of taking pains to bring truth to light is greater than ever because the tools for spreading lies are more powerful than ever.

Since the dawn of democracy, there have always been those, to paraphrase Socrates, who try to make the weaker argument appear the stronger and who care more about winning debates than being truthful.

In ancient Greece, these were called Sophists — and they would have loved Twitter and Facebook.

Social media has given rise to a new golden age of sophistry — aided and abetted by blind partisanship. The only way to overcome it — the only way to lift our national discourse out of the gutter — is to heed Washington’s words and take pains to bring truth to light.

Those pains are the burden of citizenship in a democracy. And a great education does not relieve them. It intensifies them. This is especially true, I believe, for graduates of a university bearing the name Washington.

All of you have been part of this institution’s long tradition of advocacy and activism. Don’t leave it behind. Carry it with you, and take on this challenge to bring truth to light.

To help you get started, let me offer some quick advice for dealing with modern-day sophists who try to obscure — and deny — truth.

When those in the political arena engage in name-calling and other schoolyard chants, and are trying to distract your attention away from the real issues and from their inability to address them or their unwillingness to put forward practical solutions — don’t be distracted.

When they tolerate attacks on minority groups, especially those who profess a faith that some find threatening, they are empowering those who traffic in hatred — don’t tolerate it.

When they denounce journalists as ‘enemies of the state,’ and declare any critical coverage to be ‘fake news,’ and dress up lies as ‘a(chǎn)lternative facts,’ they are trying to fool you into trusting only the news that comes from their mouths — don’t be fooled.

When they exaggerate the risks we face from immigrants without talking about all the benefits they have brought to our country they are preying on people’s fears — don’t let them get away with it.

When they try to tell you who you can love, or even who you can be, they are either pandering for votes or playing God — don’t put up with it.

When they promise you a free lunch, or free college, free medical care, or free income, remember that a bill always comes due — don’t let them pass the buck.

When they prevent speakers from being heard, by shouting them down or creating spaces where differing opinions are not permitted, they are trying to win arguments by bullying and censorship instead of facts and reason. Don’t let them suppress free speech even when you find that speech to be deplorable. Protecting their right to speak is the only way to protect your right to speak.

When people romanticize the past, just remember something my mother, who lived to 102, told me: the good old days were never that good.

And finally, when leaders wrap themselves in the flag, or the national anthem, and try to make you think that critics of your government don’t love and respect our country, real patriotism isn’t about honoring symbols. Real patriotism is about bringing truth to light, and when action is required, standing up and taking action.

In other words, real patriotism is about taking pains. So if you remember nothing else from today, remember that phrase. Or, to make it even simpler, just remember: T-Pain.

Graduates, as you leave this great university I hope you will take the pains that are necessary to preserve and extend our democracy. Take pains to understand the other side. Take pains to expose lies. Take pains to reject scapegoating and xenophobia. Take pains not to fall for easy answers. And take pains to hold our leaders accountable for their words and their deeds.

If you do that, I have no doubt that truth — and America — will prevail. And my generation will be able to say as we pass the leadership torch to yours the same words that Washington spoke with his last breath: ‘Tis well.

So tonight, have one last drink, maybe at T’s, dance to your own beat or to the beat of Ninja Turtle Backpack Guy, and tomorrow, get to work. The world needs you more than ever.Congratulations, and good luck.

大家早上好。 你好華大，都好嗎？

讓我從今天最重要的一句話開(kāi)始：祝賀了不起的2019屆畢業(yè)生！

歡迎大家在這里——也感謝Wrighton校長(zhǎng)發(fā)出邀請(qǐng)。我認(rèn)識(shí)Wrighton校長(zhǎng)十多年了，祝賀他為提升華大實(shí)力和科研學(xué)術(shù)水平所做的一切。

同時(shí)很高興在場(chǎng)的華大老校友，祝賀你們回到自己的母校（參加畢業(yè)典禮）。我可以實(shí)話告訴你們，如果現(xiàn)在讓我申請(qǐng)華大，估計(jì)很難被錄取?？梢哉f(shuō)，我是那種成績(jī)普通的學(xué)生。

各位畢業(yè)生，很榮幸成為你們的畢業(yè)典禮的演講人。我得接受一個(gè)事實(shí)，我本來(lái)不是你們首選的演講嘉賓。但不幸的是，T-Pain（編者注：藝術(shù)家、成功的非裔歌手）無(wú)法到場(chǎng)。他最近需要保護(hù)嗓子。實(shí)際上，這也是我昨晚不出去唱卡拉OK的原因（眾笑）。

今天天氣棒極了。但這里是圣路易斯，所以在今天早上離開(kāi)酒店之前，我還帶了一件冬裝派克大衣。

我開(kāi)車(chē)到這里，很幸運(yùn)地在西校區(qū)找到了一個(gè)非常方便的停車(chē)位，然后乘坐校車(chē)到達(dá)。這很值得。多么美妙的校園。除了這，我還能在哪里看到兔子和DUC（華大校園建筑，丹佛斯大學(xué)中心）？

位于圣路易斯的華盛頓大學(xué)

盡管如此，我感到遺憾的一點(diǎn)是，我這一路上，錯(cuò)過(guò)了學(xué)校最著名的建筑：忍者神龜(Ninja Turtle Backpack Guy)。德米特里(Demetri)，隨心靈節(jié)拍自由舞蹈的人。

在座的畢業(yè)生們，在今天這個(gè)重要的日子里，你們可能問(wèn)自己一些重要問(wèn)題，比如如何謀生？將來(lái)會(huì)成為一個(gè)衣食無(wú)憂(yōu)富有的人嗎？以后會(huì)體驗(yàn)優(yōu)步無(wú)人駕駛技術(shù)嗎？

最重要的問(wèn)題是，在Wrighton校長(zhǎng)退休之后，他還會(huì)穿雙排扣西裝嗎？我要對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題說(shuō)“是”。

今天，你將不得作別那些在緊張困難時(shí)候，幫助你渡過(guò)難關(guān)的習(xí)慣和支撐物。像老泰的啤酒，烤餃子，老約翰的甜甜圈，粘粘的黃油蛋糕等。謝天謝地，華大的醫(yī)療中心是全世界最好的之一。

現(xiàn)在，在我往下演講之前，讓我花點(diǎn)時(shí)間祝賀今天在座的另一群人，我指的是你們的父母和家人。讓我們一起為他們鼓掌。

他們現(xiàn)在喜氣洋洋，甚至忘記了為你們付學(xué)費(fèi)的成本。我相信他們中的一些人也很激動(dòng)，因?yàn)槟銈冎杏行┤藢崛ジ改敢黄鹱。ɑ蛟S是住回家里的地下室）。

無(wú)論在不遠(yuǎn)的將來(lái)你決定去哪里，我都想跟大家分享一些思考，讓我開(kāi)始言歸正傳。

在撰寫(xiě)我的講稿時(shí)候，我想到華大最初被命名為艾略特神學(xué)院。其中一位創(chuàng)始人是威廉·艾略特牧師。然而，他并不喜歡以自己名字命名一個(gè)學(xué)院（這類(lèi)居功的事）。因此，當(dāng)時(shí)的董事會(huì)給學(xué)校改名，以紀(jì)念喬治·華盛頓（總統(tǒng)）。

我很欣賞艾略特牧師的處理。我討厭那種喜歡拿自己名字命名的人——我們最近在彭博電視和彭博電臺(tái)上在播放相關(guān)的事，也可能是在彭博商業(yè)一周或彭博新聞上講到過(guò)，管他呢。

認(rèn)真地說(shuō)，董事會(huì)當(dāng)時(shí)選擇華盛頓做校名，是做了一個(gè)鼓舞人心的決定。有些糊里糊涂的人會(huì)以為華大是在D.C.或西雅圖附近。

近幾十年來(lái)，以華盛頓命名的院校，在總統(tǒng)選舉中發(fā)揮了如此重要的作用。 華大主持了一系列的（總統(tǒng)選舉）全國(guó)電視辯論，包括你在2016年看到的最后一場(chǎng)辯論。

很少的學(xué)校能有機(jī)會(huì)主持總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選辯論，讓學(xué)生得到這些經(jīng)驗(yàn)。盡管我希望能，但我不能站在這里告訴你，這是提供了一個(gè)很棒的公民課的機(jī)會(huì)。

那場(chǎng)辯論主要話題不是在關(guān)注國(guó)家所面臨的各種重大問(wèn)題，而是變成在更多地關(guān)注“更衣室的（男性）談話”和“把她關(guān)進(jìn)監(jiān)獄”。很公平地說(shuō)，完全不是林肯與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手道格拉斯之間那樣的高水平總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選辯論。

這讓我想到了網(wǎng)紅的炒作。我們可以把辯論質(zhì)量低輕易地歸結(jié)成指責(zé)候選人或主持人水平差。但其實(shí)問(wèn)題嚴(yán)重得多。

整個(gè)美國(guó)——無(wú)論是家庭聚會(huì)、社交場(chǎng)所和工作場(chǎng)所、大學(xué)校園、還是社交媒體上，美國(guó)人正在失去與持有不同政治觀點(diǎn)的人進(jìn)行文明和富有成效的對(duì)話的能力。

這深遠(yuǎn)影響我們運(yùn)作一個(gè)高效率的社會(huì)的能力。畢竟，當(dāng)人們無(wú)法互相交談時(shí)，就無(wú)法達(dá)成互相的理解。當(dāng)我們無(wú)法相互理解時(shí)，就無(wú)法一起工作。當(dāng)我們不能一起工作時(shí)，我們就一事無(wú)成。至少無(wú)法做成重要的事情。

今天的美國(guó)面臨許多艱難的挑戰(zhàn)——從氣候變化到槍支暴力，從質(zhì)量下滑的教育到阿片類(lèi)處方藥和毒品成癮危機(jī)。甚至在校園里，也出現(xiàn)了可怕的趨勢(shì)，種族主義、性別歧視、仇恨、反猶太主義，以及對(duì)不同觀點(diǎn)的不歡迎和對(duì)不同意見(jiàn)缺乏包容。

為了爭(zhēng)取克服這些挑戰(zhàn)，我們必須讓那些阻止我們實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)和貶低文明對(duì)話的人無(wú)法得逞。

你們每個(gè)人都可以參與實(shí)現(xiàn)這些——無(wú)論你的政治觀點(diǎn)是什么，無(wú)論你追求什么樣的生活。也許你的事業(yè)興趣點(diǎn)是科學(xué)或環(huán)境或藝術(shù)或教育?；蜥t(yī)藥或保健。還可能是經(jīng)商。但是，沒(méi)有一個(gè)問(wèn)題不受到政治辯論的影響。并且，沒(méi)有一個(gè)問(wèn)題不會(huì)因社會(huì)文明進(jìn)步的倒退，而受到威脅。

因此，即使你討厭政治——而且現(xiàn)在有很多理由討厭政治——但是你也往往逃避不了涉及政治的對(duì)話。譬如，只是為了能與你瘋狂的叔叔（或者其他家人）一起共進(jìn)感恩節(jié)晚餐。如果你要理智地投票，你將不得不對(duì)候選人的觀點(diǎn)做出判斷。

我希望你們會(huì)問(wèn)自己的問(wèn)題是：你將以什么為依據(jù)做出判斷？

一般大家會(huì)很自然地認(rèn)為，美國(guó)一流大學(xué)畢業(yè)的學(xué)生具有成熟的政治判斷力。但不幸的是，最近的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，即使是最聰明、知識(shí)最淵博的選民，也可能做出最糟糕的政治判斷。原因是他們最有可能根據(jù)黨派站隊(duì)，而不是按辯論本身作出判斷。

聽(tīng)到這，我知道你在想什么。“我永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)那樣做，”你心里說(shuō)。但這些事情總是下意識(shí)地發(fā)生著。人們傾向于覺(jué)得，只有跟自己立場(chǎng)相對(duì)的人才會(huì)有這些糟糕的表現(xiàn)。

當(dāng)遇到那些跟你觀點(diǎn)類(lèi)似的人時(shí)，他們往往看不到、聽(tīng)不到任何邪惡，并對(duì)做惡選擇沉默。這就是為什么受過(guò)教育和知識(shí)淵博的人，會(huì)為道德上錯(cuò)誤的行為辯解，甚至捍衛(wèi)公然的謊言。

當(dāng)然，有些人說(shuō)，為立場(chǎng)強(qiáng)詞奪理不就是政治的常態(tài)嗎，但我不接受這種解釋——我希望你們也不會(huì)。

當(dāng)極端的黨派關(guān)系取代理性、邏輯、事實(shí)和數(shù)據(jù)時(shí)，國(guó)家就會(huì)受到損害——特殊利益集團(tuán)獲勝。當(dāng)觸及槍支暴力，教育，公共衛(wèi)生，甚至威脅我們未來(lái)的生活的氣候變化問(wèn)題時(shí)，我一次又一次地看到這些現(xiàn)象的存在。

昨天，我與華盛頓大學(xué)的下一任校長(zhǎng)安德魯·馬丁和俄亥俄州立大學(xué)校長(zhǎng)一起宣布，布隆伯格慈善基金將在明年贊助華大舉辦有史以來(lái)的第一屆中西部大學(xué)氣候峰會(huì)。

市長(zhǎng)Lyda Krewson也加入了我們的行列，因?yàn)槭ヂ芬姿故泻腿A大一樣，一直是氣候變化問(wèn)題的真正領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。

去年，圣路易斯市是我的基金會(huì)舉辦的氣候競(jìng)賽的贏家之一。我們提供約250萬(wàn)美元的資源，以幫助圣路易斯提高能源效率和推廣太陽(yáng)能——這是華大幫助自己所在城市的目標(biāo)之一。非常感謝你們。

大學(xué)在幫助我們的國(guó)家應(yīng)對(duì)這些挑戰(zhàn)時(shí)可以發(fā)揮關(guān)鍵作用，我要感謝華大所有的人，你們參與了這項(xiàng)工作。

真的沒(méi)有時(shí)間可以浪費(fèi)。氣候變化帶來(lái)的問(wèn)題正在惡化——這就是你一生中所見(jiàn)到的。

密西西比河最近的洪災(zāi)，摧毀了中西部的一些農(nóng)業(yè)地帶，也影響了圣路易斯的生活。根據(jù)可靠的科學(xué)數(shù)據(jù)，隨著氣候變化問(wèn)題加劇，這類(lèi)型的自然災(zāi)害將繼續(xù)惡化。

問(wèn)題是，太多政治家對(duì)實(shí)實(shí)在在的科學(xué)不感興趣。他們只對(duì)政治學(xué)感興趣，只在意贏得選舉。因此，他們忽略了這些數(shù)據(jù)，試圖削減氣候研究的資金——因?yàn)樗麄冎?，這將導(dǎo)致他們的政治立場(chǎng)站不住腳。有時(shí)，他們甚至試圖阻止公職人員說(shuō)氣候變化這個(gè)詞。

你不能無(wú)視這些的存在。你只需要想想，他們?cè)噲D隱藏什么？我得出的唯一結(jié)論是，他們要么隱藏自己的無(wú)知，要么隱藏自己的圖謀。

無(wú)論哪種情況，當(dāng)政府試圖歪曲抹黑科學(xué)家并審查我們的結(jié)論時(shí)，請(qǐng)注意這些現(xiàn)象并勇敢地說(shuō)不。

美國(guó)的進(jìn)步取決于遇到問(wèn)題采取解決的態(tài)度，而不是把問(wèn)題變成政治斗爭(zhēng)。兩黨都有無(wú)視數(shù)據(jù)和事實(shí)，捍衛(wèi)錯(cuò)誤立場(chǎng)的行為。在你們讀大學(xué)的這幾年，黨派政治中充斥的虛假和錯(cuò)誤信息又創(chuàng)新高，美國(guó)已經(jīng)到了臨界點(diǎn)，我相信，這樣下去任何民主都難以為繼。

正如開(kāi)國(guó)元?jiǎng)姿斫獾哪菢?，我們的民主不僅僅依賴(lài)于選票。喬治·華盛頓在他的告別演說(shuō)中寫(xiě)道：“道德或美德的清泉是受民眾歡迎的政府的基礎(chǔ)。”

如果清泉干涸，民主就會(huì)枯萎——而我們所擁有的權(quán)益就會(huì)消失。

畢業(yè)生們，現(xiàn)在需要你們?nèi)ケＷo(hù)美德的清泉。毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，當(dāng)下是美國(guó)現(xiàn)代歷史上，毒性對(duì)話污染最嚴(yán)重的一個(gè)時(shí)期。

好消息是，從你的畢業(yè)文憑封面上的三個(gè)單詞中，可以找到清理污染的方法。這是偉大的華盛頓大學(xué)的座右銘：'Per Veritatem Vis'（力量源自真理）。這是一個(gè)與喬治·華盛頓大學(xué)完美契合的座右銘。

1794年，在華盛頓總統(tǒng)的第二任期內(nèi)，有一個(gè)派系開(kāi)始想分裂國(guó)家。華盛頓承認(rèn)它所構(gòu)成的威脅——但他相信他們不會(huì)成功。他在一封信中寫(xiě)道：“短期內(nèi)，通過(guò)隱瞞事實(shí)并夸大歪曲其他人，來(lái)誤導(dǎo)善良的人，并不困難?！?/p>

他繼續(xù)說(shuō)道，“但是，經(jīng)過(guò)曲折和磨難，真相最終會(huì)重見(jiàn)光明?！?/p>

現(xiàn)在，我知道“pains is taken”這種說(shuō)法，可能會(huì)讓每個(gè)英語(yǔ)專(zhuān)業(yè)的感到不適。早在孩童時(shí)代，我們就被告知華盛頓總統(tǒng)從不說(shuō)謊。但他們從未告訴我們，華盛頓在語(yǔ)法上會(huì)遇到麻煩。

為了公平對(duì)待華盛頓，“pains is taken”是當(dāng)時(shí)的語(yǔ)法習(xí)慣。如果在今天，華盛頓可能會(huì)說(shuō)“take pains”?；蛘吒纱嗾f(shuō)T-Pain（編者注：用因故無(wú)法出席的原演講嘉賓名字開(kāi)玩笑）。

但實(shí)際上，我希望你們所有人都能牢記——這也跟華盛頓的觀點(diǎn)以及華大的座右銘一致——經(jīng)過(guò)曲折和磨難，真相最終會(huì)重見(jiàn)光明。力量源自真理。

每一代人為追求真理和進(jìn)步都經(jīng)歷了痛苦和犧牲，這是為什么國(guó)家在1794年或1861年沒(méi)有被分裂。廢奴主義者，女權(quán)主義者和民權(quán)游行者以及平等婚姻倡導(dǎo)者所經(jīng)歷的磨難和付出，讓美國(guó)被核心真理照亮：所有人都是平等的。

今天，因?yàn)閭鞑ブe言的工具比以往任何時(shí)候都厲害，因此堅(jiān)守真相所需要的付出比以往任何時(shí)代都要大。

自民主誕生以來(lái)，借用蘇格拉底的話，一直有這樣的人，他們?cè)噲D讓較弱的論點(diǎn)看起來(lái)更強(qiáng)大，更關(guān)心贏得辯論而不是傳播真實(shí)。

在古希臘，這些人被稱(chēng)詭辯者(Sophists)——他們肯定會(huì)喜歡Twitter和Facebook。

社交媒體帶來(lái)了詭辯的新黃金時(shí)代——被盲目的黨派立場(chǎng)借力和慫恿?？朔奈ㄒ环椒ā獙⑽覀儑?guó)家從被帶溝里去的方向解救出來(lái)的唯一方法——就是聽(tīng)取華盛頓的話，為捍衛(wèi)真理付出努力和犧牲。

這些痛苦，是民主制度下公民的一種責(zé)任和義務(wù)。受過(guò)好的教育的人責(zé)無(wú)旁貸。我相信，對(duì)于一所名字叫華盛頓的大學(xué)的畢業(yè)生來(lái)說(shuō)，尤其如此。

你們所有人都是華大倡導(dǎo)和行動(dòng)的悠久傳統(tǒng)的傳承者。不要失去這種光榮傳統(tǒng)。捍衛(wèi)它，接受挑戰(zhàn)，讓真相重見(jiàn)光明。

為了幫助您入門(mén)，讓我提供一些快速建議，如何對(duì)付那些試圖掩蓋、否認(rèn)真相的現(xiàn)代Sophists。

當(dāng)那些處于政治舞臺(tái)上的人從事辱罵和在校園叫喊（歧視語(yǔ)言）時(shí)，他們是在試圖將注意力從實(shí)際問(wèn)題上分散開(kāi)來(lái)。這是因?yàn)樗麄儫o(wú)法解決這些問(wèn)題，或者他們不愿意提出切實(shí)可行的解決方案——不要被這些行為誤導(dǎo)。

當(dāng)他們?nèi)萑虒?duì)少數(shù)群體的攻擊，特別是將某些信仰宣揚(yáng)成威脅時(shí)，他們是在鼓動(dòng)那些傳播仇恨的人——不要容忍這些惡行。

當(dāng)他們譴責(zé)記者是“國(guó)家的敵人”，并把任何重要的報(bào)道都攻擊成“假新聞”，將謊言稱(chēng)為“另類(lèi)事實(shí)”時(shí)，他們是在試圖欺騙你只相信他們傳的新聞?！灰挥夼?/p>

當(dāng)他們夸大我們面對(duì)移民所面臨的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，而不談?wù)撘泼窠o我們國(guó)家?guī)?lái)的所有好處時(shí)，他們正在煽動(dòng)人們的恐懼——不要讓他們僥幸得逞。

當(dāng)他們?cè)噲D告訴你哪些人才可以愛(ài)，或者是告訴你可以成為什么樣的人的時(shí)候，他們要么正在爭(zhēng)取選票要么想扮演上帝——不要忍受這些。

當(dāng)他們向你保證免費(fèi)午餐，免費(fèi)大學(xué)，免費(fèi)醫(yī)療或免費(fèi)收入時(shí)，請(qǐng)記住賬單總是會(huì)來(lái)的——不要讓他們逃避說(shuō)清錢(qián)從哪里來(lái)。

當(dāng)他們阻止一些人的聲音被聽(tīng)到，通過(guò)辱罵讓人禁言或?yàn)樽钃醪煌庖?jiàn)開(kāi)路的時(shí)候，他們是在試圖通過(guò)凌霸和審查而不是事實(shí)和理由贏得辯論。 忍受可悲的、錯(cuò)誤的言論，也勝過(guò)壓制言論自由。 保護(hù)他們的發(fā)言權(quán)是保護(hù)自己的發(fā)言權(quán)的唯一途徑。

當(dāng)人們將過(guò)去浪漫化時(shí)，記住一位活到102歲的母親告訴我：過(guò)去的時(shí)光并非描繪的那樣美妙。

最后，當(dāng)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者用國(guó)旗或國(guó)歌包裝自己，并試圖讓你認(rèn)為批評(píng)政府的人不愛(ài)或不尊重我們的國(guó)家時(shí)，真正的愛(ài)國(guó)主義并不是局限在對(duì)符號(hào)性質(zhì)的愛(ài)國(guó)元素的尊重。真正的愛(ài)國(guó)主義是讓真相重見(jiàn)光明，當(dāng)需要采取行動(dòng)時(shí)，就站出來(lái)采取行動(dòng)。

換句話說(shuō)，真正的愛(ài)國(guó)主義是關(guān)于付出（和犧牲）。所以，如果你今天沒(méi)有記住其他，至少請(qǐng)記住這句話?；蛘?，為了使它更簡(jiǎn)單，只需記?。篢-Pain。

畢業(yè)生們，當(dāng)你離開(kāi)這所偉大的大學(xué)時(shí)，我希望你們能夠付出行動(dòng)，承擔(dān)保護(hù)和發(fā)展民主所必需的磨難。承受磨難，了解不同的聲音。承受磨難，與謊言斗爭(zhēng)。承受磨難，拒絕替罪羊和仇外心理。承受磨難，拒絕不過(guò)腦的簡(jiǎn)單的答案。承受磨難，讓我們的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人對(duì)他們的言行負(fù)責(zé)。

如果你這樣做，我毫不懷疑真相和國(guó)家將獲勝。當(dāng)我們這一代人將領(lǐng)導(dǎo)火炬?zhèn)鬟f給你們時(shí)，將可以像華盛頓在生命最后一刻時(shí)一樣，說(shuō)出同樣的話：真好！

因此，今晚，讓我們最后聚杯，也許是在T's酒吧里，按照自己的節(jié)奏或忍者神龜?shù)墓?jié)奏跳舞。明天，投入新的工作。世界比以往任何時(shí)候都更需要你們。

恭喜，祝你好運(yùn)。

布隆伯格馬里蘭大學(xué)畢業(yè)演講

布隆伯格馬里蘭大學(xué)畢業(yè)演講稿雙語(yǔ)版

“There's something from this campus that I hope you'll remember. I'll give you a hint, you've probably spent your entire time here trying not to step on it. That's right, the Point of Failure.

“You learned about it during orientation, but your families may not know the story. Briefly, it's the spot that marks the terrible fire that decimated the entire campus here in 1912. Many people thought the university would never re-open. The university president resigned. Others walked away.

“But one group refused to give up – the students. They returned to campus and insisted that classes resume. They convinced local families to house them. The State of Maryland saw their commitment and decided to re-invest in the school. And slowly but surely, from the ashes, this university rose again to far greater heights than ever before.

“Now, legend has it that if you step on the Point of Failure, you won't graduate in four years. So today, my advice, go ahead and step on it. At this stage, what are they going to do to you?

“And when you step on it, think about what the point of failure stands for. Because for all that you've learned during your time here, I'm not sure that there is any more important lesson than the one behind that story.

“A group of determined young people believed in an idea that appeared hopeless. They banded together, they worked hard, and they refused to give up. They changed ‘you can't’ into ‘we will.’ And they turned a Point of Failure into a turning point.

“Now, I know that all of you have experienced adversity during your time here. And in the years ahead, I can promise you that you will encounter your own points of failure. We all do, so let me give you a personal example.

“I spent the first 15 years of my career working long days for the same investment firm. I loved every minute of it. And then I got fired.

“I had a difference of opinion with management. I thought the firm should go in one direction. They thought it should go in the other direction – without me.

“Getting fired was a point of failure like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was embarrassing – none of my friends got fired. It was hurtful after all the years I had devoted to the firm. It was worrisome – what would I do now? And it was unfair, or at least I thought so. But it also became a turning point in my life.

“When it happened, the easiest option would've been to swallow my pride, send my resume to other firms, and do the same thing I'd been doing since I’d gotten out of school.

“But for a while, I'd had an idea for a new company – but I never had the guts to pull the trigger. My idea was to build a company that could deliver financial data to desktop computers. I’d worked on Wall Street and there was a use for it.

“There was just one problem, there were no desktop computers back then. And this was way before the Internet and social media. Yes, such a world actually existed. No Instagram, no Reddit, no Grumpy Cat, may she rest in peace.

“I had to build a new computer from parts you could just go buy from RadioShack. I had to write the code to run it. And I had to string telephone lines across the country to connect them, creating the first intranet.

“There were a million reasons why people told me: you can't. But I sucked it up and assembled a small, young team that believed in the idea, and together we said: we will. And we did.

“So getting fired was tough. But there was a silver lining, because it was an opportunity to do something that I really wanted to do.

“Graduates, when you encounter your own point of failure, how will you respond? Will you see it as a defeat, or an opportunity? Will you take the easiest available route? Or the one that’s going to be tougher but also potentially more satisfying and fulfilling?

“The tougher route could turn out to be a dead end. But it could also be your Yellow Brick Road.

“Now, you don't have to start your own company. The choice you'll face will be different. It could be you'll have to decide between leaving a company after you've been passed over for a promotion, or staying and working harder than ever to show the bastards that you're better than they thought.

“I faced that choice early in my career and staying was one of the best decisions I ever made, even though years later they fired me.

“Or, it could be you'll have to choose between taking a job with a higher salary, or one with a lower salary but with more opportunity for learning and growth. I faced that opportunity, too. I had two job offers when I entered the workforce in 1966, and I took the one that paid 35 percent less. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't be standing here today, and there would be no Bloomberg company.

“That would have been bad news for me, but also for the 15 of you graduates sitting right in this room that my company has hired this year to begin full-time positions next month.

“I'm glad to say 209 Maryland alums are working at Bloomberg right now. We are practically a satellite campus, just without the turtles. Congratulations to all of our newest team members, you've made a great career decision. But just remember, I get into the office at 7 am, and I'll be looking to see if you're at your desks.

“To the entire class, let me say: don't let short-term gain hold you back from long-term growth. When you believe in something, suck it up and go for it. And turn your points of failure into turning points in your life by taking a risk and then working like crazy.

“Now, I know I'm not the first person to talk to graduates about the importance of ‘taking risks.’ But there's another group that needs to hear this message, and I hope you will deliver it to them loud and clear.

“It is a group that is so risk-averse that they are embarrassing themselves daily, and in the process they hurt you and do real damage to our country.

“Maybe you've guessed the group I'm talking about. They work just a few miles down the road from here, in Washington, D.C. They are our elected officials and their job is to address all the big challenges we face, from income inequality and failing schools to unaffordable health care and the opioid epidemic to gun violence and climate change.

“But many of them are just too afraid of losing their next election to do what their job requires, really to help you and me. Well I hope they’re watching and listening.

“Whether it's upsetting a special interest that funds their campaign or losing support from a particular constituency or getting criticized by ideological activists, too many elected officials don't want to run the risk so nothing gets done.

“And many of them are afraid of taking what has developed into the biggest risk in all of American politics today, and that is working with members of the other party. They are afraid that if they reach across the aisle to cooperate somebody from the more extreme wing of their party will challenge them in a primary election. And to be fair, they are not entirely wrong.

“Working with members of the other party is a risk and it may cost them their job. But that's what leadership is all about. If you aren't willing to lead, don't go into politics.

“From my experience, voters respect and reward leaders who take risks even if they don't agree with them. If that were not true, I never would've been re-elected twice.

“In my first year in office, we faced crippling budget deficits. So I made the unpopular decision to raise taxes and cut spending. And for good measure I also banned smoking in bars and restaurants. All I can tell you is when I was marching in parades, I got a lot of one-fingered waves.

“Back then people told me you can't do those things and win re-election. But you know what? They were wrong. Over time, New Yorkers embraced the smoking ban. And they understood that funding our schools and police and parks and everything else required hard choices.

“If I hadn't run those risks, maybe I would have had an easier time to get re-elected, I don’t know. But I never would've been able to look my kids in the eye or live with myself. If you can't go home at the end of the day and look in the mirror, it's not the mirror that's the problem.

“Don't go through life making excuses and playing it safe. And don't accept those excuses from politicians. Don't let them pass the buck and kick the can down the road. You and your families are the ones who will suffer.

“The good news is your time here has prepared you to lead from the front rather than following from behind. You know how important it is to embrace fearless ideas. You know what it's like to be open and bold and look at things in new ways. And you know that it's possible to do well and do good.

“As you leave here carry that knowledge with you because our country needs more people who have the courage to put fearless ideas into action. And believe it or not, as dysfunctional as our politics are it really is possible for a group of committed people to make a big difference by turning points of failure in Washington into turning points for America.

“I'll give you one more quick example before I finish. I’ll use an issue that I was involved with, and I know some of you probably are, too. I'm talking about gun violence, which kills 40,000 Americans a year. That is one death every 13 minutes every single day.

“Whether you realize it or not, all of you have already been affected by this crisis, if only indirectly. You are the first generation to experience active shooter drills in school.

“After the recent shooting at UNC Charlotte that killed two students, a student who was on the campus at the time said that it felt ‘like a normal high school lockdown.’

“A normal high school lockdown. Just think about that. There should be nothing normal about school shootings.

“We can’t accept them as normal events. Not on college campuses. Not in high schools. Not in elementary schools. Not in churches, synagogues, mosques, nightclubs, concerts, movie theaters, malls, or anywhere else.

“After the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, which killed 14 students and three staff members, the students from Parkland organized a march on Washington. It attracted hundreds of thousands of people, including many of you, I'm glad to say.

“On that same day, my foundation helped organize 750 simultaneous marches in cities across the country. A group I helped create, Everytown for Gun Safety, organized those marchers with an army of volunteers and voters.

“Together, we pushed states to adopt common sense gun laws that also respected the Second Amendment. And do you know what happened? Politicians actually listened. Because they knew that – for the first time – their jobs were on the line over this issue, and not from the NRA but from you.

“Since the Parkland massacre, 23 states – both red and blue states – have adopted stronger gun safety laws. And in the 2018 elections, Everytown for Gun Safety supported candidates who ran on gun safety, and I'm glad to say they won on gun safety.

“The Parkland students and all of those who joined them like the students here in 1912 helped transform a tragic point of failure into a turning point.

“Now, we still have a lot of work to do to stop gun violence, and we need more people to get involved. But never doubt that a group of passionate and committed young people can change the world by exercising their power as citizens.

“When you leave this campus, look for ways to exercise your power. Join an advocacy group. Write your representatives. Call them, organize, march, donate, vote. And get your friends and family to do the same.

“You have more power than you realize – use it. And when you encounter a point of failure – no matter how discouraging – refuse to give up.

“Before I leave you, I just want to mention one other issue where we need your generation's leadership and courage to turn around what ultimately could be the ultimate point of failure. I'm talking about climate change. And the point of failure was crystalized during your time here in school.

“Two years ago, the White House announced its intention to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. It took almost 30 years for that global agreement to come together and every country signed it, including the U.S. But in 2017, we became the only country in the world – the only one – to reject it.

“Now, the real reason wasn't about economics, and it certainly wasn't about science. It was politics, plain and simple, and pandering to the most extreme voters.

“I've spent most of my career in the private sector, and I can just tell you that if CEOs ignored the possibility that sea level rises could flood their companies and factories or that more intense storms could destroy their infrastructure they would be fired.

“And in my view, we should also fire all politicians who ignore these threats. Otherwise, your generation will pay for it – as climate change kills more people, and destroys more homes, farms, and businesses.

“To a lot of people, the administration's decision to pull out of the agreement looked like the end of U.S. leadership on climate change. But then something happened.

“Americans didn't throw up their hands and walk away. Instead, all across this country, across thousands of cities, states, businesses, and universities – including the University of Maryland – stepped up and said: hold on, Mr. President. We’re still in. We are not giving up. And we are determined to make progress on climate change no matter what happens in Washington.

“Together, we turned their point of failure into a turning point for the climate movement, and guess who is helping to lead the way? The Terps. That's right, students and faculty right here at your Center for Global Sustainability, which is led by my friend – and your dean of public policy – Bob Orr.

“They are doing the detailed analysis necessary to report the progress America is making to the United Nations. And earlier today, my foundation announced a $2.3 million gift to the Center to help them do it. It's part of an effort we call America's Pledge – because we can't afford not to honor the pledge we made in Paris.

“Whether it's climate change, or gun violence, or any other issue, all of you can make up for the inaction in Washington by turning their points of failure into turning points for our great nation.

“I'm optimistic that we can rise to the challenge, because I've seen your generation's creativity and sense of social responsibility. I believe in you, and I believe in the spirit of 1912. That spirit, that willingness to do great things in defiance of long odds, has always shaped America. Now, it's your turn to extend that tradition.

“When you experience a setback or failure, that's okay. Don't lose heart. In America, you can fail and try again. And again. And again. And still have hope of succeeding. Or at least in New York that's what we say about the Knicks.

“Graduates: when everything burns down around you, don't walk away. Fight for what you believe in. Ask others to join you. And demand that politicians run the risk of doing what's right, not what's easy. You will never regret it, and our country will be better for it.

“So before you leave this great institution today, go step on the point of failure because this really is a turning point in your life, and it's only the beginning of the amazing and inspiring achievements that you are capable of.

“Carry the spirit of fearless ideas that you learned here wherever you go.

“Congratulations and best of luck.”

這所校園里有些東西，我希望你們能記住。我給你們一個(gè)提示，你們可能花費(fèi)了所有的時(shí)間去避免踩到它。對(duì)，這就是the Point of Failure 失敗點(diǎn)。

你們?cè)谌雽W(xué)時(shí)已經(jīng)知道了這個(gè)故事，但你們的家人可能不知道。簡(jiǎn)而言之，它是紀(jì)念1912年摧毀整個(gè)校園的可怕火災(zāi)的地方。許多人認(rèn)為大學(xué)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)重新開(kāi)放。大學(xué)校長(zhǎng)辭職了，其他人也都離開(kāi)了。

但是有一個(gè)團(tuán)體拒絕放棄 - 學(xué)生們。他們回到校園并堅(jiān)持要求恢復(fù)課程。他們說(shuō)服當(dāng)?shù)丶彝ナ杖菟麄?。馬里蘭州看到了他們的堅(jiān)持，并決定重新投資學(xué)校。從灰燼中，逐漸的，這所大學(xué)上升到了前所未有的高度。

現(xiàn)在，傳說(shuō)如果有人踩到了“the Point of Failure”將在四年內(nèi)畢不了業(yè)。所以，今天我建議今天你們就站上去，在今天這個(gè)畢業(yè)的時(shí)刻，它會(huì)對(duì)你們做什么？

當(dāng)你們踩到它時(shí)，想想失敗的意義所在。因?yàn)槟銈冊(cè)谶@里期間學(xué)到的所有知識(shí)，我不確定是否有比這個(gè)故事背后更重要的一課。

一群堅(jiān)定的年輕人相信一個(gè)幾乎毫無(wú)希望的想法。他們聯(lián)合起來(lái)，努力工作，他們拒絕放棄。他們將“你不能”改為“我可以”。他們把一個(gè)失敗點(diǎn)變成了一個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。

現(xiàn)在，我知道你們所有人在這里度過(guò)了逆境。在未來(lái)的歲月里，我可以向你們保證，你們會(huì)遇到自己的失敗點(diǎn)。我們都這樣做，所以讓我舉個(gè)例子。

我在職業(yè)生涯的前15年中，我一直為同一家投資公司工作。我喜歡我在職期間的每一分鐘。然后我被解雇了。

我與管理層有不同意見(jiàn)。我認(rèn)為公司應(yīng)朝著一個(gè)方向前進(jìn)。他們認(rèn)為它應(yīng)該走向另一個(gè)方向 – 并且沒(méi)有我。

被解雇是一種失敗，我以前也從未體驗(yàn)過(guò)。這令人尷尬 - 我的朋友都沒(méi)有被解雇。我對(duì)公司忠心耿耿，我深受傷害。同時(shí)我很擔(dān)憂(yōu) - 我現(xiàn)在該怎么辦？這是不公平的，或者至少我是這么認(rèn)為的。但它也成了我生命中的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。

這件事發(fā)生時(shí)，最簡(jiǎn)單的選擇就是吞下我的驕傲，將我的簡(jiǎn)歷發(fā)送到其他公司，做我剛離開(kāi)學(xué)校時(shí)做的事情。

但有一段時(shí)間，我產(chǎn)生了擁有一家新公司的想法- 但我從來(lái)沒(méi)有勇氣實(shí)施過(guò)。 我的想法是建立一家可以向桌面計(jì)算機(jī)提供財(cái)務(wù)數(shù)據(jù)的公司。 我曾在華爾街工作，這是有市場(chǎng)的。

但是當(dāng)時(shí)只有一個(gè)問(wèn)題，那時(shí)候還沒(méi)有臺(tái)式電腦。這是在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和社交媒體出現(xiàn)之前。是的，這樣的世界確實(shí)存在。沒(méi)有Instagram，沒(méi)有Reddit，沒(méi)有不爽貓，愿她安息。

我必須從RadioShack買(mǎi)到的部件來(lái)組裝一臺(tái)新電腦。我自己寫(xiě)代碼來(lái)運(yùn)行它。我不得不把全國(guó)各地的電話線串起來(lái)，建立了第一個(gè)內(nèi)網(wǎng)。

周?chē)笥延袩o(wú)數(shù)的理由告訴我: 我做不到。但我接受了這個(gè)建議，然后組建了一個(gè)小而年輕的團(tuán)隊(duì)，相信這個(gè)想法，我們一起說(shuō): 我們會(huì)的! 然后我們做到了。

所以被解雇很艱難。但也有一線希望，因?yàn)檫@是一個(gè)做我真正想做的事情的機(jī)會(huì)。

畢業(yè)生們，當(dāng)你們遇到自己的失敗點(diǎn)時(shí)，你們會(huì)如何應(yīng)對(duì)?會(huì)把它看作是一次失敗，還是一次機(jī)會(huì)?你們會(huì)選擇最容易的路線嗎?還是會(huì)變得更困難，但也可能更令人滿(mǎn)意和滿(mǎn)足?

更艱難的道路可能會(huì)被證明是一條死胡同。但它也可能是你們的黃磚路。

現(xiàn)在，你們不必自己開(kāi)公司了。你們將面臨不同的選擇。你們可能要在升職失敗后離開(kāi)一家公司，或者比以往任何時(shí)候都更加努力地工作，向那些混蛋證明你們比他們想象的要好。

在我職業(yè)生涯的早期，我就面臨著這個(gè)選擇，留下來(lái)是我做過(guò)的最好的決定之一，盡管多年后他們解雇了我。

或者，們可能不得不在一份薪水更高的工作和一份薪水更低但有更多學(xué)習(xí)和成長(zhǎng)機(jī)會(huì)的工作之間做出選擇。我也面臨過(guò)這樣的機(jī)會(huì)。當(dāng)我1966年進(jìn)入職場(chǎng)時(shí)，我得到了兩份工作，我選擇了低35%的那份工作，如果當(dāng)初沒(méi)有那樣選，我今天可能就不會(huì)站在這里，也就不會(huì)有彭博公司。

這對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是個(gè)壞消息，對(duì)坐在這間屋子里的15名畢業(yè)生來(lái)說(shuō)也是個(gè)壞消息。我的公司今年招聘了15名畢業(yè)生，他們將于下月開(kāi)始全職工作。

我很高興地說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在有209名馬里蘭的校友在彭博工作。我們實(shí)際上是一個(gè)衛(wèi)星校區(qū)，只是沒(méi)有烏龜。祝賀我們所有的新成員，你們做出了一個(gè)偉大的職業(yè)決定。但是請(qǐng)記住，我早上7點(diǎn)到辦公室，我會(huì)看看你們是否在辦公桌前。

我要對(duì)全班同學(xué)說(shuō):不要讓短期收益阻礙長(zhǎng)期增長(zhǎng)。當(dāng)你們相信一件事的時(shí)候，就勇敢地去做。通過(guò)冒險(xiǎn)，然后瘋狂地工作，把你們的失敗點(diǎn)變成生命中的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。

我知道我不是第一個(gè)和畢業(yè)生談?wù)摗半U(xiǎn)’重要性的人。但還有另外一群人需要聽(tīng)到這個(gè)信息，我希望你們能把它清楚地傳達(dá)給他們。

“這是一個(gè)非常厭惡風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的群體，他們每天都在讓自己難堪，在這個(gè)過(guò)程中，他們傷害了你們，對(duì)我們的國(guó)家造成了真正的傷害。

“也許你們已經(jīng)猜到我說(shuō)的是哪一群人了。他們距離這里只有幾英里，在華盛頓特區(qū)他們是我們民主選舉出來(lái)的官員，他們的工作是解決我們面臨的巨大挑戰(zhàn)：收入不平等、失敗的且負(fù)擔(dān)不起醫(yī)療的學(xué)校、阿片類(lèi)藥物流行病、槍支暴力和氣候變化。

但他們中的許多人只是太害怕失去他們的下次選舉，他們的工作需要做什么，真正的能幫助到你們和我們。我希望他們真正的在看，在聽(tīng)。

“無(wú)論是讓資助他們競(jìng)選的特殊利益集團(tuán)感到不安，還是失去某個(gè)特定選區(qū)的支持，還是受到意識(shí)形態(tài)活動(dòng)人士的批評(píng)，太多民選官員不想冒這個(gè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，所以什么也做不了?！?/p>

他們中的許多人害怕承擔(dān)已經(jīng)發(fā)展成為當(dāng)今美國(guó)政治中最大的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，那就是與另一個(gè)政黨的成員合作。他們擔(dān)心，如果他們跨黨派合作，來(lái)自黨內(nèi)更極端派別的人將在初選中對(duì)他們構(gòu)成挑戰(zhàn)。公平地說(shuō)，他們并沒(méi)有完全錯(cuò)。

“與另一方的成員共事是一種風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，可能會(huì)讓他們丟掉工作。但這就是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的全部。如果你不愿意領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，就不要涉足政治。

“從我的經(jīng)驗(yàn)來(lái)看，選民尊重并獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)敢于冒險(xiǎn)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人，即使他們不同意他們的觀點(diǎn)。如果不是這樣，我就不會(huì)兩次連任。

“在我執(zhí)政的第一年，我們面臨著嚴(yán)重的預(yù)算赤字。因此，我做出了一個(gè)不受歡迎的決定:增稅和削減開(kāi)支。此外，我還禁止在酒吧和餐館吸煙。我能告訴你們的是，當(dāng)我在游行隊(duì)伍中行進(jìn)時(shí)，我碰到了很多豎著的單指的民眾。

當(dāng)時(shí)人們對(duì)我說(shuō)，你不可能做到這些事情，然后贏得連任。但你們知道嗎? 他們錯(cuò)了。隨著時(shí)間的推移，紐約人接受了禁煙令。他們明白，資助我們的學(xué)校、警察、公園和其他一切都需要做出艱難的選擇。

他說(shuō):“如果我沒(méi)有冒這些風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，我可能會(huì)更容易獲得連任。但我永遠(yuǎn)無(wú)法直視孩子的眼睛，也無(wú)法獨(dú)自生活。如果你不能在一天結(jié)束后回家照鏡子，那不是鏡子的問(wèn)題。

“不要在生活中找借口，小心謹(jǐn)慎。不要接受政客們的借口。別讓他們推卸責(zé)任，把責(zé)任推給別人。你們和你們的家人將會(huì)受苦。

“好消息是，你們?cè)谶@里的時(shí)間讓你們做好了從前方領(lǐng)導(dǎo)而不是從后方跟隨的準(zhǔn)備。你們知道接受無(wú)所畏懼的想法是多么重要。你們知道什么是開(kāi)放和大膽，以新的方式看待事物。你們知道做好和做好是有可能的。

“當(dāng)你們離開(kāi)這里的時(shí)候，要把這些知識(shí)帶在身邊，因?yàn)槲覀兊膰?guó)家需要更多有勇氣把無(wú)畏的想法付諸行動(dòng)的人。盡管我們的政治功能失調(diào)，但一群有決心的人真的有可能通過(guò)把華盛頓的失敗轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)槊绹?guó)的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)，從而產(chǎn)生重大影響。

在我講完之前，我再給你們舉一個(gè)例子。我要用一個(gè)我參與過(guò)的問(wèn)題，我知道你們中的一些人可能也是。我說(shuō)的是槍支暴力，每年造成4萬(wàn)美國(guó)人死亡。每13分鐘就有一人死亡。

“不管你們是否意識(shí)到，你們所有人都已經(jīng)受到這場(chǎng)危機(jī)的影響，哪怕只是間接的影響。你們是第一代在學(xué)校里體驗(yàn)過(guò)真實(shí)射擊的人。

“最近發(fā)生在北卡羅來(lái)納大學(xué)夏洛特分校(UNC Charlotte)的槍擊事件導(dǎo)致兩名學(xué)生死亡后，當(dāng)時(shí)在校園里的一名學(xué)生說(shuō)，感覺(jué)就像普通高中被封鎖了一樣?！?/p>

“正常的高中封鎖。想想看。學(xué)校槍擊事件不應(yīng)該是正常的。

“我們不能把它們當(dāng)作正常事件來(lái)接受。不是在大學(xué)校園里。不是在高中。不是在小學(xué)里。不在教堂、猶太教堂、清真寺、夜總會(huì)、音樂(lè)會(huì)、電影院、商場(chǎng)或任何其他地方。

佛羅里達(dá)州帕克蘭一所高中發(fā)生大規(guī)模槍擊事件，造成14名學(xué)生和3名工作人員死亡。事件發(fā)生后，帕克蘭的學(xué)生在華盛頓組織了一場(chǎng)游行。它吸引了成千上萬(wàn)的人，包括你們中的許多人，我很高興地說(shuō)。就在同一天，我的基金會(huì)幫助組織了750場(chǎng)同時(shí)在全國(guó)各地城市舉行的游行。我?guī)椭鷦?chuàng)建的一個(gè)名為“每座城鎮(zhèn)槍支安全”(Everytown for Gun Safety)的組織用志愿者和選民組成的隊(duì)伍組織了這些游行者。

“我們共同推動(dòng)各州通過(guò)同樣尊重第二修正案的槍支常識(shí)法。你們知道發(fā)生了什么嗎?政客們真的在聽(tīng)。因?yàn)樗麄兊谝淮沃?，在這個(gè)問(wèn)題上，他們的工作岌岌可危，而不是來(lái)自全國(guó)步槍協(xié)會(huì)，而是來(lái)自你們。

“自從帕克蘭慘案以來(lái)，23個(gè)州—紅州和藍(lán)州通過(guò)了更嚴(yán)格的槍支安全法。在2018年的選舉中，每個(gè)支持槍支安全的城鎮(zhèn)都支持支持槍支安全的候選人，我很高興地說(shuō)，他們?cè)跇屩О踩矫娅@勝。

帕克蘭的學(xué)生和所有像1912年這里的學(xué)生一樣加入他們的人，幫助把一個(gè)悲劇性的失敗變成了一個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。

“現(xiàn)在，我們?cè)谥浦箻屩П┝Ψ矫孢€有很多工作要做，我們需要更多的人參與進(jìn)來(lái)。但是，永遠(yuǎn)不要懷疑，一群充滿(mǎn)激情和獻(xiàn)身精神的年輕人能夠通過(guò)行使他們作為公民的權(quán)力來(lái)改變世界。

“當(dāng)你們離開(kāi)這個(gè)校園時(shí)，想辦法行使你們的權(quán)力。加入一個(gè)倡導(dǎo)團(tuán)體。寫(xiě)下你們的代表。給他們打電話，組織，游行，捐款，投票。讓你們的朋友和家人也這樣做。

“你擁有比你意識(shí)到的大的力量——利用它。當(dāng)你們遇到失敗的時(shí)候無(wú)論多么沮喪都要拒絕放棄。

“在我離開(kāi)你們之前，我只想提一下另一個(gè)問(wèn)題，我們需要你們這一代人的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)和勇氣來(lái)扭轉(zhuǎn)最終可能成為最終失敗的局面。我說(shuō)的是氣候變化。失敗點(diǎn)在你們?cè)趯W(xué)校的那段時(shí)間里被具體化了。

兩年前，白宮宣布有意退出巴黎氣候協(xié)議。這項(xiàng)全球協(xié)議花了近30年的時(shí)間才達(dá)成，包括美國(guó)在內(nèi)的所有國(guó)家都簽署了這項(xiàng)協(xié)議。但在2017年，我們成為世界上唯一一個(gè)拒絕簽署該協(xié)議的國(guó)家，也是唯一一個(gè)拒絕簽署該協(xié)議的國(guó)家。

“現(xiàn)在，真正的原因與經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)無(wú)關(guān)，當(dāng)然也與科學(xué)無(wú)關(guān)。這就是政治，簡(jiǎn)單明了，迎合最極端的選民。

“我職業(yè)生涯的大部分時(shí)間都在私營(yíng)部門(mén)度過(guò)，我可以告訴你們，如果CEO們忽視海平面上升可能淹沒(méi)他們的公司和工廠，或者更猛烈的風(fēng)暴可能摧毀他們的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，他們就會(huì)被解雇。

在我看來(lái)，我們還應(yīng)該解雇所有無(wú)視這些威脅的政客。否則，你們這一代人將為此付出代價(jià)——因?yàn)闅夂蜃兓瘹⑺懒烁嗟娜?，摧毀了更多的房屋、農(nóng)場(chǎng)和企業(yè)。

“對(duì)很多人來(lái)說(shuō)，奧巴馬政府退出協(xié)議的決定看起來(lái)像是美國(guó)在氣候變化問(wèn)題上領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位的終結(jié)。但后來(lái)發(fā)生了一些事。

他說(shuō):“美國(guó)人并沒(méi)有舉手離開(kāi)。相反，在全國(guó)各地，在成千上萬(wàn)的城市、州、企業(yè)和大學(xué)，包括馬里蘭大學(xué)，站出來(lái)說(shuō):等等，總統(tǒng)先生。我們還在。我們不會(huì)放棄。無(wú)論華盛頓發(fā)生什么，我們都決心在氣候變化問(wèn)題上取得進(jìn)展。

“我們一起把他們的失敗點(diǎn)變成了氣候運(yùn)動(dòng)的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)，猜猜是誰(shuí)在起帶頭作用?”Terps。沒(méi)錯(cuò)，就在你們?nèi)蚩沙掷m(xù)發(fā)展中心，這里的學(xué)生和老師們，由我的朋友—你們的公共政策系主任鮑勃·奧爾領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。

他們正在進(jìn)行必要的詳細(xì)分析，以便向聯(lián)合國(guó)報(bào)告美國(guó)正在取得的進(jìn)展。今天早些時(shí)候，我的基金會(huì)宣布向該中心捐贈(zèng)230萬(wàn)美元，幫助他們實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo)。這是我們稱(chēng)之為美國(guó)承諾的努力的一部分，因?yàn)槲覀兂袚?dān)不起不履行我們?cè)诎屠枳鞒龅某兄Z。

“無(wú)論是氣候變化、槍支暴力，還是其他任何問(wèn)題，你們所有人都可以把華盛頓的不作為變成我們偉大國(guó)家的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)，以此來(lái)彌補(bǔ)。

“我很樂(lè)觀，我們能夠迎接挑戰(zhàn)，因?yàn)槲铱吹搅四銈冞@一代人的創(chuàng)造力和社會(huì)責(zé)任感。我相信你們，我相信1912年的精神。這種精神，那種不顧艱難險(xiǎn)阻，勇于做大事的意愿，一直塑造著美國(guó)?，F(xiàn)在，輪到你們延續(xù)這一傳統(tǒng)了。

“當(dāng)你們經(jīng)歷挫折或失敗時(shí)，沒(méi)關(guān)系。不要灰心。在美國(guó)，你們可以失敗后再試一次。一次又一次。一次又一次。還有成功的希望。至少在紐約，我們是這么說(shuō)尼克斯隊(duì)的。

畢業(yè)生們:當(dāng)你們周?chē)囊磺卸急粺龤r(shí)，不要走開(kāi)。為你們的信仰而戰(zhàn)。邀請(qǐng)其他人加入你們的隊(duì)列。要求政客們冒險(xiǎn)做正確的事，而不是簡(jiǎn)單的事。你們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)后悔，我們的國(guó)家會(huì)因此而變得更好。

所以，在你們今天離開(kāi)這個(gè)偉大的機(jī)構(gòu)之前，請(qǐng)走到失敗的邊緣，因?yàn)檫@真的是你們?nèi)松械囊粋€(gè)轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)，而這僅僅是你們能夠取得的驚人和鼓舞人心的成就的開(kāi)始。

無(wú)論你們走到哪里，都要帶著你們?cè)谶@里學(xué)到的無(wú)畏精神。

“恭喜你們，祝你們好運(yùn)?！?/p>

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