Take "the Other" to lunch | Elizabeth Lesser

Prevoditelj: Dubravka Hrastovec Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

This room may appear to be holding 600 people,

Čini se da u ovoj dvorani

sjedi 600 ljudi,

but there's actually so many more,

no stvarno nas je znatno više

because within each one of us, there is a multitude of personalities.

jer se u svakome od nas

krije mnoštvo osobnosti.

I have two primary personalities

Ja imam dvije primarne osobnosti

that have been in conflict and conversation within me

koje su u sukobu i razgovoru unutar mene

još od ranog djetinjstva.

since I was a little girl.

I call them "the mystic" and "the warrior."

Nazivam ih "mistik"

i "ratnik".

I was born into a family of politically active intellectual atheists.

Rođena sam u obitelji

politički aktivnih

intelektualaca ateista.

There was this equation in my family that went something like this:

U mojoj je obitelji postojala otprilike ovakva jednadžba:

if you are intelligent,

ako si inteligentan,

you therefore are not spiritual.

nisi duhovan.

I was the freak of the family.

Ja sam bila čudovište u obitelji.

I was this weird little kid

Bila sam uvrnuta klinka

who wanted to have deep talks about the worlds that might exist

koja je željela voditi dubokoumne razgovore

o svjetovima koji možda postoje

beyond the ones we perceive with our senses.

dalje od onih koje opažamo osjetilima.

I wanted to know

Željela sam znati

if what we human beings see and hear and think

je li ono što mi ljudi vidimo

i čujemo i mislimo

is a full and accurate picture of reality.

cjelovita i točna slika

stvarnosti.

So, looking for answers,

Tragajući za odgovorima

I went to Catholic mass; I tagged along with my neighbors.

otišla sam na misu u katoličku crkvu;

'šlepala' sam se sa susjedima.

I read Sartre and Socrates.

Čitala sam Sartrea i Sokrata.

I onda se dogodila sjajna stvar

And then a wonderful thing happened when I was in high school:

tijekom moje srednje škole:

gurus from the East started washing up on the shores of America.

gurui s Istoka

počeli su oplahnjivati obale Amerike.

(Laughter)

I rekoh samoj sebi,

And I said to myself, "I wanna get me one of them."

"Želim jednog od gurua."

(Laughter)

I otada

And ever since, I've been walking the mystic path,

koračam mističnim stazama,

trying to peer beyond what Albert Einstein called

nastojeći proniknuti iza

onoga što je Albert Einstein nazivao

the "optical delusion" of everyday consciousness.

"optičkom iluzijom

svakidašnje svijesti".

So what did he mean by this?

Što je mislio pod time? Pokazat ću vam.

I'll show you.

Take a breath right now of this clear air in this room.

Duboko udahnite

čist zrak u ovoj dvorani.

Now, see this strange,

Evo, vidite ovu čudnu,

underwater-coral-reef-looking thing?

podvodnu stvar koja

sliči koraljnom grebenu?

It's actually a person's trachea.

To je zapravo ljudski dušnik.

And those colored globs are microbes

A ove kugle u bojama

su mikrobi

that are actually swimming around in this room right now,

koji zapravo plutaju u ovoj prostoriji

upravo sada, svuda oko nas.

all around us.

If we're blind to this simple biology,

Ako ne vidimo tu jednostavnu biologiju,

imagine what we're missing at the smallest subatomic level right now

zamislite što upravo sad propuštamo

na najsitnijoj, subatomskoj razini

i na najvećim kozmičkim razinama.

and at the grandest cosmic levels.

My years as a mystic have made me question almost all my assumptions.

Godine koje sam provela kao mistik

natjerale su me da preispitam

gotovo sve svoje pretpostavke.

They've made me a proud "I-don't-know-it-all."

Učinili su me ponosnom neznalicom svega.

Now, when the mystic part of me jabbers on and on like this,

No kad mistični dio mene

ovako brblja i brblja,

the warrior rolls her eyes.

ratnica okreće očima.

She's concerned about what's happening in this world right now.

Ona se pita

što se ovoga trena događa u ovom svijetu.

She's worried.

Zabrinuta je.

She says, "Excuse me, I'm pissed off,

Kaže, "Oprostite, ogorčena sam,

and I know a few things,

znam neke stvari

and we better get busy about them right now."

i bolje da se odmah njima pozabavimo."

I've spent my life as a warrior,

Provela sam život kao ratnica,

working for women's issues,

zalagala se za ženska pitanja,

radila na političkim kampanjama,

working on political campaigns,

being an activist for the environment.

bila ekološka aktivistica.

Pomalo je sumanuto

And it can be sort of crazymaking,

housing both the mystic and the warrior in one body.

nositi i mistika i ratnika

u jednom tijelu.

I've always been attracted to those rare people

Oduvijek su me privlačili

ti rijetki ljudi

who pull that off,

koji to skinu sa sebe,

who devote their lives to humanity

koji posvećuju svoje živote čovječanstvu

with the grit of the warrior and the grace of the mystic --

s čvrstinom ratnika

i prijaznošću mistika --

ljudi poput Martina Luthera Kinga Jr.

people like Martin Luther King, Jr.,

koji je napisao, "Nikad ne mogu

who wrote, "I can never be what I ought to be

biti ono što bih trebao

sve dok vi niste

until you are what you ought to be."

ono što biste trebali biti.

"This," he wrote, "is the interrelated structure of reality."

To", napisao je, "je međusobno povezana

struktura stvarnosti."

Then Mother Teresa, another mystic warrior, who said,

Potom Majka Tereza, druga mistična ratnica,

koja je izjavila, "Problem svijeta je taj

"The problem with the world is that we draw the circle of our family

što crtamo krug naše obitelji

too small."

premalen."

And Nelson Mandela, who lives by the African concept of "ubuntu,"

I Nelson Mandela,

koji živi prema afričkom konceptu

ubuntu,

which means "I need you in order to be me,

što znači da ja trebam tebe

da bih bila ja,

and you need me in order to be you."

a da ti trebaš mene da bi bio ti.

Now, we all love to trot out these three mystic warriors

I svi mi volimo predstavljati

tih troje mističnih ratnika

kao da su rođeni

as if they were born with a "saint" gene.

sa svetačkim genom.

But we all actually have the same capacity that they do.

No svi mi zapravo imamo

istu sposobnost koju oni imaju

And we need to do their work now.

i trebamo činiti

njihovo djelo.

I'm deeply disturbed

Duboko sam potresena

by the ways in which all of our cultures are demonizing "the other,"

načinima na koje sve naše kulture

demoniziraju suprotnu stranu

by the voice we're giving to the most divisive among us.

glasom koji dajemo onome

koji uzrokuje najviše podjele među nama.

Listen to these titles of some of the best-selling books

Čujte naslove

nekih od najprodavanijih knjiga

from both sides of the political divide

s obje strane političke podjele

here in the US:

ovdje u SAD-u.

"Liberalism is a Mental Disorder,"

"Liberalizam je mentalni poremećaj",

"Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot,"

"Rush Limbaugh je veliki debeli idiot",

"Pinheads and Patriots,"

"Glupani i domoljubi",

"Arguing with Idiots."

"Raspravljanje s idiotima".

They're supposedly tongue-in-cheek,

Navodno su mišljeni ironično,

but they're actually dangerous.

no zapravo su opasni.

Now here's a title that may sound familiar,

A tu je i naslov koji može zvučati poznato,

but whose author may surprise you:

ali čiji će vas autor iznenaditi:

"Four and a Half Years of Struggle Against Lies,

"Četiri i pol godine borbe

protiv laži, gluposti

Stupidity and Cowardice."

i kukavičluka".

Who wrote that?

Tko je to napisao?

That was Adolf Hitler's first title for "Mein Kampf" -- "My Struggle" --

Bio je to prvi naslov Adolfa Hitlera

za "Mein Kampf" -- "Moju borbu" --

the book that launched the Nazi Party.

knjigu koja je lansirala nacističku stranku.

The worst eras in human history,

Najgora razdoblja u povijesti čovječanstva,

whether in Cambodia or Germany or Rwanda --

bilo to u Kambodži ili Njemačkoj

ili Ruandi,

they start like this, with negative otherizing.

započinjala su ovako, s negativnim odnosom prema drugima.

A onda poprime oblik

And then they morph into violent extremism.

nasilnog ekstremizma.

This is why I'm launching a new initiative.

Upravo zato pokrećem novu inicijativu.

And it's to help all of us, myself included,

Da svima nama pomogne,

uključujući i mene,

to counteract the tendency to otherize.

da se suprotstavimo tendenciji

isticanja negativnih razlika.

And I realize we're all busy people,

Shvaćam da smo svi prezaposleni,

so don't worry, you can do this on a lunch break.

no ne brinite, možete to činiti tijekom pauze za ručak.

I'm calling my initiative "Take the Other to Lunch."

Svoju inicijativu nazivam,

"Povedi Suprotnu stranu na ručak".

If you are a Republican,

Ako ste

republikanac,

povedite na ručak demokrata.

you can take a Democrat to lunch.

Or if you're a Democrat,

Ako ste demokrat,

think of it as taking a Republican to lunch.

razmislite da

na ručak povedete republikanca.

Now, if the idea of taking any of these people to lunch

Ako od same pomisli na ručak s tim osobama

makes you lose your appetite,

gubite apetit,

(Laughter)

I suggest you start more local,

predlažem da počnete još lokalnije

because there is no shortage of the other right in your own neighborhood:

jer nije nestašica suprotnih strana

ni u vašem vlastitom susjedstvu.

maybe that person who worships at the mosque

Možda onu osobu

koja štuje u džamiji, ili u

or the church or the synagogue down the street;

crkvi ili sinagogi, niže u ulici,

or someone from the other side of the abortion conflict;

ili nekoga s druge strane

sukoba o pobačaju,

or maybe your brother-in-law who doesn't believe in global warming --

ili možda vašeg šogora koji

ne vjeruje u globalno zatopljenje --

(Laughter)

anyone whose lifestyle may frighten you

bilo koga čiji vas način života plaši

or whose point of view makes smoke come out of your ears.

ili od čijeg vam gledišta

izlazi para na uši.

A couple of weeks ago,

Prije nekoliko tjedana

I took a conservative Tea Party woman to lunch.

povela sam na ručak jednu konzervativku.

Now, on paper, she passed my "smoking ears" test:

Na papiru prošla je moj test pare na uši.

(Laughter)

she's an activist from the Right,

Ona je aktivistica desnice,

and I'm an activist from the Left.

a ja sam aktivistica ljevice.

We used some guidelines to keep our conversation elevated.

I usvojile smo nekoliko smjernica

da bismo održale konverzaciju na uljudnoj razini,

a i vi ih možete usvojiti,

And you can use them, too,

because I know you're all going to take an other to lunch.

jer znam da ćete svi povesti

suprotstavljenu stranu na ručak.

So first of all, decide on a goal:

Stoga najprije utvrdite cilj:

to get to know one person from a group you may have negatively stereotyped.

upoznati jednu osobu iz

skupine o kojoj imate negativno stereotipno mišljenje.

And then, before you get together,

A potom, prije nego što se sastanete,

agree on some ground rules.

dogovorite neka temeljna pravila.

My Tea Party lunch mate and I came up with these:

Moja konzervativka i ja

dogovorile smo ovo:

Ne uvjeravaj, ne brani

"Don't persuade, defend or interrupt;

niti prekidaj.

be curious, be conversational, be real;

Budi znatiželjna,

raspoložena za razgovor, realna.

and listen."

I slušaj.

I otuda smo zaronile.

From there, we dove in, and we used these questions:

I koristile smo ova pitanja

"Share some of your life experiences with me --

Podijeli neka životna iskustva sa mnom.

what issues deeply concern you?

Koja te pitanja

duboko zaokupljaju?

And what have you always wanted to ask someone from the other side?"

Što si oduvijek htjela pitati nekoga sa

suprotne strane?

My lunch partner and I came away with some really important insights,

Moja partnerica za ručak i ja

došle smo do zaista važnih uvida, a ja

ću s vama podijeliti samo jedno.

and I'm going to share just one with you.

I think it has relevance to any problem between people anywhere.

Mislim da je relevantan

za bilo koji problem

između ljudi bilo gdje.

I asked her why her side makes such outrageous allegations and lies

Pitala sam je zašto njezina strana

iznosi takve opake tvrdnje i

laži o mojoj strani.

about my side.

"What?" she wanted to know.

"Što?", pitala je.

"Like, we're a bunch of elitist, morally corrupt terrorist-lovers."

"Npr. mi smo banda

elitističkih,

moralno pokvarenih ljubitelja terorizma."

Well, she was shocked.

Bila je šokirana.

She thought my side beat up on her side way more often --

Držala je da moja strana

češće napada njezinu stranu,

da ih nazivamo glupim

that we called them brainless, gun-toting racists.

rasistima koji potežu oružje.

And we both marveled at the labels

Obje smo se čudile

etiketama koje ne pristaju

that fit none of the people we actually know.

nikome od ljudi koje

stvarno poznajemo.

And since we had established some trust,

I nakon što smo uspostavile povjerenje,

we believed in each other's sincerity.

vjerovale smo u iskrenost druge strane.

We agreed we'd speak up in our own communities

Dogovorile smo da ćemo u našim zajednicama dići

when we witnessed the kind of "otherizing" talk

glas kad budemo svjedoci

negativnog govora protiv druge strane

that can wound and fester into paranoia

koji može povrijediti

i uzrokovati paranoju

i biti korišten od onih na rubu

and then be used by those on the fringes

to incite.

huškanja.

Do kraja našeg ručka

By the end of our lunch, we acknowledged each other's openness.

priznale smo jedna drugoj otvorenost.

Neither of us had tried to change the other,

Nijedna od nas nije pokušala promijeniti drugu.

but we also hadn't pretended

Ali nismo se niti zavaravale da će se

that our differences were just going to melt away

naše razlike jednostavno rastopiti

after a lunch.

nakon jednog ručka.

Instead, we had taken first steps together,

Umjesto toga, poduzele smo

prve zajedničke korake,

mimo naših spontanih reakcija,

past our knee-jerk reactions

u smjeru ubuntua,

to the ubuntu place,

which is the only place

što je jedino mjesto

gdje će se pronaći

where solutions to our most intractable-seeming problems

rješenja naših naoko tvrdokornih

problema.

will be found.

Koga biste trebali pozvati na ručak?

So who should you invite to lunch?

Next time you catch yourself in the act of otherizing,

Sljedeći put kad se uhvatite u

činu negativnog govora o drugima,

that'll be your clue.

to će vam biti putokaz.

And what might happen at your lunch?

I što bi se moglo dogoditi na ručku?

Will the heavens open

Hoće li se nebesa otvoriti i

and "We are the World" play over the restaurant sound system?

zasvirati "Mi smo svijet" na restoranskom razglasu?

Probably not.

Vjerojatno ne.

Because ubuntu work is slow, and it's difficult.

Jer ubuntu rad je polagan,

težak.

It's two people dropping the pretense of being know-it-alls.

Tu su dva čovjeka

koji napuštaju privid

da su sveznajući.

It's two people, two warriors, dropping their weapons

Tu su dva čovjeka,

dva ratnika,

koji spuštaju oružje i

and reaching toward each other.

posežu jedan za drugim.

Here's how the great Persian poet Rumi put it:

Kako je to lijepo rekao veliki perzijski pjesnik Rumi:

"Ponad naših ideja

"Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing,

o činjenju zla i dobra,

there is a field.

nalazi se polje.

I'll meet you there."

Tamo te čekam."

(pljesak)

(Applause)