Chris Bliss: Comedy is translation

Translator: David J. Kreps Finnemann Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

Gabriel García Márquez is one of my favorite writers,

Gabriel García Márquez er en af mine yndlingsforfattere,

for his storytelling,

på grund af hans fortællekunst,

but even more, I think,

men endnu mere, tror jeg,

for the beauty and precision of his prose.

på grund af skønheden og præcisionen af hans prosa.

And whether it's the opening line from "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

Og hvad enten det er den første linje af "Hundrede Års Ensomhed"

or the fantastical stream of consciousness

eller den fantastiske strøm af bevidsthed

in "Autumn of the Patriarch,"

i "Patriarkens efterår,"

where the words rush by,

hvor ordene strømmer forbi,

page after page of unpunctuated imagery

side efter side af billedsprog uden kommasætning

sweeping the reader along

river læseren med

like some wild river

ligesom en vild flod

twisting through a primal South American jungle,

snor sig gennem en oprindelig Sydamerikansk jungle,

reading Márquez is a visceral experience.

at læse Márquez er en indre oplevelse.

Which struck me as particularly remarkable

Hvilket slog mig som særlig bemærkelsesværdigt

during one session with the novel

under en session med en roman

when I realized that I was being swept along

da jeg realiserede at jeg blev fejet med

on this remarkable, vivid journey

på denne bemærkelsesværdige, livlige rejse

in translation.

i oversættelse.

Now I was a comparative literature major in college,

Jeg læste komparativ litteratur som hovedfag på universitetet,

which is like an English major,

hvilket er ligesom et hovedfag i Engelsk,

only instead of being stuck studying Chaucer for three months,

men i stedet for at sidde fast med at læse Chaucer i tre måneder,

we got to read great literature in translation

fik vi lov til at læse stor litteratur i oversættelse

from around the world.

fra hele verden.

And as great as these books were,

Og så store som disse bøger var,

you could always tell

kunne man altid se

that you were getting close to the full effect.

at man kom tæt på den fulde virkning.

But not so with Márquez

Men sådan var det ikke med Márquez

who once praised his translator's versions

der en gang roste sin oversætters versioner

as being better than his own,

som værende bedre end hans egen,

which is an astonishing compliment.

hvilket er en forbløffende kompliment.

So when I heard that the translator, Gregory Rabassa,

Så da jeg hørte at oversætteren, Gregory Rabassa,

had written his own book on the subject,

havde skrevet sin egen bog om emnet,

I couldn't wait to read it.

kunne jeg ikke vente med at læse den.

It's called apropos of the Italian adage

Den hedder apropos det italienske mundheld

that I lifted from his forward,

som jeg stjal fra hans forord,

"If This Be Treason."

"If This Be Treason."

And it's a charming read.

Og det er indtagende læsning.

It's highly recommended for anyone who's interested

Det er særdeles anbefalelsesværdigt til at der er interesseret

in the translator's art.

i oversætterkunsten.

But the reason that I mention it

Men grunden til at jeg nævner det

is that early on, Rabassa offers

er at Rabassa tidligt tilbyder

this elegantly simple insight:

denne elegante, simple indsigt:

"Every act of communication

"Hver kommunikationshandling

is an act of translation."

er en oversættelseshandling."

Now maybe that's been obvious to all of you for a long time,

Nu har det måske været åbenlyst for jer alle sammen i lang tid,

but for me,

men for mig,

as often as I'd encountered

så ofte som jeg har mødt

that exact difficulty on a daily basis,

præcis den besværlighed på daglig basis,

I had never seen the inherent challenge of communication

havde jeg aldrig set den medfødte kommunikations udfordring

in so crystalline a light.

i så krystalklart et lys.

Ever since I can remember

Så længe jeg kan huske

thinking consciously about such things,

at jeg har tænkt bevidst på sådanne ting,

communication has been my central passion.

har kommunikation været min centrale passion.

Even as a child,

Selv som barn,

I remember thinking that what I really wanted most in life

kan jeg huske at tænke, at det jeg virkelig ønskede mig allermest i livet

was to be able to understand everything

var at være i stand til at forstå alt

and then to communicate it to everyone else.

og derefter fortælle det videre til alle andre.

So no ego problems.

Så ingen ego problemer.

It's funny, my wife, Daisy,

Det er sjovt, min kone, Daisy,

whose family is littered with schizophrenics --

hvis familie er fyldt med skizofrene --

and I mean littered with them --

og jeg mener fyldt med dem --

once said to me, "Chris, I already have a brother who thinks he's God.

sagde engang til mig, "Chris, jeg har allerede en bror der tror han er gud.

I don't need a husband who wants to be."

Jeg har ikke brug for en mand der vil være det."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Anyway, as I plunged through my 20s

Hvorom alt er, som jeg styrtede gennem mine 20'ere

ever more aware of how unobtainable

endnu mere klar over hvor uopnåelig

the first part of my childhood ambition was,

den første del af min opvæksts ambition var,

it was that second part,

var det dens anden del,

being able to successfully communicate to others

at være i stand til med held at kommunikere med andre

whatever knowledge I was gaining,

lige meget hvilken viden jeg erhvervede mig,

where the futility of my quest really set in.

der hvor tomheden af min søgen virkelig begyndte.

Time after time,

Gang på gang,

whenever I set out to share some great truth

når jeg gjorde mig klar til at dele en stor sandhed

with a soon-to-be grateful recipient,

med en snart taknemmelig modtager,

it had the opposite effect.

havde det den modsatte virkning.

Interestingly, when your opening line of communication is,

Interessant nok, når ens indledende replik i kommunikation er,

"Hey, listen up,

"Hey, hør engang,

because I'm about to drop some serious knowledge on you,"

fordi jeg vil oplyse dig med noget dybsindig viden,"

it's amazing how quickly you'll discover

det er forbløffende hvor hurtigt man opdager

both ice and the firing squad.

både is og henrettelsespelotonet.

Finally, after about 10 years

Endelig, efter cirka 10 år

of alienating friends and strangers alike,

med at støde venner og ligeså fremmede fra mig,

I finally got it,

forstod jeg det endeligt,

a new personal truth all my own,

en ny personlig sandhed til mig,

that if I was going to ever communicate well with other people

at hvis jeg nogensinde skulle kommunikere med andre mennesker igen

the ideas that I was gaining,

med de ideer jeg fik,

I'd better find a different way of going about it.

måtte jeg hellere finde på en anden måde at gøre det på.

And that's when I discovered comedy.

Og det var der jeg opdagede komik.

Now comedy travels along a distinct wavelength

Nu rejser komik på en forskellig bølgelængde

from other forms of language.

fra alle andre former for sprog.

If I had to place it on an arbitrary spectrum,

Hvis jeg skulle placere det i et vilkårligt spektrum,

I'd say it falls somewhere

ville jeg sige det lægger sig et sted

between poetry and lies.

mellem lyrik og løgne.

And I'm not talking about all comedy here,

Og jeg taler ikke om al komik,

because, clearly, there's plenty of humor

fordi, tydeligvis, er der masser af humor

that colors safely within the lines of what we already think and feel.

der kommer sikkert inden for linjer af hvad vi allerede tænker og føler.

What I want to talk about

Det jeg vil tale om

is the unique ability that the best comedy and satire has

er den unikke evne som den bedste komik og satire har

at circumventing our ingrained perspectives --

til at omgå vores indgroede syn --

comedy as the philosopher's stone.

komik som de vises sten.

It takes the base metal of our conventional wisdom

Det tager basis delene af vores traditionelle visdom

and transforms it through ridicule

og ændrer den gennem latterliggørelse

into a different way of seeing

til en anden måde at se på

and ultimately being in the world.

og i sidste ende være i verden.

Because that's what I take

Fordi det er det jeg tager

from the theme of this conference: Gained in Translation.

fra denne konferences tema: Opnået i Oversættelse.

That it's about communication

At det handler om kommunikation

that doesn't just produce greater understanding

der ikke kun producerer bedre forståelse

within the individual,

i det enkelte individ,

but leads to real change.

men leder til virkelig forandring.

Which in my experience means communication

Som i min erfaring betyder kommunikation

that manages to speak to and expand

der kan klare at tale til og udvide

our concept of self-interest.

vores koncept om egoisme.

Now I'm big on speaking to people's self-interest

Nu gør jeg et stort nummer ud af at tale til menneskers ego

because we're all wired for that.

fordi det er vi alle bygget til.

It's part of our survival package,

Det er en del af vores overlevelsespakke,

and that's why it's become so important for us,

og det er derfor det er blevet så vigtigt for os,

and that's why we're always listening at that level.

og det er derfor vi altid lytter på det niveau.

And also because that's where,

Og også fordi at der er der hvor,

in terms of our own self-interest,

med hensyn til vores egen egoisme,

we finally begin to grasp

begynder vi endelig at forstå

our ability to respond, our responsibility

vores evne til at reagere, vores ansvar

to the rest of the world.

overfor resten af verden.

Now as to what I mean by the best comedy and satire,

Det jeg mener med den bedste komik og satire,

I mean work that comes first and foremost

mener jeg arbejde der først og fremmest kommer

from a place of honesty and integrity.

fra et sted med ærlighed og integritet.

Now if you think back

Hvis man nu tænker tilbage

on Tina Fey's impersonations on Saturday Night Live

til Tina Fey's parodier på Saturday Night Live

of the newly nominated vice presidential candidate

af den nyligt valgte vicepræsident kandidat

Sarah Palin,

Sarah Palin,

they were devastating.

de var sønderlemmende.

Fey demonstrated far more effectively than any political pundit

Fey demonstrerede væsentlig mere effektivt end nogen anden politisk vismand

the candidate's fundamental lack of seriousness,

kandidatens fundamentale mangel på seriøsitet,

cementing an impression

og cementerede en parodi

that the majority of the American public still holds today.

som størstedelen af den amerikanske offentlighed stadig har i dag.

And the key detail of this

Og nøgledetaljer til alt dette

is that Fey's scripts weren't written by her

er at Feys manuskripter ikke blev skrevet af hende

and they weren't written by the SNL writers.

og de blev ikke skrevet af SNL forfatterne.

They were lifted verbatim

De blev taget ordret

from Palin's own remarks.

fra Palins egne kommentarer.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Here was a Palin impersonator

Her var der en Palin imitator

quoting Palin word for word.

der citerede Palin ord for ord.

Now that's honesty and integrity,

Det er da ærlighed og integritet,

and it's also why Fey's performances

og det er også derfor Feys præstationer

left such a lasting impression.

efterlod sådan et holdbart indtryk.

On the other side of the political spectrum,

På den anden side af det politiske spektrum,

the first time that I heard Rush Limbaugh

den første gange jeg hørte at Rush Limbaugh

refer to presidential hopeful John Edwards as the Breck girl

refererer til den håbefulde præsidentkandidat John Edwards som Breck pigen

I knew that he'd made a direct hit.

vidste jeg at han havde ramt plet.

Now it's not often that I'm going to associate

Nu er det ikke tit at jeg vil forbinde

the words honesty and integrity with Limbaugh,

ordene ærlighed og integritet med Limbaugh,

but it's really hard to argue with that punchline.

men det er virkelig svært at argumentere mod den pointe.

The description perfectly captured

Den beskrivelse fangede perfekt

Edwards' personal vanity.

Edwards personlige forfængelighed.

And guess what?

Og gæt engang?

That ended up being the exact personality trait

Det endte med at være præcis det personlighedstræk

that was at the core of the scandal that ended his political career.

som var kernen i den skandale der sluttede hans politiske karriere.

Now The Daily Show with John Stewart

The Daily Show med John Stewart

is by far the most --

er uden tvivl den mest --

(Applause)

(Bifald)

(Laughter)

(Latter)

it's by far the most well-documented example

det er uden tvivl det mest veldokumenterede eksempel

of the effectiveness of this kind of comedy.

på effektiviteten på denne slags komik.

Survey after survey,

Meningsmåling efter meningsmåling,

from Pew Research to the Annenberg Center for Public Policy,

fra Pew Research til Annenberg Center for Public Policy,

has found that Daily Show viewers are better informed about current events

har fundet frem til at Daily Show seere er bedre informerede om aktuelle begivenheder

than the viewers of all major network and cable news shows.

end seerne af alle de store netværk og kabel-tv nyheds shows.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Now whether this says more

Om det siger mere

about the conflict between integrity and profitability

om den konflikt der er mellem integritet og lønsomhed

of corporate journalism

i den korporative journalisme

than it does about the attentiveness of Stewart's viewers,

end det gør om opmærksomheden på Stewarts seere,

the larger point remains

den vigtigere pointe forbliver

that Stewart's material

at Stewarts materiale

is always grounded in a commitment to the facts --

altid er funderet i et engagement de oplysninger --

not because his intent is to inform. It's not.

ikke fordi hans hensigt er at informere. Det er det ikke.

His intent is to be funny.

Hans hensigt er at være sjov.

It just so happens that Stewart's brand of funny

Det er bare sådan, at Stewarts form for sjov

doesn't work unless the facts are true.

ikke virker, medmindre oplysningerne er sande.

And the result is great comedy

Og resultatet er stor komik

that's also an information delivery system

der også er et informations leveringssystem

that scores markedly higher in both credibility and retention

der scorer mærkbart højere i både troværdighed og holdbarhed

than the professional news media.

end de professionelle nyheds medier.

Now this is doubly ironic

Det er dobbelt ironisk

when you consider that what gives comedy its edge

når man tager i betragtning at det der giver komikken kant

at reaching around people's walls

og nå rundt om menneskers mure

is the way that it uses deliberate misdirection.

er måden hvorpå den bevidst bruger vildledning.

A great piece of comedy is a verbal magic trick,

En stor del af komikken er et verbalt magisk trick,

where you think it's going over here

hvor man tror at det går her over

and then all of a sudden you're transported over here.

og lige pludselig bliver man flyttet her over.

And there's this mental delight

Og der er denne mentale begejstring

that's followed by the physical response of laughter,

efterfulgt af den fysiske reaktion latter,

which, not coincidentally,

der, ikke tilfældigt,

releases endorphins in the brain.

frigiver endorfiner i hjernen.

And just like that, you've been seduced

Og bare sådan, er man blevet forført

into a different way of looking at something

til en anderledes måde at se på noget

because the endorphins have brought down your defenses.

fordi endorfinerne har bragt ens forsvar ned.

This is the exact opposite

Det er det totalt modsatte

of the way that anger and fear and panic,

i forhold til hvordan vrede og frygt og panik,

all of the flight-or-fight responses, operate.

alle flygt eller kæmp reaktionerne, virker.

Flight-or-fight releases adrenalin,

Flygt eller kæmp frigiver adrenalin,

which throws our walls up sky-high.

der sætter vores mure skyhøjt op.

And the comedy comes along,

Og komikken kommer forbi,

dealing with a lot of the same areas

og behandler mange af de samme områder

where our defenses are the strongest --

hvor vores forsvar er stærkest --

race, religion, politics, sexuality --

race, religion, politik, seksualitet --

only by approaching them through humor instead of adrenalin,

kun ved at nærme sig dem gennem humor i stedet for adrenalin,

we get endorphins

får vi endorfiner

and the alchemy of laughter turns our walls into windows,

og latterens alkymi ændrer vores mure til vinduer,

revealing a fresh and unexpected point of view.

og afslører et friskt og overraskende syn på tingene.

Now let me give you an example from my act.

Lad mig nu give Jer et eksempel fra mit show.

I have some material

Jeg har noget materiale

about the so-called radical gay agenda,

om den såkaldte radikale homoseksuelle dagsorden,

which starts off by asking,

der starter med at spørge,

how radical is the gay agenda?

hvor radikal er den homoseksuelle dagsorden?

Because from what I can tell, the three things gay Americans seem to want most

Fordi sådan som jeg ser det, er de tre ting som homoseksuelle amerikanere ønsker sig mest

are to join the military, get married and start a family.

at melde sig ind i militæret, blive gift og stifte familie.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Three things I've tried to avoid my entire life.

Tre ting som jeg har prøvet at undgå hele mit liv.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Have at it you radical bastards. The field is yours.

Tag den, I radikale skiderikker. Jeres tur.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And that's followed by these lines

Og det bliver efterfulgt af disse linjer

about gay adoption:

om homoseksuel adoption:

What is the problem with gay adoption?

Hvad er problemet ved homoseksuel adoption?

Why is this remotely controversial?

Hvorfor er det i nærheden af at være kontroversielt?

If you have a baby and you think that baby's gay,

Hvis man har et barn og man tror barnet er homoseksuelt,

you should be allowed to put it up for adoption.

burde man have lov til at adoptere barnet.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

You have given birth to an abomination.

Man har født en vederstyggelighed.

Remove it from your household.

Fjern det fra ens husstand.

Now by taking the biblical epithet "abomination"

Men ved at bruge det bibelske skældsord "vederstyggelighed"

and attaching it to the ultimate image of innocence, a baby,

og hæfte det til det ultimative billede på uskyldighed, et barn,

this joke short circuits the emotional wiring

kortslutter denne vittighed det følelsesmæssige ledningsnet

behind the debate

bag debatten

and it leaves the audience with the opportunity, through their laughter,

og det efterlader publikummet med muligheden, gennem deres latter,

to question its validity.

at sætte spørgsmålstegn ved dets gyldighed.

Misdirection isn't the only trick

Vildledning er ikke det eneste trick

that comedy has up its sleeve.

som komik har oppe i ærmet.

Economy of language

Lingvistisk økonomi

is another real strong suit of great comedy.

er en anden virkelig stærk side ved fremragende komik.

There are few phrases

Der er få udtryk

that pack a more concentrated dose of subject and symbol

der indeholder en mere koncentreret dosis af emne og symbol

than the perfect punchline.

end den perfekte afsluttende replik.

Bill Hicks -- and if you don't know his work,

Bill Hicks -- og hvis man ikke kender hans arbejde,

you should really Google him --

burde man virkelig Google ham --

Hicks had a routine

Hicks havde en joke

about getting into one of those childhood bragging contests on the playground,

om at være i en af disse pralekonkurrencer i barndommen på legepladsen,

where finally the other kid says to him,

hvor det andet barn til sidst siger til ham,

"Huh? Well my dad can beat up your dad,"

"Nå? Jamen min far kan banke din far,"

to which Hicks replies,

hvor Hicks svarer,

"Really? How soon?"

"Er det rigtigt? Hvornår?"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

That's an entire childhood

Det er en hel barndom

in three words.

i fem ord.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Not to mention what it reveals

For ikke at nævne hvad det afslører

about the adult who's speaking them.

om den voksne der udtaler dem.

And one last powerful attribute

Og en sidste kraftig egenskab

that comedy has as communication

som komik har som kommunikation

is that it's inherently viral.

er at det er gennemgående viralt.

People can't wait

Mennesker kan ikke vente

to pass along that new great joke.

på at fortælle en god vittighed videre.

And this isn't some new phenomenon of our wired world.

Og dette er ikke et nyt fænomen fra vores forbundne verden.

Comedy has been crossing country

Komik har krydset landet

with remarkable speed

med bemærkelsesværdig hastighed

way before the Internet, social media,

længe før internettet, sociale medier,

even cable TV.

selv kabel-tv.

Back in 1980

Tilbage i 1980

when comedian Richard Pryor accidentally set himself on fire

da komikeren Richard Pryor ved et uheld satte ild til sig selv

during a freebasing accident,

under et narko uheld,

I was in Los Angeles the day after it happened

var jeg i Los Angeles dagen efter det skete

and then I was in Washington D.C. two days after that.

og så var jeg i Washington D.C. to dage efter det.

And I heard the exact same punchline on both coasts --

Og jeg hørte præcis den samme pointe på begge kyster --

something about the Ignited Negro College Fund.

noget med Ignited Negro College Fund.

Clearly, it didn't come out of a Tonight Show monologue.

Det kom tydeligvis ikke fra Tonight Shows monolog.

And my guess here -- and I have no research on this --

Og mit gæt her -- og jeg har ikke nogen forskning om dette --

is that if you really were to look back at it and if you could research it,

er at hvis man virkelig skulle kigge tilbage på det, og hvis man kunne efterforske det,

you'd find out that comedy

ville man finde ud af at komik

is the second oldest viral profession.

er den næstældste virale profession.

First there were drums

Først var der trommer

and then knock-knock jokes.

og så banke på vittigheder.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But it's when you put all of these elements together --

Men det er når man sætter alle disse elementer sammen --

when you get the viral appeal of a great joke

at man får den virale tiltrækningskraft af en stor vittighed

with a powerful punchline

men en kraftfuld pointe

that's crafted from honesty and integrity,

der er lavet med ærlighed og integritet,

it can have a real world impact

kan det have en påvirkning i den virkelige verden

at changing a conversation.

og ændre en samtale.

Now I have a close friend, Joel Pett,

Jeg har en nær ven, Joel Pett,

who's the editorial cartoonist

der er en redaktionel vittighedstegner

for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

for Lexington Herald-Leader.

And he used to be the USA Today Monday morning guy.

Og han plejede at være USA Today Monday morgenfyren.

I was visiting with Joel

Jeg besøgte Joel

the weekend before the Copenhagen conference on climate change opened

weekenden før klimakonferencen i København åbnede

in December of 2009.

i december 2009.

And Joel was explaining to me

Og Joel forklarede mig

that, because USA Today

at, fordi USA Today

was one of America's four papers of record,

var en af Amerikas fire største aviser,

it would be scanned by virtually everyone in attendance at the conference,

ville den blive skimmet af praktisk talt alle konference deltagerne,

which meant that, if he hit it out of the park with his cartoon

hvilket betød at, hvis han lavede den perfekte viitighedstegning

on Monday, the opening day of the conference,

om mandagen, den første dag på konferencen,

it could get passed around

ville den blive delt rundt

at the highest level among actual decision-makers.

på det højeste niveau blandt de virkelige beslutningstagere.

So we started talking about climate change.

Så vi begyndte at snakke om klimaændringer.

And it turned out that Joel and I

Og det viste sig at Joel og jeg

were both bothered by the same thing,

vi være begge naget af den samme ting,

which was how so much of the debate

nemlig hvor meget af debatten

was still focused on the science

stadig handlede om videnskaben

and how complete it was or wasn't,

og om hvor nøjagtig den var eller ikke,

which, to both of us,

hvilket, for os begge,

seems somewhat intentionally off point.

virker noget bevidst ved siden af pointen.

Because first of all, there's this false premise

Fordi for det første, er der denne falske antagelse

that such a thing as complete science exists.

at sådan noget som færdig videnskab findes.

Now Governor Perry of my newly-adopted state of Texas

Guvernør Perry i min nyligt adopterede stat Texas

was pushing this same line this past summer

reklamerede for den samme linje sidste sommer

at the beginning of his oops-fated campaign

ved begyndelsen af hans hovsa-skæbnebestemte kampagne

for the Republican presidential nomination,

til den Republikanske præsidentkandidat nominering,

proclaiming over and over that the science wasn't complete

og erklærede igen og igen at videnskaben ikke var fuldstændig

at the same time that 250

samtidig med at der i 250

out of 254 counties in the state of Texas

af de 254 amter i Texas

were on fire.

var ildebrande.

And Perry's policy solution

Og Perrys politiske løsning

was to ask the people of Texas

var at bede mennesker i Texas

to pray for rain.

om at bede for regn.

Personally, I was praying for four more fires

Personligt, bad jeg til at der kom fire ildebrande mere

so we could finally complete the damn science.

så vi endelig kunne fuldstændiggøre den forbandede videnskab.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But back in 2009,

Men tilbage i 2009,

the question Joel and I kept turning over and over

spørgsmålet som Joel og jeg blev ved med at vende tilbage til

was why this late in the game

var hvorfor der så sent i spillet

so much energy was being spent talking about the science

blev brugt så meget energi på at tale om videnskab

when the policies necessary to address climate change

når den nødvendige politik til at adressere klimaforandringer

were unequivocally beneficial for humanity in the long run

var entydigt gavnligt for menneskeheden i det lange løb

regardless of the science.

uanset videnskaben.

So we tossed it back and forth until Joel came up with this.

Så vi snakkede lidt frem og tilbage om det, indtil Joel fandt på dette.

Cartoon: "What if it's a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?"

Vittighedstegning: "Hvad hvis er et svindelnummer og vi skaber en bedre verden til ingen verdens nytte?"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

You've got to love that idea.

Man må elske den ide.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

How about that? How about we create a better world for nothing?

Hvad siger I til det? Hvad med om vi skaber en bedre verden til ingen verdens nytte?

Not for God, not for country, not for profit --

Ikke for gud, ikke for fædreland, ikke for profit --

just as a basic metric for global decision-making.

bare som en basis målestok for global beslutningstagning.

And this cartoon hit the bull's eye.

Og denne vittighedstegning ramte plet.

Shortly after the conference was over,

Kort efter konferencen var slut,

Joel got a request for a signed copy

fik Joel en anmodning på en signeret kopi

from the head of the EPA in Washington

fra lederen af EPA i Washington

whose wall it now hangs on.

hvis væg den nu hænger på.

And not long after that, he got another request for a copy

Og ikke længe efter det, fik han endnu en anmodning på en kopi

from the head of the EPA in California

fra lederen af EPA i Californien

who used it as part of her presentation

som brugte den som del i hendes præsentation

at an international conference on climate change

ved en international konference om klimaforandringer

in Sacramento last year.

i Sacramento sidste år.

And it didn't stop there.

Og det blev ikke ved det.

To date, Joel's gotten requests from over 40 environmental groups,

Joel har til dato fået anmodninger fra flere end 40 miljøorganisationer,

in the United States, Canada and Europe.

i USA, Canada og Europa.

And earlier this year,

Og tidligere i år,

he got a request from the Green Party in Australia

fik han en anmodning fra Green Party i Australien

who used it in their campaign

der brugte den i deres kampagne

where it became part of the debate

hvor den blev en del af debatten

that resulted in the Australian parliament

der resulterede i at det australske parlament

adopting the most rigorous carbon tax regime

vedtog det strengeste CO2 afgift system

of any country in the world.

i hele verden.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

That is a lot of punch

Det er meget gennemslagskraft

for 14 words.

for 14 ord.

So my suggestion to those of you out here

Så mit forslag til jer derude

who are seriously focused on creating a better world

der er seriøst fokuseret på at skabe en bedre verden

is to take a little bit of time each day

er at bruge en lille smule tid hver dag

and practice thinking funny,

og øve i at tænke sjovt,

because you might just find the question that you've been looking for.

fordi man kunne måske finde lige det spørgsmål man leder efter.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)