How the worst moments in our lives make us who we are | Andrew Solomon

翻译人员: Yi Fei 校对人员: Xiaoyang Wu

As a student of adversity,

我从逆境中学习：

I've been struck over the years by how some people with major challenges

这些年来，我一次又一次

被人们如何

从极大的挑战中

seem to draw strength from them.

得到力量而震撼，

And I've heard the popular wisdom that that has to do with finding meaning.

人们说，

这和找寻生命的意义有关。

And for a long time,

很长一段时间，

我以为生命的意义在某一处

I thought the meaning was out there,

some great truth waiting to be found.

它是等待被发掘的真理。

But over time,

但随着时间的迁移，我渐渐感到

I've come to feel that the truth is irrelevant.

真理无关紧要

We call it "finding meaning,"

我们称它为找寻意义，

but we might better call it "forging meaning."

但或许我们该更准确地称它铸造意义。

My last book was about how families manage to deal

我上一本书讲的是家庭

如何应对各种让人伤脑筋的，

with various kinds of challenging or unusual offspring.

或不寻常的儿女们，

我访问了一位有两名

And one of the mothers I interviewed,

who had two children with multiple severe disabilities,

患有多重残疾的孩童的母亲，

said to me, "People always give us these little sayings like,

她对我说：“人们总是给予我们

一些所谓的名言，例如

‘上帝不会给你多过你能承载的’

'God doesn't give you any more than you can handle.'

But children like ours are not preordained as a gift.

但是像我家这样的孩子

并不是天生就注定是份礼物。

They're a gift

他们是一份礼物，是因为我们选择如此。”

because that's what we have chosen."

We make those choices all our lives.

我们一生中有很多这样的选择。

我小学二年级的时候，

When I was in second grade,

Bobby Finkel had a birthday party

鲍比开了个生日派对

他邀请了班上的所有人，除了我 。

and invited everyone in our class but me.

My mother assumed there had been some sort of error,

我妈妈认为一定是出了什么差错，

所以给鲍比的母亲打了电话，

and she called Mrs. Finkel,

who said that Bobby didn't like me and didn't want me at his party.

鲍比的母亲说，鲍比不喜欢我，

不想让我参加他的派对。

那天，我妈妈带我去了动物园

And that day, my mom took me to the zoo

并去吃了焦糖冰激凌。

and out for a hot fudge sundae.

我在7年级（初中一年级）时，

When I was in seventh grade,

one of the kids on my school bus nicknamed me "Percy,"

我乘坐的校车上有个孩子

叫我：‘波西’ （发音似女式手提包）

取笑我的言行举止，

as a shorthand for my demeanor.

有时，他和他的伙伴

And sometimes, he and his cohort would chant that provocation

会在整个校车的路途上

不停的吆喝着这个挑衅，

the entire school bus ride,

去学校的45分钟，回家的45分钟，

45 minutes up, 45 minutes back:

"Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy!"

‘波西！波西！波西！波西！’

When I was in eighth grade, our science teacher told us

当我8年级（初中二年级）的时候，

我们的科学老师告诉我们，

that all male homosexuals develop fecal incontinence

所有的男性同性恋者

都会大便失禁

because of the trauma to their anal sphincter.

因为他们的肛门肌肉受到创伤。

我直到高中毕业，

And I graduated high school without ever going to the cafeteria,

我都从没去过学校的食堂，

where I would have sat with the girls and been laughed at for doing so,

在那儿我如果和女生坐在一起，

那么我会被笑话，

or sat with the boys,

或者如果我和男生坐在一起

and been laughed at for being a boy who should be sitting with the girls.

那么我会被笑话为一个

本应该跟女生坐在一起的男生。

我用了忍耐加上逃避，

I survived that childhood through a mix of avoidance and endurance.

才熬过了我的童年。

What I didn't know then

我当时不知道，

and do know now,

但我现在明白了：

逃避和忍耐

is that avoidance and endurance can be the entryway to forging meaning.

是铸造意义的入口通道。

铸造了意义以后，

After you've forged meaning,

you need to incorporate that meaning into a new identity.

你必须把这个意义融入

一个新的身份。

You need to take the traumas

你需要把创伤变成

and make them part of who you've come to be,

你自身的一部分，

and you need to fold the worst events of your life

你必须把生命中最糟糕的时间，

揉搓成胜利的故事，

into a narrative of triumph,

evincing a better self in response to things that hurt.

用更好的自己

来还击能伤害你的事物。

One of the other mothers I interviewed when I was working on my book

我在写我的书时，

访问了一位母亲，

had been raped as an adolescent,

她年少时被强奸，

而在那之后她怀了孩子，

and had a child following that rape,

这摧毁了她的事业计划

which had thrown away her career plans

也使她的情感关系受创。

and damaged all of her emotional relationships.

当我遇见她时，她已经50岁了，

But when I met her, she was 50,

and I said to her,

我问她，

"Do you often think about the man who raped you?"

“你常想起那个强奸你的男人吗？”

而她回答道：“我曾经对他很气愤，

And she said, "I used to think about him with anger,

but now only with pity."

但现在只有怜悯。”

我以为她所说的怜悯是因为

And I thought she meant pity because he was so unevolved

只有粗鄙的男人才能做出如此不堪的事情。

as to have done this terrible thing.

And I said, "Pity?"

我问她：“怜悯？”

And she said, "Yes,

她回答到：“是的，

因为他有一个美丽的女儿

because he has a beautiful daughter and two beautiful grandchildren,

和两个美丽的孙子孙女

但他并不知道，而我知道。

and he doesn't know that,

and I do.

So as it turns out,

所以显然，我是幸运的。”

I'm the lucky one."

Some of our struggles are things we're born to:

有些挣扎是先天的：

our gender, our sexuality, our race, our disability.

我们的性别，性倾向，种族，残疾。

And some are things that happen to us:

有些是后天发生的事情：

being a political prisoner, being a rape victim,

成为政治犯，成为强奸的受害者，

being a Katrina survivor.

成为飓风卡特里娜的幸存者。

Identity involves entering a community

身份意味着进入一个社群

to draw strength from that community,

从社群中得到力量，

and to give strength there, too.

并同时给予那社群力量。

It involves substituting "and" for "but" --

这需要把“但是”转换成“而且”

不是“我在这儿但是我有癌症”

not "I am here but I have cancer,"

but rather, "I have cancer and I am here."

而是，“我有癌症而且我在这里。”

When we're ashamed, we can't tell our stories,

当我们对自己感到惭愧，

我们就无法阐述自己的故事，

and stories are the foundation

而故事是身份的基础。

of identity.

Forge meaning,

铸造意义，建立身份，

build identity.

铸造意义并建立身份，

Forge meaning and build identity.

这变成了我的口头禅。

That became my mantra.

铸造意义所需要的是改变自己。

Forging meaning is about changing yourself.

Building identity is about changing the world.

建立身份所需要的是改变世界。

All of us with stigmatized identities face this question daily:

所有像我这样身份沾有污点的人

每天都必须面对这个问题：

我该多大限度地通过禁锢自己

How much to accommodate society by constraining ourselves,

来迁就社会

and how much to break the limits

我该多大限度地打破所谓

of what constitutes a valid life?

正确生活的底线？

铸造意义和建立身份

Forging meaning and building identity

does not make what was wrong right.

不会把错的变成对的。

It only makes what was wrong precious.

只会把错误的变得珍贵。

今年一月，

In January of this year,

I went to Myanmar to interview political prisoners,

我前往缅甸访问政治囚犯，

and I was surprised to find them less bitter than I'd anticipated.

而我惊讶地发现他们

没有我想象中的那么怀恨。

Most of them had knowingly committed the offenses

他们大多在知情的情况下

犯下了让他们入狱的罪行，

that landed them in prison,

and they had walked in with their heads held high,

而他们昂首挺胸地走入监狱，

and they walked out with their heads still held high,

多年后，他们依然昂首

地走出监狱。

many years later.

Dr. Ma Thida, a leading human rights activist

马提达博士，一位人活跃的权运动领袖

曾经几乎丧命于狱中

who had nearly died in prison

and had spent many years in solitary confinement,

并在单独禁锢中度过多年，

told me she was grateful to her jailers for the time she had had to think,

但她告诉我她很感谢她的囚监

给她思考的时间，

for the wisdom she had gained,

让她得到了许多的智慧，

for the chance to hone her meditation skills.

和增进她的沉思的能力。

She had sought meaning

她追寻了意义，

and made her travail into a crucial identity.

并把她受的难变成了重要的身份。

But if the people I met were less bitter than I'd anticipated

但如果我见到的人们

没我想象的中那么怀恨

about being in prison,

他们在狱中的时间，

they were also less thrilled than I'd expected

他们也没有我想象的

about the reform process going on in their country.

对他们国家的政治改革

那么高兴。

Ma Thida said,

马提达说：

"We Burmese are noted for our tremendous grace under pressure,

“我们缅甸人出了名的

在压力下能保持优雅，

but we also have grievance under glamour."

但在华丽表象下却有不满，”

She said, "And the fact that there have been these shifts and changes

他说道，“我们曾经历

这些动荡和改变

doesn't erase the continuing problems in our society

并不能消除我们

在狱中学会看清的

社会中

that we learned to see so well while we were in prison."

长久以来的问题。”

I understood her to be saying

而我所理解她所说的是

that concessions confer only a little humanity

相比完整的人性所需要的，

妥协换来的只是一小部分的人性

where full humanity is due;

that crumbs are not the same as a place at the table.

这就像面包屑并不等于

饭桌前就餐的位置

Which is to say,

而这意味着你可以在铸造意义

you can forge meaning and build identity

和寻求身份的同时十分气愤。

and still be mad as hell.

I've never been raped,

我不曾被强奸，

and I've never been in anything remotely approaching a Burmese prison.

我也不曾体验过任何

接近缅甸监狱的事情，

但身为一名同性恋的美国人，

But as a gay American,

我经历过歧视甚至仇恨，

I've experienced prejudice and even hatred,

而我也曾铸造过意义和建造了身份，

and I've forged meaning

and I've built identity,

which is a move I learned from people

这是我从经历过比我

who had experienced far worse privation than I've ever known.

更多困苦的人身上

学习到的法则。

我年少时，

In my own adolescence,

I went to extreme lengths to try to be straight.

曾经千辛万苦地努力成为异性恋者。

我为自己报名参加了称为

I enrolled myself in something called "sexual surrogacy therapy,"

性替代品的疗法。

in which people I was encouraged to call doctors

所谓的医生为我

和所谓替代品女人

prescribed what I was encouraged to call exercises

规定了所谓的练习，

with women I was encouraged to call surrogates,

who were not exactly prostitutes

她们并不是妓女，

但除了妓女却也什么都不是。

but who were also not exactly anything else.

（笑声）

(Laughter)

My particular favorite was a blonde woman from the Deep South

我最喜爱的

是从南部来的一位金发女郎，

who eventually admitted to me that she was really a necrophiliac,

她最终向我坦白

她是个恋尸癖

and had taken this job after she got in trouble

在她在停尸房中出了事儿后，

down at the morgue.

才接受了这份工作。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

These experiences eventually allowed me to have

这些经历最终让我和一些女人

some happy physical relationships with women,

发生了愉快的肉体关系，

for which I'm grateful.

我对此抱有感激，

但我也和自己不断的战斗，

But I was at war with myself,

and I dug terrible wounds into my own psyche.

我在自身的心灵里划下了了严重的伤。

We don't seek the painful experiences

我们不寻求揉搓出我们身份

that hew our identities,

的那些惨痛经验

but we seek our identities

但我们在惨痛的经验之后，

却会追寻我们的身份。

in the wake of painful experiences.

We cannot bear a pointless torment,

我们不能承担无谓的痛苦，

but we can endure great pain

但如果我们认定它是有意义的，

我们就能忍受巨大的痛苦。

if we believe that it's purposeful.

Ease makes less of an impression on us

安逸比起挣扎并不会对

than struggle.

我们留下深刻的印象。

We could have been ourselves without our delights,

没有了喜悦，我们还会是我们，

but not without the misfortunes that drive our search for meaning.

但没有了促使我们追寻意义的不幸

我们就不是现今的自己。

"Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities,"

“所以，我在不幸中得到快乐，”

圣保罗在第二哥林多前书中写道，

St. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians,

"for when I am weak, then I am strong."

”当我软弱时，我是坚强的。“

1988年，我前往莫斯科

In 1988, I went to Moscow to interview artists

采访苏联的地下艺术家，

of the Soviet underground.

我本以为他们的作品

I expected their work to be dissident and political.

会是持不同意见的和政治性的。

But the radicalism in their work

但是他们作品中的激进其实在

actually lay in reinserting humanity into a society

把人性重新注入

that was annihilating humanity itself,

在毁灭人性的社会中，

as, in some senses, Russian society is now doing again.

正如，在某程度上，

现今的俄罗斯社会再一次在做的。

我遇到的其中一名艺术家对我说，

One of the artists I met said to me,

"We were in training to be not artists but angels."

"我们正在苦炼成为天使，而不是艺术家。”

1991年，我回到莫斯科拜访这些

In 1991, I went back to see the artists I'd been writing about,

我曾写过的艺术家,

and I was with them during the putsch that ended the Soviet Union.

我和他们一起度过了，

终结苏联的政变，

而他们是抵抗政变

And they were among the chief organizers of the resistance to that putsch.

的主要组织者之一。

And on the third day of the putsch,

在政变的第三天，

one of them suggested we walk up to Smolenskaya.

他们其中的一员建议我们去斯莫兰卡雅（莫斯科地名）。

And we went there,

我们去了那里，

然后我们列好队站在一个街垒前，

and we arranged ourselves in front of one of the barricades,

过了一会儿，

and a little while later,

a column of tanks rolled up.

一列坦克车开来了，

And the soldier on the front tank said,

最前方的坦克车士兵说，

“我们有无条件的命令

"We have unconditional orders to destroy this barricade.

要摧毁这个街垒。

如果你们让开，

If you get out of the way, we don't need to hurt you.

我们不需伤害你们，

但如果你们待在这儿，我们没办法

But if you won't move, we'll have no choice but to run you down."

只能压过你们。”

The artist I was with said, "Give us just a minute.

和我在一起的艺术家们说，

“给我们一分钟，

给我们一分钟告诉你我们为什么在这里。”

Give us just a minute to tell you why we're here."

And the soldier folded his arms,

那个士兵把双臂交叉在胸前，

and the artist launched into a Jeffersonian panegyric to democracy

那名艺术家开始以杰斐逊式的民主颂词，

这是我们这些生活在

such as those of us who live in a Jeffersonian democracy

杰斐逊式的民主社会的人

would be hard-pressed to present.

也苦于表达的。

And they went on and on,

他们滔滔不绝地说着，

and the soldier watched.

而那名士兵看着他们，

And then he sat there for a full minute after they were finished

知道他们说完了之后，

他坐在那里待了整整一分钟，

看着我们这群落汤鸡，

and looked at us, so bedraggled in the rain,

and said, "What you have said is true,

然后说，“你们说的是事实，

and we must bow to the will of the people.

而我们必须听从民意。

如果你们让出足够的位置让我们掉头，

If you'll clear enough space for us to turn around,

we'll go back the way we came."

我们会原路返回。”

而他们果真这样做了。

And that's what they did.

Sometimes, forging meaning can give you the vocabulary you need

有时，铸造意义

能给你所需要的辞藻

来争取你最终的自由。

to fight for your ultimate freedom.

Russia awakened me to the lemonade notion

俄罗斯让我意识到逆境求生的概念：

that oppression breeds the power to oppose it.

剥削会繁衍抵抗剥削的力量，

And I gradually understood that as the cornerstone of identity.

而我逐渐明白了这是

身份的基石。

身份从伤痛中拯救了我。

It took identity to rescue me from sadness.

The gay rights movement posits a world

同性恋权利运动憧憬一个

in which my aberrances are a victory.

我的畸形是一种胜利。

Identity politics always works on two fronts:

身份的政治总是从两方面出发：

to give pride to people who have a given condition or characteristic,

给有特殊情况或特征的人

应有的自豪；

and to cause the outside world to treat such people

和让外在的世界

温柔地善待这些人。

more gently and more kindly.

这是两种不同的途径，

Those are two totally separate enterprises,

but progress in each sphere reverberates in the other.

但不管哪个方面的进展

都会在另一方面造成回响。

Identity politics can be narcissistic.

身份的政治可以变成自恋的。

People extol a difference only because it's theirs.

人们称赞不同只是应为那是他们自身的。

People narrow the world and function in discrete groups

人们把世界窄化，

形成个体，对他人毫无同情。

without empathy for one another.

但如果它得以正确的理解

But properly understood and wisely practiced,

和理智的运用，

identity politics should expand our idea of what it is to be human.

身份的政治应该

扩充我们对人性的概念。

身份自身

Identity itself should be not a smug label or a gold medal,

不应是让人自满的标签

或是一枚金牌

but a revolution.

但应是一个革命。

I would have had an easier life if I were straight,

如果我是异性恋，我的生活会轻松很多，

but I would not be me.

但我不会是我，

And I now like being myself better

我现在比较喜欢做我自己

than the idea of being someone else,

而不想成为另一个人，

说实话，

someone who, to be honest,

I have neither the option of being nor the ability fully to imagine.

我无法成为,

也无法想象其他人。

But if you banish the dragons, you banish the heroes,

但如果你驱逐了恶龙，

你也同时驱逐了英雄，

and we become attached to the heroic strain in our own lives.

而我们无法放下

我们生命中英雄的那一部分。

I've sometimes wondered

我有时候会问自己

whether I could have ceased to hate that part of myself

如果没有同性恋权益的色彩斑斓，

without gay pride's technicolor fiesta,

(这个演讲就是其显像之一），

of which this speech is one manifestation.

我能否停止憎恨自己的那一部分。

(Laughter)

I used to think I would know myself to be mature

我曾经认为当我是同性恋者，

when I could simply be gay without emphasis.

却不加宣扬时，我就成熟了，

But the self-loathing of that period left a void,

但那段时间的自厌留下了一个洞，

and celebration needs to fill and overflow it,

需要靠庆祝来填满和倾注，

and even if I repay my private debt of melancholy,

就算我还清了我自身的悲伤，

there's still an outer world of homophobia

外在的同性恋恐惧症还是存在的

that it will take decades to address.

那需要几十年的时间来解决。

Someday, being gay will be a simple fact,

有一天，同性恋身份会是个简单的事实，

free of party hats and blame.

没有夸耀或指责，

But not yet.

但现在不是这样。

我有个朋友，他认为

A friend of mine who thought gay pride was getting very carried away with itself,

同性恋权益忘乎所以，

once suggested that we organize Gay Humility Week.

他提议我们举行

同性恋“谦卑”一周。

(Laughter)

（笑声）（掌声）

(Applause)

It's a great idea.

这是个好主意，

(Laughter)

但它的时间未到。

But its time has not yet come.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And neutrality, which seems to lie halfway between despair and celebration,

而中立，这似乎

在绝望和庆祝中间的东西，

is actually the endgame.

才是最终的目标。

In 29 states in the US,

在美国有29个州，

法律准许我因为同性恋身份，

I could legally be fired or denied housing

for being gay.

而被开除或被拒之门外。

In Russia, the anti-propaganda law

在俄罗斯，反政治宣传法

导致人们在大街上被殴打。

has led to people being beaten in the streets.

二十七个非洲国家

Twenty-seven African countries have passed laws against sodomy.

立法严禁肛交，

在尼日利亚，同性恋者

And in Nigeria, gay people can legally be stoned to death,

可以合法地被处于石刑,

and lynchings have become common.

私刑也最近变得越发常见

In Saudi Arabia recently,

近日在沙特阿拉伯，两个被逮到

two men who had been caught in carnal acts

在发生肉体关系的男人，

were sentenced to 7,000 lashes each,

每人被判了7000下的鞭刑，

而现在变得终身残疾。

and are now permanently disabled as a result.

So who can forge meaning

那谁能铸造意义

and build identity?

和建立身份呢？

同性恋权益不主要是婚姻权益，

Gay rights are not primarily marriage rights,

and for the millions who live in unaccepting places

而对数以百万生活在不包容

with no resources,

和缺少资源地方的人们，

dignity remains elusive.

尊严是可望而不可及的。

我很幸运，能够铸造意义

I am lucky to have forged meaning

和建造身份，

and built identity,

但这是少有的特权，

but that's still a rare privilege.

And gay people deserve more, collectively,

同性恋者群体应得到的

than the crumbs of justice.

不只是一点点的正义。

And yet,

然而，每点进步

every step forward is so sweet.

都是甜蜜的。

In 2007, six years after we met,

在2007年，在我和我的伴侣

my partner and I decided to get married.

相识六年后，

我们决定结婚。

Meeting John had been the discovery of great happiness

遇见约翰让我找到了

巨大的快乐，

and also the elimination of great unhappiness.

也去除了庞大的不快乐，

And sometimes, I was so occupied with the disappearance of all that pain,

有时候，我太在乎着

痛苦的消失，

that I forgot about the joy,

而忘了喜悦，

它一开始并不是那么的起眼。

which was at first the less remarkable part of it to me.

Marrying was a way to declare our love

婚姻是我们宣扬我们爱的存在

as more a presence than an absence.

而不是缺憾。

Marriage soon led us to children,

婚姻很快把我们引导向孩子，

and that meant new meanings

而这意味着新的意义

and new identities -- ours and theirs.

和新的身份，我们的和他们的。

I want my children to be happy,

我要我的孩子们开心，

and I love them most achingly when they are sad.

在他们伤心时，我最疼他们。

As a gay father, I can teach them to own what is wrong in their lives,

作为一名同性恋的父亲，我可以教导他们

去理解他们生命中的错误，

but I believe that if I succeed in sheltering them from adversity,

但我相信如果我成功地

让他们远离逆境，

I will have failed as a parent.

那我身为父亲是失败的。

A Buddhist scholar I know once explained to me

我认识的一位佛教学者曾向我解释

that Westerners mistakenly think

西方人错误地认为

涅磐降临在所有疾苦消逝

that nirvana is what arrives when all your woe is behind you,

只剩下

and you have only bliss to look forward to.

幸福在眼前的时候。

但他说这不是涅磐，

But he said that would not be nirvana,

because your bliss in the present

因为你现今的幸福

总会被以前的喜悦掩盖。

would always be shadowed by the joy from the past.

Nirvana, he said, is what you arrive at

以他来看，涅磐的降临，

when you have only bliss to look forward to

是当你眼前只有幸福，

而在看起来像是悲伤里

and find in what looked like sorrows the seedlings of your joy.

也能找到喜悦的种子。

And I sometimes wonder

有时候我在想

如果婚姻和孩子

whether I could have found such fulfillment in marriage and children

来得更容易些，

if they'd come more readily,

我是否会找到这样的满足，

而如果我年轻时是异性恋，或我还年轻，

if I'd been straight in my youth or were young now,

它们会让事情变得简单。

in either of which cases this might be easier.

Perhaps I could.

也许我会的。

也许我做过的所有的复杂事情

Perhaps all the complex imagining I've done

could have been applied to other topics.

都可以应用在其他的议题上。

But if seeking meaning matters more than finding meaning,

但如果寻求意义

比找到意义更重要，

那问题不是我是不是因为被欺负

the question is not whether I'd be happier for having been bullied,

而更加快乐，

but whether assigning meaning to those experiences

而是这些被赋予意义

的经历

has made me a better father.

是否让我成为更好的父亲。

I tend to find the ecstasy hidden in ordinary joys,

我常常发现在普通的快乐中躲藏的狂喜，

because I did not expect those joys to be ordinary to me.

因为我不认定这些快乐

对我来说是普通的。

我认识许多异性恋者他们

I know many heterosexuals who have equally happy marriages and families,

有着同样快乐的婚姻和家庭，

but gay marriage is so breathtakingly fresh,

但同性婚姻是那么的让人赞叹的新鲜，

同性家庭是那么的令人振奋的新奇，

and gay families so exhilaratingly new,

and I found meaning in that surprise.

而我在这惊喜中找到了意义。

In October, it was my 50th birthday,

10月是我的50岁生日，

我的家人为我举办了派对，

and my family organized a party for me.

And in the middle of it, my son said to my husband

在进行到一半时，

我的儿子对我的先生说

that he wanted to make a speech.

他想要演讲，

约翰说，

And John said,

“乔治，你不能演讲，你才四岁。”

"George, you can't make a speech. You're four."

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"Only Grandpa and Uncle David and I are going to make speeches tonight."

“今晚只有爷爷和大卫叔叔

和我要演讲。”

But George insisted and insisted,

但是乔治一再的坚持，

and finally, John took him up to the microphone,

终于，约翰把他带到了麦克风前，

and George said very loudly,

然后乔治很大声的说，

"Ladies and gentlemen!

“女士们先生们，

May I have your attention, please?"

请大家注意一下。”

And everyone turned around, startled.

大家都转过身来，惊呆了，

乔治说道，

And George said,

"I'm glad it's daddy's birthday.

“我很高兴今天是爹爹的生日。

I'm glad we all get cake.

我很高兴有蛋糕吃。

还有，爹爹，如果你还是小孩，

And Daddy, if you were little,

我会做你的朋友。”

I'd be your friend."

(Gasp)

And I thought -- (Applause)

而我想 （ 谢谢）

Thank you.

我想我甚至对鲍比

I thought that I was indebted even to Bobby Finkel,

都有亏欠，

because all those earlier experiences

应为所有这些先前的经历

were what had propelled me to this moment,

把我带到了现在这一刻，

and I was finally unconditionally grateful

而我终于无条件地感激

for a life I'd once have done anything to change.

这个我一度千方百计想要改变的人生

一个年轻的同性恋男人

The gay activist Harvey Milk was once asked by a younger gay man

曾问过同性恋运动人士哈维·米尔克

what he could do to help the movement,

他能为这个运动做点什么,

哈维·米尔克说，

and Harvey Milk said,

"Go out and tell someone."

“出去告诉一个人。”

世上总是有人

There's always somebody who wants to confiscate our humanity.

想要没收我们的人性

但也总是有恢复人性的故事。

And there are always stories that restore it.

If we live out loud,

如果我们活出精彩，

we can trounce the hatred,

我们就能战胜憎恨

拓宽众人的生命。

and expand everyone's lives.

Forge meaning.

铸造意义，建立身份

Build identity.

Forge meaning.

铸造意义,

Build identity.

建立身份。

然后邀请世界

And then invite the world to share your joy.

共享你的喜悦。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。（掌声）

(Applause)

Thank you.

谢谢。（掌声）

(Applause)

Thank you.

谢谢。（掌声）

(Applause)