3 questions to ask yourself about everything you do | Stacey Abrams

翻译人员: jacks peng 校对人员: Mengying Zhou

When I was in high school at the age of 17 --

17岁，我在佐治亚州的迪凯特读高中。

I graduated from high school in Decatur, Georgia,

毕业的时候，我作为学生代表

as valedictorian of my high school --

在毕业典礼上致告别辞。

I was very proud of myself.

对此，我引以为傲。

I was from a low-income community, I had grown up in Mississippi,

我来自低收入社区，成长于密西西比州。

we'd moved from Mississippi to Georgia

我们一家从密西西比搬到了佐治亚州，

so my parents could pursue their degrees as United Methodist ministers.

因为父母要攻读联合卫理公会牧师的学位。

We were poor, but they didn't think we were poor enough,

我们很穷，但父母似乎认为我们还不够穷，

所以他们致力于要永久贫困。

so they were going for permanent poverty.

（笑声）

(Laughter)

And so, while they studied at Emory,

他们在埃默里上大学的时候，

I studied at Avondale, and I became valedictorian.

我在埃文代尔读高中， 并且成为了学生代表。

Well, one of the joys of being valedictorian in the state of Georgia

作为佐治亚州学生代表的乐趣之一，

is that you get invited to meet the governor of Georgia.

是可以获邀拜访佐治亚州的州长。

I was mildly interested in meeting him.

我很高兴能拜访州长。

It was kind of cool.

这感觉很酷。

I was more intrigued by the fact that he lived in a mansion,

让我更好奇的是他住的豪宅，

because I watched a lot of "General Hospital" and "Dynasty"

因为在小时候看了很多 《综合医院》和《豪门恩怨》之类的

电视剧，

as a child.

（笑声）

(Laughter)

And so I got up that morning, ready to go to visit the governor.

所以那天早上，我起床 准备好出发去拜访州长。

My mom and my dad, who were also invited, got up,

我的父亲和母亲也被邀请一同前去，

and we went outside.

我们走到外面。

But we didn't get in our car.

但我们并没有自己的车。

And in the South, a car is a necessary thing.

在南方，汽车是必不可少的交通工具。

We don't have a lot of public transit, there aren't a lot of options.

那里公共交通少，所以选择也不多。

But if you're lucky enough to live in a community

但是如果你碰巧生活在一个社区，

where you don't have a car,

还没有自己的车，

the only option is public transit.

那么唯一的选择就只有公共交通了。

And that's what we had to take.

我们只能坐公交。

And so we got on the bus.

所以我们上了一辆公共汽车。

And we took the bus from Decatur all the way to Buckhead,

从迪凯特一直坐到了巴克海特，

where the Governor's Mansion sat on this really beautiful acreage of land,

州长官邸就坐落在这片美丽辽阔的土地上，

with these long black gates that ran the length of the property.

长长的黑色大门一直通向这座建筑的尽头。

We get to the Governor's Mansion,

汽车到达州长官邸的时候，

we pull the little lever that lets them know this is our stop,

我们拉了一下小拉杆，好让 他们知道我们到站了。

we get off the bus,

我们下了车，

my mom, my dad and I, we walk across the street.

父亲、母亲和我穿过马路，

We walk up the driveway, because there are cars coming up,

走上了车道， 因为有车开过来，

cars bringing in students from all across the state of Georgia.

这些汽车带来了从佐治亚州各地来的学生，

So we're walking along the side.

所以我们只好沿着路边走了。

And as we walk single file along the side,

当我们排成单行走在路边的时候，

my mom and dad sandwiching me to make sure I don't get hit by one of the cars

父母把我像三明治那样夹在中间 以确保我不被那些载着

bringing in the other valedictorians,

其他学生代表的汽车撞到，

we approach the guard gate.

我们向警卫门走去。

When we get to the guard gate, the guard comes out.

到达警卫门的时候，警卫员出来了。

He looks at me, and he looks at my parents,

他看看我，又看看我的父母，

and he says, "You don't belong here, this is a private event."

然后说：“你们不属于这里，这是私人活动。”

My dad says, "No, this is my daughter, Stacey. She's one of the valedictorians."

我父亲说：“不是的，这是我女儿 斯泰西。她是学生代表之一。”

But the guard doesn't look at the checklist that's in his hands.

但是警卫员并没有看自己手里的核对名单，

He doesn't ask my mom for the invitation

也没有问母亲要那张

that's at the bottom of her very voluminous purse.

被收在她超大钱包底部的邀请函。

Instead, he looks over our shoulder at the bus,

反之他看向了我们身后的那辆公交车，

because in his mind, the bus is telling him a story about who should be there.

因为在他看来，公交车就足以 告诉他站在这的会是什么人了。

And the fact that we were too poor to have our own car --

他们太穷而买不起汽车的事实——

that was a story he told himself.

这就是警卫员告诉自己的故事。

And he may have seen something in my skin color,

他可能还从我的肤色，

he may have seen something in my attire;

以及我的服装打扮，看出了些什么。

我不知道那个时候他在想什么。

I don't know what went through his mind.

但是他得出的结论是再次看向我，

But his conclusion was to look at me again,

and with a look of disdain, say,

带着一种不屑的表情，说：

"I told you, this is a private event. You don't belong here."

“我告诉过你们，这是个私人活动， 你们不属于这里。”

Now, my parents were studying to become United Methodist ministers,

现在，我的父母要学习如何做一名 联合卫理公会的牧师了，

but they were not pastors yet.

尽管他们还不是牧师。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And so they proceeded to engage this gentleman

所以，他们开始和这位绅士进行了

in a very robust discussion of his decision-making skills.

一场非常有力的关于他决策能力的讨论。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

My father may have mentioned

父亲似乎向我提到过，

that he was going to spend eternity in a very fiery place

他将和他一直激烈地讨论下去，

if he didn't find my name on that checklist.

如果那个警卫员没在名单上 找我的名字的话。

And indeed, the man checks the checklist eventually,

当然，最终他还是核对了名单，

and he found my name, and he let us inside.

并找到了我的名字，让我们进去了。

But I don't remember meeting the governor of Georgia.

但我已经想不起 与佐治亚州州长会面的情形了，

I don't recall meeting my fellow valedictorians

也记不清来自180个学校的

from 180 school districts.

和我一样的学生代表。

The only clear memory I have of that day

我唯一清晰的记忆，

was a man standing in front of the most powerful place in Georgia,

是一个男人站在佐治亚州最具权力的地方，

looking at me and telling me I don't belong.

看着我，并告诉我，我不属于那里。

And so I decided, 20-some-odd years later,

所以我下定决心，20多年之后，

to be the person who got to open the gates.

我一定要成为那个有能力打开那扇门的人。

(Cheers)

（欢呼）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Unfortunately, you may have read the rest of the story.

不幸的是，接下来的故事 你们可能已经听过了。

It didn't quite work out that way.

事实并不全如所愿。

And now I'm tasked with figuring out: How do I move forward?

而我现在的任务是弄清楚：我该如何前进？

Because, you see, I didn't just want to open the gates for young black women

因为，我并不只是想为那些被低估

who had been underestimated and told they don't belong.

并且被告诉不属于这里的 年轻黑人女性打开大门。

I wanted to open those gates for Latinas and for Asian Americans.

我还想为拉美裔人和 亚裔美国人打开大门，

I wanted to open those gates for the undocumented and the documented.

我想为那些有证和 无证的人们打开大门；

I wanted to open those gates as an ally of the LGBTQ community.

为支持LGBTQ群体的盟友打开大门；

I wanted to open those gates

为那些自称是

for the families that have to call themselves the victims of gun violence.

枪支暴力受害者的家庭打开大门。

I wanted to open those gates wide for everyone in Georgia,

我想为佐治亚州的每一个人打开大门，

because that is our state, and this is our nation,

因为这是我们的州，这是我们的国家，

and we all belong here.

我们都属于这里。

(Cheers)

（欢呼）

(Applause)

（掌声）

但是我意识到的是第一次尝试还不够。

But what I recognized is that the first try wasn't enough.

And my question became: How do I move forward?

而且我的问题变成了：我该如何前进？

How do I get beyond the bitterness and the sadness and the lethargy

我要如何才能摆脱痛苦、悲伤、嗜睡，

and watching an inordinate amount of television as I eat ice cream?

以及一边吃冰淇淋一边无节制地看电视？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

What do I do next?

接下来我该怎么办？

And I'm going to do what I've always done.

我要做我一直以来在做的事情，

I'm going to move forward, because going backwards isn't an option

我会继续前进，因为倒退不是选择，

and standing still is not enough.

并且原地不动也不够。

(Applause)

（掌声）

You see, I began my race for governor

是这样，我竞选州长

by analyzing who I was and what I wanted to be.

是通过分析“我是谁”和 “我想成为什么人”开始的。

And there are three questions I ask myself about everything I do,

对我做的每一件事， 我都会问自己三个问题，

whether it's running for office or starting a business;

无论是竞选还是创业。

when I decided to start the New Georgia Project

当我决定启动新佐治亚州项目

to register people to vote;

让选民去登记选票时；

or when I started the latest action, Fair Fight Georgia.

当我开始最新倡议Fair Fight Georgia时。

No matter what I do, I ask myself three questions:

无论我做什么，我都会问自己三个问题：

What do I want?

我想要什么？

Why do I want it?

为什么我想要？

And how do I get it?

以及我如何才能得到？

And in this case, I know what I want.

在这种情况下，我知道自己想要什么。

I want change.

我要改变。

That is what I want.

这就是我想要的。

But the question is:

但问题是，

What change do I want to see?

我想要看到什么样的改变？

And I know that the questions I have to ask myself are:

我知道我需要问自己的问题其实是：

One, am I honest about the scope of my ambition?

第一，我对自己的抱负是否诚实？

Because it's easy to figure out that once you didn't get what you wanted,

因为很容易发现一旦你 没有得到你想要的，

那么也许你应该把你的眼光放低一点，

then maybe you should have set your sights a little lower,

但是我在这告诉你一定要 对自己的目标有进取心。

but I'm here to tell you to be aggressive about your ambition.

Do not allow setbacks to set you back.

不要让挫折阻碍你。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Number two, let yourself understand your mistakes.

第二，要清楚自己的错误。

But also understand their mistakes,

但同时也要清楚他人的错误。

because, as women in particular,

因为，尤其作为女性，

we're taught that if something doesn't work out,

大家总认为如果事情没有成功，

it's probably our fault.

那肯定是我们的问题。

And usually, there is something we could do better,

通常，有些事情我们其实可以做得更好。

but we've been told not to investigate too much

但我们一直被告知不要调查太多

what the other side could have done.

对方可能做的事情。

这不是党派——这是人民。

And this isn't partisan -- it's people.

We're too often told that our mistakes are ours alone,

我们经常被告知错误是我们自己的，

but victory is a shared benefit.

但胜利又是大家共同享有的利益。

And so what I tell you to do is understand your mistakes,

所以我要告诉你们的是， 了解自己的错误，

but understand the mistakes of others.

也了解他人的错误，

And be clearheaded about it.

并且对此保持清醒。

And be honest with yourself and honest with those who support you.

忠于自己，也忠于那些支持你的人。

But once you know what you want,

但是一旦你知道想要什么，

understand why you want it.

明白了为什么想要，

And even though it feels good, revenge is not a good reason.

即使感觉很好，报复也不是一个好理由。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Instead, make sure you want it

还有，确保你想做一件事情

because there's something not that you should do,

不是因为你应该这么做，

but something you must do.

而是因为必须要这么做。

It has to be something that doesn't allow you to sleep at night

这一定是令你晚上

unless you're dreaming about it;

魂牵梦萦的事情；

something that wakes you up in the morning and gets you excited about it;

或者是早上醒来就足够让你兴奋的事情；

又或者是能够让你很愤怒的事情，

or something that makes you so angry,

你知道你必须要做点什么。

you know you have to do something about it.

But know why you're doing it.

但是知道为什么要做这件事情，

And know why it must be done.

还要知道为什么必须做。

You've listened to women from across this world

你们应该听过很多世界各地的女性

talk about why things have to happen.

谈论过为什么有些事必须去做。

But figure out what the "why" is for you,

要弄清楚对你来说 问题的原因到底是什么，

because jumping from the "what" to the "do"

因为只是从“什么”事情跳到“做”一件事情

is meaningless if you don't know why.

是没有意义的，如果你不知道原因的话。

Because when it gets hard, when it gets tough,

当事情变得很艰难、棘手的时候，

when your friends walk away from you,

当你的朋友远离你的时候，

when your supporters forget you,

当你的支持者忘记你的时候，

when you don't win your first race --

当你没有赢得第一次竞争的时候——

if you don't know why, you can't try again.

如果你不知道为什么，你将无法再次尝试。

So, first know what you want.

所以，首先要知道你想要什么。

Second, know why you want it,

其次，知道你为什么想要，

but third, know how you're going to get it done.

但是最后，还要知道如何实现。

I faced a few obstacles in this race.

在这次竞争中我就遇到了好几次阻碍。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Just a few.

只是几次而已。

But in the pursuit,

但是在追求目标的过程中，

I became the first black woman to ever become the nominee for governor

我成为了美利坚合众国历史上

in the history of the United States of America for a major party.

第一位获得主要政党的 州长候选的黑人女性。

(Cheers)

（欢呼声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

But more importantly, in this process,

但更重要的是，在这个过程中，

we turned out 1.2 million African American voters in Georgia.

我们在佐治亚州发现了120万非裔美国选民。

That is more voters

这比2014年

than voted on the Democratic side of the ticket in 2014.

民主党投票的选民还要多。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Our campaign tripled the number of Latinos

我们的竞选活动使得

who believed their voices mattered in the state of Georgia.

相信他们的呼声对佐治亚州很重要的 拉美裔人的数量翻了三倍。

We tripled the number of Asian Americans

使得那些站起来并高喊

who stood up and said, "This is our state, too."

“这也是我们的国家”的 亚裔美国人的数量翻了三倍。

Those are successes that tell me how I can get it done.

这些成功事例告诉我如何能把事情做好。

But they also let me understand the obstacles aren't insurmountable.

但是他们也让我明白了 没有无法逾越的障碍。

They're just a little high.

只是这些障碍有点高。

But I also understand

但我也明白

that there are three things that always hold us hostage.

还有三件事情会让我们变得很被动。

The first is finances.

首先是财务状况。

Now, you may have heard, I'm in a little bit of debt.

你们应该听说了， 我现在欠了一点债。

If you didn't hear about it, you did not go outside.

如果你没听说过， 那你肯定没出过门。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And finances are something that holds us back so often,

财务状况经常在拖我们后腿，

our dreams are bounded by how much we have in resources.

我们的梦想总是会受限于所拥有的资源。

But we hear again and again

但我们也不止一次地听到

the stories of those who overcome those resource challenges.

那些克服了资源挑战的成功故事。

But you can't overcome something you don't talk about.

当然你不可能去克服你从不谈论的事情。

And that's why I didn't allow them to debt-shame me in my campaign.

这就是为什么我不允许他们 在竞选活动中利用债务来羞辱我。

I didn't allow anyone to tell me that my lack of opportunity

我不允许任何人告诉我，

was a reason to disqualify me from running.

缺乏机会是取消我竞选资格的原因，

And believe me, people tried to tell me I shouldn't run.

相信我，人们曾经试图告诉我， 不应该参加竞选。

Friends told me not to run.

朋友们告诉我不要参加竞选。

Allies told me not to run.

盟友也告诉我不要参加竞选。

"USA Today" mentioned maybe I shouldn't run.

就连”今日美国“也曾报道说， 或许我不该参加竞选。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But no matter who it was,

但是不管是谁，

I understood that finances are often a reason we don't let ourselves dream.

我明白财务问题往往是 我们不敢梦想的原因。

I can't say that you will always overcome those obstacles,

我不能说你能一直克服那些障碍，

but I will tell you, you will be damned if you do not try.

但是我想告诉你， 如果连尝试都不敢，那你注定完蛋。

(Applause)

（掌声）

The second is fear.

其次是恐惧。

And fear is real.

恐惧是一种真实的感受。

It is paralyzing.

它会让我们觉得气馁，

It is terrifying.

心生畏惧。

But it can also be energizing,

但是它也会让我们充满能量，

because once you know what you're afraid of,

因为一旦你知道自己害怕什么，

你就会知道怎么去避开。

you can figure out how to get around it.

And the third is fatigue.

第三是疲劳。

Sometimes you just get tired of trying.

有时候你只是没有力气再去尝试了。

You get tired of reading about processes and politics

你疲于阅读有关流程和政策

and the things that stop you from getting where you want to be.

以及那些阻止你实现目标的事情。

Sometimes, fatigue means that we accept position instead of power.

有时候，疲劳意味着 我们甘愿接受位置而非权力。

We let someone give us a title as a consolation prize,

我们让别人给我们一个头衔作为安慰奖，

rather than realizing we know what we want and we're going to get it,

而非并努力实现梦想，

even if we're tired.

即便我们会疲劳。

That's why God created naps.

这正是上帝要创造午睡的原因。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But we also learn in those moments

但我们也在这些时刻学习到

that fatigue is an opportunity to evaluate how much we want it.

疲劳是评估我们多想得到它的一个机会。

Because if you are beaten down,

因为如果你被击败了，

if you have worked as hard as you can,

如果你尽可能地努力了，

if you have done everything you said you should,

如果你应该做的都做了，

and it still doesn't work out,

当仍然无济于事，

fatigue can sap you of your energy.

疲劳就会消耗你的精力。

But that's why you go back to the "why" of it.

但这就是为什么你要回到 “为什么”的原因。

Because I know we have to have women who speak for the voiceless.

因为我知道，我们必须要有 为弱势群体说话的女性。

I know we have to have people of good conscience

我知道我们必须要有良知的人们

who stand up against oppression.

站出来反抗压迫。

I know we have to have people

我知道我们必须要有人

who understand that social justice belongs to us all.

懂得社会正义属于我们所有人。

And that wakes me up every morning,

这让我每天早上醒来，

and that makes me fight even harder.

让我更加努力地奋斗。

Because I am moving forward, knowing what is in my past.

因为我在前进，知道我的过去是什么样。

I know the obstacles they have for me.

我知道他们为我设置的障碍。

I know what they're going to do,

我知道他们会怎么做，

我相当肯定，他们现在充满活力， 在制造新的障碍。

and I'm fairly certain they're energizing and creating new obstacles now.

But they've got four years to figure it out.

但他们有四年的时间来搞清楚这个问题。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Maybe two.

也许两年。

(Cheers)

（欢呼）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

But here's my point:

但这是我的观点：

I know what I want, and that is justice.

我知道我要什么，那就是公正。

I know why I want it,

我知道为什么我想要它，

because poverty is immoral, and it is a stain on our nation.

因为贫穷是不道德的， 它是我们国家的污点。

And I know how I'm going to get it:

我知道该怎么实现它：

by moving forward every single day.

每天都前进一点点。

Thank you so much.

谢谢。

（欢呼）

(Cheers)

(Applause)