right up near the Canadian border,

鄰近加拿大邊界處

there's a little town called Libby, Montana.

有一個小鎮叫做Libby 位於蒙大拿州

And it's surrounded by pine trees and lakes,

這座小鎮周圍環繞著松樹以及湖泊

and just amazing wildlife,

有著美不勝收的自然風情

and these enormous trees that scream up into the sky.

高聳的林木直上雲霄

And in there is a little town called Libby,

隱於其中的小鎮 就叫做Libby

which I visited,

我曾經到過那裏

which feels kind of lonely, a little isolated.

那是一個帶有孤寂和與世隔絕味道的地方

And in Libby, Montana,

就是在這個小鎮 蒙大拿的Libby鎮

there's a rather unusual woman named Gayla Benefield.

住著一個不平常的女性Gayla Benefield

She always felt a little bit of an outsider,

她總覺得自己與周遭格格不入

although she's been there almost all her life,

即使她大半輩子都住在那

a woman of Russian extraction.

一個有著俄羅斯血統的女子

She told me that when she went to school,

她告訴我當她還在念書時

she was the only girl who ever chose to do mechanical drawing.

她是唯一的女生去選修機械製圖的

Later in life, she got a job going house to house

之後她就在鄰里間工作

reading utility meters, gas meters, electricity meters.

整天對著電表和水表

And she was doing the work in the middle of the day.

有天中午她正工作著

And one thing particularly caught her notice, which was,

有一件不寻常的事情引起她的注意 那就是

in the middle of the day, she met a lot of men who were at home,

在這大白天 她發現有許多男人都待在家中

middle-aged, late middle-aged,

中年或著中老年

and a lot of them seemed to be on oxygen tanks.

而且這些人都帶著氧氣鋼瓶

Struck her as strange.

這讓她覺得相當奇怪

Then, a few years later, her father died at the age of 59,

之後又過了幾年 她的父親在59歲時去世了

five days before he was due to receive his pension.

剛好在他可以領到退休金的五天前

"He'd been a miner," she thought,

"他是個礦工" 她想

"he must just have been worn out by the work."

"他只是被他的工作給消耗殆盡了"

But then, a few years later,

但又過了幾年

her mother died,

她的母親也走了

and that seemed stranger still,

一樣帶點不尋常的味道

because her mother came from a long line of people

因為她的母親來自於一個

who just seemed to live forever.

相當長壽的家族

In fact, Gayla's uncle is still alive to this day and learning how to waltz.

事實上Gayla的舅舅到現在都還活得好好的 正學著如何跳華爾滋

It didn't make sense

這實在沒有道理

that Gayla's mother should die so young.

為什麼Gayla的母親會如此早逝

It was an anomaly,

這不正常

and she kept puzzling over those anomalies,

於是她開始拼湊起不正常的地方

and as she did, other ones came to mind.

當她開始這麼做時 另一件不尋常的事情浮上了她的心頭

She remembered, for example, when her mother had broken a leg

她記得她的母親曾經斷了條腿

and went in the hospital, and she had a lot of X-rays.

那時在醫院時她照了許多X光

Two of them were leg X-rays, which made sense,

有兩張是腿部X光 很正常

but six of them were chest X-rays, which didn't.

但是有六張卻是胸部X光 這就不正常了

She puzzled and puzzled over every piece of her life and her parent's life,

她開始一點一點的拼湊她與她的父母過去一起生活的片段

trying to understand what she was seeing.

試著找出整件事情的全貌

She thought about her town.

她想到了她生活的小鎮

The town had a vermiculite mine in it.

那個小鎮有著一座蛭石礦

Vermiculite was used for soil conditioners,

蛭石在以前被用作土質改良劑

to make plants grow faster and better.

它可以讓作物生長得更快更好

Vermiculite was used to insulate lofts;

蛭石也曾被作為房子的隔溫層

huge amounts of it, put under the roof

大量的蛭石 被充填在屋簷底下

to keep houses warm during the long Montana winters.

為了讓房子內部能保持溫暖 好度過蒙大拿漫長的冬天

Vermiculite was in the playground,

蛭石也被用在戶外遊樂場

it was in the football ground, it was in the skating rink.

在足球場下 在滑冰場內都有蛭石存在

What she didn't learn until she started working this problem,

一開始她並沒有想通 直到她把一切拼湊在一起

is vermiculite is a very toxic form of asbestos.

蛭石也許是一種具有高度毒性的石棉

When she figured out the puzzle,

當她想通這一切

she started telling everyone she could.

她竭盡所能地告訴每一個人

What had happened, what had been done to her parents,

事情的來龍去脈 以及發生在她父母身上的事情

and to the people that she saw on oxygen tanks,

她也告訴那些帶著氧氣鋼瓶的人們

at home, in the afternoons.

家家戶戶 許多個下午

But she was really amazed,

在那個當下 她相當的興奮

she thought: "When everybody knows, they will want to do something."

她這麼想 "如果每個人都知道這件事 那大家一定會希望做點什麼來改變現況"

But actually, nobody wanted to know.

但實際上 沒有人想要了解

In fact, she became so annoying, as she kept insisting on telling this story

甚至她變得不受歡迎 因為她無時無刻都在談論這個話題

to her neighbours, to her friends, to other people in the community,

告訴她的鄰居 她的朋友 社區中的每一個人

that eventually, a bunch of them got together, and they made a bumper sticker

到最後那些人甚至聚在一塊 一起做了一個保險桿貼紙

which they proudly displayed on their cars, which said:

他們高傲的貼在車上到處展示 貼紙上寫著:

"Yes, I'm from Libby, Montana, and no, I don't have asbestosis."

"沒錯 我來自蒙大拿的 Libby鎮 但很抱歉我可沒有什麼石綿問題"

But Gayla didn't stop.

不過 Gayla 仍未放棄

She kept doing research.

她不斷研究這件事情

The advent of the Internet definitely helped her.

網路的普及幫了她大忙

She talked to anybody she could.

她盡可能的跟每一個人討論

She argued and argued, and finally she struck lucky

她費盡口舌 直到幸運來敲門

when a researcher came through town studying the history of mines in the area.

一位學者來到鎮上 他正在研究礦脈的歷史

And she told him her story,

她告訴他整件事情

and at first, of course, like everyone, he didn't believe her,

當然一開始他並不相信她

but he went back to Seattle, and he did his own research,

但是等他回到西雅圖展開他的研究時

and he realised that she was right.

他發現她是對的

So, now, she had an ally.

這一刻起她有了盟友

Nevertheless, people still didn't want to know.

然而人們還是不願去了解

They said things like: "Well, if it were really dangerous,

他們總是說著類似的言語: "如果這真的有那麼危險"

someone would have told us."

"早該有人來告訴大家這件事了"

"If that's really why everyone was dying,

"如果大家真的因此而死"

the doctors would have told us."

"醫生早該跳出來告訴我們了"

Some of the guys used to very heavy jobs said:

一部分已經習慣粗重工作的人說道:

"I don't want to be a victim, I can't possibly be a victim,

"我一點都不想當一個受害者 我才不可能是一個受害者"

and anyway, every industry has its accidents."

"而且不管是什麼工作總會有意外嘛"

But still, Gayla went on,

即使如此Gayla還是堅持著

and finally succeeded in getting a federal agency to come to town

終於她成功的請到聯邦政府部門來到鎮上

and to screen the inhabitants of the town,

來調查小鎮的生活環境

15,000 people.

15,000個人生活於此

And what they discovered

經調查後他們發現

was that the town had a mortality rate

小鎮的死亡率

80 times higher than anywhere in the United States.

相較於美國其他地方要高出八十倍

That was in 2002,

那是在2002

and even at that moment,

即使事已至此

no one raised their hand to say:

仍沒有半個人舉起他的手說:

"Gayla, look in the playground where your grandchildren are playing.

"Gayla 看看你的孫兒們正在玩耍的戶外遊戲場"

It's lined with vermiculite."

"地面上鋪滿了蛭石"

This wasn't ignorance.

這已經不是無知了

It was willful blindness.

這是選擇性忽視

Willful blindness is a legal concept,

選擇性忽視是一個法律上的概念

which means if there's information that you could know and you should know,

它的意思是如果有一些訊息是你可以知道並且應該知道的

but you somehow manage not to know,

但你不論因為什麼原因就是不知道

the law deems that you are willfully blind,

那法律上就會將你視為選擇性忽視 (刻意忽視)

you have chosen not to know.

你蓄意不去了解

There's a lot of willful blindness around these days.

近來出現了許多選擇性忽視的例子

You can see willful blindness in banks,

你可以在銀行業中看到選擇性忽視

when thousands of people sold mortgages to people who couldn't afford them.

數以千計的人將抵押貸款放給無力償還者

You could see them in banks when interest rates were manipulated,

利率升降時裡你可以看到這些人坐在銀行裡

and everyone around knew what was going on,

這些人都了解這是怎麼一回事

but everyone studiously ignored it.

但所有人就是固執的不去看

You can see willful blindness in the Catholic Church,

你可以看到選擇性無視發生在天主教堂中

where decades of child abuse went ignored.

數十年來兒童被凌虐的事件不斷發生

You could see willful blindness

你可以看到選擇性無視發生

in the run-up to the Iraq war.

就在愈加激烈的伊拉克戰爭中

Willful blindness exists on epic scales like those,

選擇性無視發生在上述那些著名的事件中

and it also exists on very small scales,

但它也會發生在平凡日常的事件中

in people's families, in people's homes and communities,

在人們的家庭中 房子內以及社區裡

and particularly, in organizations and institutions.

特別是在企業和機構中

Companies that had been studied for willful blindness,

企業一直以來被作為選擇性無視研究的對象

can be asked questions like:

研究過程中可能會問一些問題像是:

"Are there issues at work

"在工作上是否有些議題"

that people are afraid to raise?"

"是人們不敢提出來討論的"

And when academics have done studies like these

當學術機構在做這類調查時

of corporations in the United States,

美國的企業中

what they find is 85% of people say yes.

他們發現有85%的人回答是

85% of people know there's a problem,

85%的人知道有問題

but they won't say anything.

但他們寧願保持沉默

And when I duplicated the research in Europe,

而當我將同樣的研究拿到歐洲進行時

asking all the same questions,

問的問題完全相同

I found exactly the same number,

我得到不多不少同樣的比例

85%.

85%

That's a lot of silence.

如此多的人選擇沉默

It's a lot of blindness.

如此大量的刻意無視

And what's really interesting

而真正有趣的是

is that when I go to companies in Switzerland, they tell me,

當我到了瑞士的公司 他們告訴我

"This is a uniquely Swiss problem."

"這是瑞士特有的問題"

And when I go to Germany they say,

當我到了德國 他們說

"Oh yes, this is the German disease."

"對啊 這就是德國的病態"

And when I go to companies in England, they say:

當我到了英國的企業時 他們說

"Oh yeah, the British are really bad at this."

"是啊 英國人在這方面做得真的不好"

And the truth is

但事實上

this is a human problem.

這是人類的問題

We're all,

我們所有人

under certain circumstances,

都處在這樣的問題當中

willfully blind.

選擇性的忽視

What the research shows is that some people are blind out of fear,

研究顯示一部分人選擇無視是因為害怕

they're afraid of retaliation,

他們害怕受到報復

and some people are blind because they think:

另一部分人選擇性無視則是因為他們覺得

"Well, seeing anything is just futile, nothing's ever going to change.

"看出問題一點用都沒有 什麼事都改變不了的"

If we make a protest, if we protest against the Iraq war,

如果我們上街遊行 如果我們抗議伊拉克戰爭

nothing changes, so why bother?

一點用都沒有 那我們為何要如此麻煩?

Better not to see this stuff at all."

最好一開始就眼不見為淨

And the recurrent theme that I encounter all the time is people say:

不斷重複發生的一幕 就是我總是會碰到人們這樣說:

"Well you know, the people who do see, they're whistleblowers,

"你知道的 有些人確實看出了問題 就是那些告密者"

and we all know what happens to them."

"我們都清楚告密的下場"

So there's this profound mythology around whistleblowers,

對於告密者的迷思是如此的根深蒂固

which says, first of all, they're all crazy.

甚至有這樣的說法 告密者全是神經病

But what I've found going around the world and talking to whistleblowers

但是在我走遍世界並與這些告密者談過後 我發現

is, actually, they're very loyal

事實上 他們相當忠誠

and quite often, very conservative people.

並且通常是相當保守謹慎的人

They're hugely dedicated to the institutions that they work for,

他們全心全意地投身於他們工作的機構

and the reason that they speak up, the reason they insist on seeing,

他們無法視而不見的原因

is because they care so much about the institution

是因為他們實在太在乎他們所在的團體

and want to keep it healthy.

他們希望團體能穩定向上

And the other thing that people often say about whistleblowers

還有一些人們常套在告密者身上的說法

is: "Well, there's no point

像是 "嘿 沒必要這樣好嗎"

because you see what happens to them,

"你知道告密者的下場的"

they're crushed, they're destroyed.

"他們被摧毀了 他們體無完膚"

Nobody would want to go through something like that."

"沒有人想跟他們落得同樣下場"

And yet, when I talk to whistleblowers,

然而當我與告密者們談過後

the recurrent tone that I hear, is pride.

我不斷看到同一種神情 那就是自豪

I think of Joe Darby.

我想到Joe Darby

We all remember the photographs of Abu Ghraib,

我們都還記得 Abu Ghraib 拍下的照片

which so shocked the world

那些震驚世界的照片

and showed the kind of war that was being fought in Iraq.

告訴我們正在伊拉克進行的是怎樣的一場戰爭

But I wonder who remembers Joe Darby,

但我不禁懷疑誰還記得Joe Darby

the very obedient, good soldier

那個十分服從的好士兵

who found those photographs

是他發現了那些照片

and handed them in.

並將那些照片上呈

And he said:

他說

"You know, I'm not the kind of guy to rat people out,

"其實我並不是那種會打小報告的人"

but some things just cross the line.

"但有些事情已經太超過"

Ignorance is bliss, they say,

"無知是一種幸福 人們如此說"

but you can't put up with things like this."

"但你絕對無法對這樣的事情視而不見"

I talked to Steve Bolsin, a British doctor,

我和Steve Bolsin談過 他是一位英國醫生

who fought for five years

他奮鬥了整整五年

to draw attention to a dangerous surgeon

使人們認識到一種帶有危險性的手術

who was killing babies.

那種手術可能會導致嬰兒死亡

And I asked him why he did it, and he said:

當我問他為什麼要這麼做 他回答

"Well, it was really my daughter who prompted me to do it.

"其實是我的女兒促使我這麼做的"

She came up to me one night and she just said:

"有一天晚上她跑來跟我說"

"Dad, you can't let the kids die."

"爸 你不能讓那些孩子死去"

Or I think of Cynthia Thomas,

我又想到一個例子 Cynthia Thomas

a really loyal army daughter and army wife,

一位忠誠的軍人兼女兒 也是軍人兼妻子

who, as she saw her friends and relations coming back from the Iraq war,

當她迎接從伊拉克戰場上歸來的親友們回歸家鄉時

was so shocked by their mental condition,

她對他們的精神狀況感到震驚

and the refusal of the military to recognise and acknowledge

軍方卻拒絕承認這樣的事情存在

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome,

PTSD 創傷後壓力症候群

that she set up a café

於是她創立了一間咖啡店

in the middle of a military town

就在鄰近軍營的城鎮中

to give them legal, psychological, and medical assistance.

只為了給予那些軍人合法的 心理上的以及醫療上的援助

And she said to me:

她這樣告訴我

"You know Margaret, I always used to say

"你知道的Margaret 過去的我總是這樣說"

I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grow up,

"我不知道我將來長大後要做些什麼"

but I found myself in this course

"但在我現在做的事情中 我找到了自己 "

and I'll never be the same."

"我已經和過去大不相同"

We all enjoy so many freedoms today,

現在的我們都享有許多自由

hard-won freedoms:

得來不易的自由

the freedom to write and publish without fear of censorship,

可以盡情書寫出版而不需要擔心被監控的自由

a freedom that wasn't here the last time I came to Hungary.

一項在我上次到匈牙利這裡時 還未存在的自由

A freedom to vote,

投票的自由

which women in particular had to fight so hard for.

那是許多女性努力爭取的自由

The freedom for people of different ethnicities,

人們應得的自由 即便是不同種族

and cultures, and sexual orientation,

不同文化 以及不同性向

to live the way that they want.

都有權過他們想要過的生活

But freedom doesn't exist,

但自由並不會憑空出現

if you don't use it.

如果你不使用它

And what whistleblowers do,

而這些告密者們做的

and what people like Gayla Benefield do,

Gayla Benefield 這一類人所做的

is they use the freedom that they have.

正是使用他們所擁有的自由

And what they're very prepared to do

他們都已經做好準備

is recognize that "yes, this is going to be an argument,

他們知道即將發生的事情 "沒錯 這會引起爭論"

and yes, I'm going to have a lot of rouse

"但是我仍要試著喚醒這些人"

with my neighbours and my colleagues and my friends.

"包括我的鄰居 我的同事以及我的朋友"

But I'm going to become very good at this conflict.

"但我會在這場爭論中逐漸取得贏面"

I'm going to take on the naysayers

"我會接受那些拒絕承認問題存在的人的挑戰"

because they'll make my argument better and stronger.

"因為他們只會使我的論點變得更完美更穩固"

I can collaborate with my opponents

"我甚至可以和那些反對者合作"

to become better at what I do."

"只為了能做得更多"

These are people of immense persistence,

這些人都有著堅忍不拔的特質

incredible patience,

無與倫比的耐性

and an absolute determination

以及豪不動搖的決心

not to be blind

拒絕視而不見

and not to be silent.

拒絕沉默以對