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The politician Henry Clay once said,
政治家亨利·克萊曾說過:
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"Let him who elevates himself above humanity
「想要脫俗超塵的人, 就由著他說,只要他樂意;
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say, if he pleases: 'I will never compromise',
我則誓不妥協!
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but let no one who is not above the frailties
讓那些和我們有著共同本質上弱點的人
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of our common nature disdain compromise."
皆不屑於妥協。」
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Throughout the course of United States' history,
縱觀美國歷史
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there have been many disagreements,
曾有過不少分歧
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but I would like to focus on the great compromise of 1787,
但我要提到的是,緊隨美國革命之後而來
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which came after the American Revolution.
1787年那場偉大的妥協
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America had finally gained freedom
美國當時終於獲得自由
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and become the only republic of the time.
成為當時惟一的共和國
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And the issue was one of representation:
而爭議就在代表的問題:
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how would different states be represented?
各個州怎樣代表才好?
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And the conflicting sides
衝突的雙方就是
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were the small states and the large states.
小州和大州
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And this disagreement had the power
而這場紛爭,足以讓美國
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to rip our new found unity apart,
新建立的團結毀於一旦
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and yet, a few brave persons were able to come together
幸而,幾位英勇智士仍能聚首一堂
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and forge, out of this disagreement,
在紛亂中籌劃出
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a new, smarter, bolder and stronger system
一種嶄新更聰明、更大膽、更強大的制度
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that remains today.
並沿用至今
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But it seems now that this system
但現在,這個系統
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has come to a shuddering halt.
似乎遇上阻滯,戛然止步
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In 2012, Congress passed fewer than 80 bills,
在2012年,國會通過的法案少於80份
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the fewest since records began to be kept back in 1947.
是1947年有紀錄以來最少
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And this is due to the polarization of political ideals.
原因是政治理念兩極化
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Views are becoming more and more extreme
不同的觀點漸趨極端
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and it seems that the possibility of political compromise
而政治妥協的可能
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has nearly been lost.
似乎幾近失去
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I'm sure you all have heard of the fiscal cliff deal,
相信大家都聽過財政懸崖協議
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which was the perfect opportunity for a grand deal
實在是個良機去達成大規模的協議
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that could redefine United States' economic policy.
好讓美國的經濟政策重新定義
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Congress had everything they needed.
那時美國國會萬事俱備
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They had a goal, a motivation, a deadline
有目標、有動機、有限期
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and leaders on both sides of the aisle,
雙方領袖齊集,對面而坐
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and yet, no such deal was reached.
然而,最終都沒達成這樣的協議
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While the issue of tax cuts was resolved,
稅務寬減的問題雖然解決了
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the issue of spending cuts was simply pushed forward by two months.
削減開支的問題只是順延兩個月
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9/11 forever changed history
九一一事件將歷史永久改寫
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in just a couple of hours.
僅在數小時之間
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The Arab Spring erupted in days.
阿拉伯之春醞釀到爆發也不過數天
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And yet, while the world seems to be growing faster, and faster, and faster,
當世界的變化看起來越來越快速
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it seems that Congress is growing slower, and slower, and slower.
國會成長的步伐,卻似乎變得漸趨緩慢
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This issue is especially applicable to our generation,
這個問題尤見於我們這一代
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as we're the first generation to grow up
我們是生長在這個
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in this new, fast, digital information age.
全新、快速的數位資訊年代的第一代人
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And many of these problems of today
而今天的這些問題
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are being left as a legacy to us.
許多都是留待我們解決
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And the question is, what should we do about it?
問題是:我們該怎麼做?
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Being politically active may not be a reality,
政治上採取主動未必是現實
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as we're constantly swamped by homework,
因為我們應付習作、運動、約會
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sports, dating, friends and parents.
應酬朋友、父母,幾乎都分身不暇
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So, the best thing that you can do
所以,我們所能夠做到的事中最好的一件
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is to read the news
就是留意時事
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and to think about what you believe,
並思考你所相信的究竟是甚麼
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in terms of political ideals.
尤其面對各樣政治主張
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This is the time in our adolescent lives
青年時代的這時候
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when our brains begin to separate our views
我們的腦袋開始辨清看法
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from those of our parents,
哪些是我們的,哪些是父母的
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and we begin to form new ideas of our own.
然後開始組織自己新的想法
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I'm not asking you to change your political party,
我不是叫大家改變支持的政黨
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or even to change your own personal views
甚或在個別議題上
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on individual issues.
改變你自己的個人主張
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I'm simply declaring that the best mind
我只是想說,一個主動的公民
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for an active citizen is an open mind.
最好的心智就是一個開放的胸襟
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And the ideal politician
而理想的政治家
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is one who both advocates for issues that matter to you
在爭取閣下福祉攸關的事宜時
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and can work with ideas from opposing parties.
亦能接納其他政黨的不同意見
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There will never be a perfect system.
不會有任何一個制度是完美的
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There's always meant to be conflict.
衝突永遠都會存在
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But our glorious democratic system
但我們民主制度的光芒
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requires that we find a balance in ourselves
在於尋找一個在我們心中的平衝
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and in what we believe,
一個是我們信念的平衝
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and then, through voting and political activism,
然後,通過投票和積極的參與政治
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we can transfer this balance into the Houses of power
我們能將這個平衝帶到國會、議會
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and we can begin rebuilding this great nation together.
並開始共同重塑這個偉大的國家
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Thank you.
謝謝
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(Applause)
(掌聲)