Why I love a country that once betrayed me | George Takei

譯者: Hui-Ting Yu 審譯者: 盟傑 陳

I'm a veteran of the starship Enterprise.

我是進取號星艦的一名老兵。

I soared through the galaxy

我在星系中遨遊，

driving a huge starship

駕駛著一艘巨大的星艦。

with a crew made up of people

艦隊裡有

from all over this world,

來自世界各地的人們，

many different races, many different cultures,

有許多不同的種族和文化、

many different heritages,

許多不同的傳統，

all working together,

融合得如此緊密。

and our mission was to explore strange new worlds,

我們的使命是探索新奇的世界，

to seek out new life and new civilizations,

搜尋新生命和新文明，

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

勇敢地前往沒人去過的地方。

Well —

好。

(Applause) —

（掌聲）

I am the grandson of immigrants from Japan

我是日本移民的第三代，

who went to America,

我的祖父母來到美國，

boldly going to a strange new world,

勇敢地踏進一個新奇的世界，

seeking new opportunities.

尋找新的機會。

My mother was born in Sacramento, California.

我母親出生在加州的薩克拉門托市，

My father was a San Franciscan.

我父親是舊金山人。

They met and married in Los Angeles,

他們在洛杉磯相遇相知又相愛結婚，

and I was born there.

我也是在那兒出生的。

I was four years old

我四歲的時候

when Pearl Harbor was bombed

爆發了由日本轟炸珍珠港的珍珠港事件，

on December 7, 1941 by Japan,

那天是 1941 年 12 月 7 號。

and overnight, the world was plunged

一夜之間，全世界投入了

into a world war.

一場世界大戰。

America suddenly was swept up

美國突然捲入了

by hysteria.

歇斯底里的狂熱。

Japanese-Americans,

日裔美國人

American citizens of Japanese ancestry,

和有日本血統的美國公民

were looked on

被人用

with suspicion and fear

懷疑和恐懼，

and with outright hatred

甚至是赤裸裸的仇恨的眼光看待，

simply because we happened to look like

只是因為我們正好看起來

the people that bombed Pearl Harbor.

像偷襲珍珠港的壞人。

And the hysteria grew and grew

這場狂熱越演越烈。

until in February 1942,

直到 1942 年 2 月，

the president of the United States,

美國總統

Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

佛蘭克林•羅斯福

ordered all Japanese-Americans

命令所有的

on the West Coast of America

美國西海岸的日裔美國人

to be summarily rounded up

匆忙地集中在一起，

with no charges, with no trial,

沒有指控、沒有審判

with no due process.

也沒有合法訴訟程序。

Due process, this is a core pillar

合法訴訟程序

of our justice system.

這個我們法律系统的支柱

That all disappeared.

蕩然無存。

We were to be rounded up

我們被趕成一團

and imprisoned in 10 barbed-wire prison camps

囚禁在有十個帶刺鐵絲網的監獄營裡，

in some of the most desolate places in America:

就在美國最荒蕪人煙的地方：

the blistering hot desert of Arizona,

亞利桑那州炙熱的沙漠、

the sultry swamps of Arkansas,

阿肯薩斯州悶熱的沼澤、

the wastelands of Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado,

懷歐明州、愛德華州、猶他州和科羅拉多州的荒地，

and two of the most desolate places in California.

以及加州最荒漠人煙的兩個地方。

On April 20th, I celebrated my fifth birthday,

4 月 20 日，我慶祝了我五歲的生日。

and just a few weeks after my birthday,

我生日的幾個星期以後，

my parents got my younger brother,

我父母把我弟弟

my baby sister and me

我和還在繈褓裡的妹妹

up very early one morning,

早早地叫醒，

and they dressed us hurriedly.

他們匆匆地給我們穿上衣服。

My brother and I were in the living room

我弟弟和我在客廳

looking out the front window,

透過窗戶望外看。

and we saw two soldiers marching up our driveway.

我們看到兩個士兵走到家門前的車道。

They carried bayonets on their rifles.

他們的步槍上有刺刀，

They stomped up the front porch

他們踩著沉重的步子來到前門廊，

and banged on the door.

然後使勁地敲門。

My father answered it,

我父親去開了門，

and the soldiers ordered us out of our home.

士兵們命令我們馬上離開我們的家。

My father gave my brother and me

我父親讓我和弟弟

small luggages to carry,

提小件行李。

and we walked out and stood on the driveway

然後我們走出了家門，在停車道站著

waiting for our mother to come out,

等我母親出來。

and when my mother finally came out,

我母親終於出來時，

she had our baby sister in one arm,

她一手抱著我的小妹妹，

a huge duffel bag in the other,

一手提著一個大旅行袋，

and tears were streaming down both her cheeks.

淚水從她的臉頰流下。

I will never be able to forget that scene.

我永遠也不會忘記那一幕，

It is burned into my memory.

它深深地烙上了我的記憶。

We were taken from our home

我們被趕出家門，

and loaded on to train cars

然後上了火車車廂，

with other Japanese-American families.

和別的在美國的日本家庭待在一起。

There were guards stationed

守衛駐守在

at both ends of each car,

每個車廂的兩頭，

as if we were criminals.

好像我們是犯人一樣。

We were taken two thirds of the way across the country,

我們被迫旅行了全美三分之二的距離，

rocking on that train for four days and three nights,

在火車上顛簸了四天三夜

to the swamps of Arkansas.

來到阿肯薩斯的沼澤地。

I still remember the barbed wire fence

我還記得

that confined me.

監禁我的鐵絲網圍欄。

I remember the tall sentry tower

我記得高高的哨兵塔上

with the machine guns pointed at us.

對著我們的機關槍。

I remember the searchlight that followed me

我記得當我晚上起來

when I made the night runs

從我的營房跑到廁所的時候

from my barrack to the latrine.

沿途照著我的探照燈。

But to five-year-old me,

但是對於五歲的我來說，

I thought it was kind of nice that they'd lit the way

我以為上廁所時他們為我照明

for me to pee.

是出於好心。

I was a child,

我當時只是個孩子，

too young to understand the circumstances

那時我還太小

of my being there.

不懂我的處境。

Children are amazingly adaptable.

孩子們有驚人的適應力。

What would be grotesquely abnormal

在別的情況下可能是 荒誕不經的不正常現象，

became my normality

在戰爭集中營裡

in the prisoner of war camps.

卻成為了我的常理。

It became routine for me to line up three times a day

我每天的例行工作是排三次隊，

to eat lousy food in a noisy mess hall.

在嘈雜髒亂的大廳裡吃很難吃的飯。

It became normal for me to go with my father

和我爸爸一起去

to bathe in a mass shower.

大澡堂裡洗澡成為很正常的事。

Being in a prison, a barbed-wire prison camp,

住在鐵絲網的監獄裡

became my normality.

成為一種常態。

When the war ended,

當戰爭結束的時候

we were released,

我們被釋放了，

and given a one-way ticket

並拿到了一張單程票

to anywhere in the United States.

能去美國的任何地方。

My parents decided to go back home

我父母決定回家，

to Los Angeles,

回洛杉磯。

but Los Angeles was not a welcoming place.

但是洛杉磯不是個 很歡迎我們的地方。

We were penniless.

我們身無分文，

Everything had been taken from us,

我們所有的東西都被已經奪走了，

and the hostility was intense.

而且當時的敵對情緒強烈。

Our first home was on Skid Row

我們的第一個家在貧民窟，

in the lowest part of our city,

在我們城市最落魄的地方，

living with derelicts, drunkards

和無家可歸的流浪漢、醉鬼

and crazy people,

和瘋子為鄰。

the stench of urine all over,

到處都彌漫著尿的臭味，

on the street, in the alley,

在大街上、在小巷子裡、

in the hallway.

在過道上。

It was a horrible experience,

這是很一種可怕的經歷。

and for us kids, it was terrorizing.

對我們孩子來說，這是恐怖的經歷。

I remember once

我記得有一次

a drunkard came staggering down,

一個醉鬼搖搖晃晃地向我們走來，

fell down right in front of us,

正好在我們面前摔倒，

and threw up.

還吐了一地。

My baby sister said, "Mama, let's go back home,"

我小妹說：「媽媽，我們回家吧。」

because behind barbed wires

因為那鐵絲網裡的地方，

was for us

對我們來說

home.

就是我們的家。

My parents worked hard

我父母辛辛苦苦地工作，

to get back on their feet.

為了重新站起來。

We had lost everything.

我們失去了一切，

They were at the middle of their lives

他們已是中年人了，

and starting all over.

還要重新開始。

They worked their fingers to the bone,

他們賣命工作，

and ultimately they were able

終於他們能

to get the capital together to buy

買得起

a three-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood.

一個好地段中有三房的房子。

And I was a teenager,

我是一個十幾歲的少年，

and I became very curious

我對童年的監禁經歷

about my childhood imprisonment.

非常好奇。

I had read civics books that told me about

我讀了有關公民權利的書，

the ideals of American democracy.

書上闡明了美國民主的理想典範。

All men are created equal,

人生來平等，

we have an inalienable right

我們有對生命、自由和追求幸福的

to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,

不可被剝奪的權利。

and I couldn't quite make that fit

我卻不能使其所說

with what I knew to be my childhood imprisonment.

和我童年時代囚禁的經歷有所吻合。

I read history books,

我讀歷史書，

and I couldn't find anything about it.

我無法找到有關那段歷史的講述。

And so I engaged my father after dinner

晚飯後，我纏著爸爸

in long, sometimes heated conversations.

進行長時間、有時是熱烈的討論。

We had many, many conversations like that,

我們進行過很多很多對話。

and what I got from them

我得到的是

was my father's wisdom.

父親的智慧。

He was the one that suffered the most

在那種監禁的條件下

under those conditions of imprisonment,

他吃的苦頭最多，

and yet he understood American democracy.

然而他理解美國民主。

He told me that our democracy

他告訴我，我們的民主

is a people's democracy,

是人民的民主。

and it can be as great as the people can be,

所以它和人民一樣偉大，

but it is also as fallible as people are.

也和人民一樣容易犯錯誤。

He told me that American democracy

他告訴我美國民主

is vitally dependent on good people

極度依賴好人，

who cherish the ideals of our system

那些珍視我們制度理念的好人，

and actively engage in the process

積極參與這樣的過程，

of making our democracy work.

讓我們的民主正常運行。

And he took me to a campaign headquarters —

他把我帶到選舉總部，

the governor of Illinois was running for the presidency —

當時伊利諾州長在競選總統，

and introduced me to American electoral politics.

他向我介紹了美國選舉政治。

And he also told me about

他告訴我

young Japanese-Americans

年輕的日裔美國人

during the Second World War.

在第二次世界大戰的故事。

When Pearl Harbor was bombed,

當珍珠港被炸後，

young Japanese-Americans, like all young Americans,

年輕的日裔美國人 像所有的美國年輕人一樣，

rushed to their draft board

奔赴到招兵站

to volunteer to fight for our country.

自願為我們國家戰鬥。

That act of patriotism

那樣的愛國行動

was answered with a slap in the face.

卻如同被以賞了一記耳光回應。

We were denied service,

我們參軍被拒，

and categorized as enemy non-alien.

並被歸類為敵對的非外國人。

It was outrageous to be called an enemy

當你自願為祖國戰鬥

when you're volunteering to fight for your country,

卻被叫做敵人是讓你不堪忍受的。

but that was compounded with the word "non-alien,"

但是這個詞卻和「非外國人」一起用，

which is a word that means

解釋為

"citizen" in the negative.

否定意義上的「公民」。

They even took the word "citizen" away from us,

他們甚至把「公民」這個詞 從我們這兒奪走，

and imprisoned them for a whole year.

把我們監禁了一年。

And then the government realized

然後政府意識到

that there's a wartime manpower shortage,

戰爭時期人力短缺。

and as suddenly as they'd rounded us up,

正如他們突然把我們關起來一樣，

they opened up the military for service

他們讓年輕的

by young Japanese-Americans.

日裔美國人為軍隊服務。

It was totally irrational,

這完全是不可理喻的。

but the amazing thing,

這件令人吃驚的事、

the astounding thing,

這件令人震驚的事，

is that thousands of young

就是成百上千的

Japanese-American men and women

日裔美國人，男人和女人，

again went from behind those barbed-wire fences,

又重新從鐵絲網的後邊走出來

put on the same uniform as that of our guards,

穿上與我們的看守一樣的制服，

leaving their families in imprisonment,

離開還在被監禁的家人

to fight for this country.

去為祖國而戰。

They said that they were going to fight

他們說他們奔赴前線戰鬥，

not only to get their families out

不僅是為了把他們的家人

from behind those barbed-wire fences,

從鐵絲網後解救出來，

but because they cherished the very ideal

而且還是因為他們珍惜

of what our government stands for,

我們的政府代表的價值

should stand for,

和應該代表的價值。

and that was being abrogated

那個價值

by what was being done.

被發生的事情所破壞。

All men are created equal.

人生來平等，

And they went to fight for this country.

他們去為這個國家戰鬥，

They were put into a segregated

他們被編進完全由

all Japanese-American unit

日裔美國人組成的連隊，

and sent to the battlefields of Europe,

被派到歐洲戰場。

and they threw themselves into it.

他們全力以赴投入戰鬥，

They fought with amazing,

用不可想像的勇氣和勇敢

incredible courage and valor.

進行戰鬥。

They were sent out on the most dangerous missions

他們被派去執行最危險的使命，

and they sustained the highest combat casualty rate

在所有的連隊中，按照人數來算

of any unit proportionally.

他們有最高的死亡率。

There is one battle that illustrates that.

有一場戰役就是個很好的例子，

It was a battle for the Gothic Line.

那是一場爭奪哥德防線的戰役。

The Germans were embedded

德國人佈滿在

in this mountain hillside,

這個山坡上，

rocky hillside,

多岩石的山坡上，

in impregnable caves,

在堅不可摧的山洞裡。

and three allied battalions

同盟國三個營的士兵

had been pounding away at it

六個月以來

for six months,

一直被打退。

and they were stalemated.

戰役陷入了僵局。

The 442nd was called in

第 442 營被派來

to add to the fight,

參加戰役。

but the men of the 442nd

但是第 442 營的士兵

came up with a unique

想到一個獨特

but dangerous idea:

而又危險的想法來：

The backside of the mountain

山的背面

was a sheer rock cliff.

是陡峭的懸崖，

The Germans thought an attack from the backside

德國人一定會認為從背面進攻

would be impossible.

是不可能的。

The men of the 442nd decided to do the impossible.

442 兵團的士兵決定做件不可能的事。

On a dark, moonless night,

在一個漆黑沒月光的夜晚，

they began scaling that rock wall,

他們爬上了懸崖峭壁，

a drop of more than 1,000 feet,

垂直距離有一千多英尺。

in full combat gear.

他們全副武裝，

They climbed all night long

在那個懸崖峭壁上

on that sheer cliff.

爬了一整夜。

In the darkness,

在黑暗中，

some lost their handhold

有些人手沒有抓住，

or their footing

或者腳沒有站穩，

and they fell to their deaths

結果他們摔死了，

in the ravine below.

跌入深谷中。

They all fell silently.

他們靜靜地跌下去。

Not a single one cried out,

沒有一個人喊出聲來，

so as not to give their position away.

這樣他們就不會暴露他們的方位。

The men climbed for eight hours straight,

這些人整整爬了八小時，

and those who made it to the top

那些最後爬到山頂的人

stayed there until the first break of light,

靜靜地等在那兒，直到天亮。

and as soon as light broke,

天一亮，

they attacked.

他們就進攻了。

The Germans were surprised,

德國人驚訝極了，

and they took the hill

他們拿下了那座山

and broke the Gothic Line.

攻破了哥德防線。

A six-month stalemate

六個月的僵局

was broken by the 442nd

被 442 兵團

in 32 minutes.

用 32 分鐘打破了。

It was an amazing act,

這是一個令人欽佩之舉。

and when the war ended,

戰爭結束的時候，

the 442nd returned to the United States

442 兵團返回美國。

as the most decorated unit

他們是整個第二次世界大戰中

of the entire Second World War.

榮獲勳章最多的兵團。

They were greeted back on the White House Lawn

他們在白宮的草坪 受到了杜魯門總統的歡迎。

by President Truman, who said to them,

他對他們說：

"You fought not only the enemy

「你們不僅與敵人戰鬥，

but prejudice, and you won."

你們也和偏見鬥爭，你們終於贏了。」

They are my heroes.

他們是我的英雄。

They clung to their belief

他們堅持自己的信仰，

in the shining ideals of this country,

信仰這個國家閃光的理想。

and they proved that being an American

他們證明成為一個美國人

is not just for some people,

不僅僅是某些人的事情。

that race is not how we define being an American.

我們不該以種族來定義誰才是美國人。

They expanded what it means to be an American,

他們擴展了當美國人的含義，

including Japanese-Americans

包括日裔美國人，

that were feared and suspected and hated.

他們曾被人害怕過、懷疑過，甚至憎惡過。

They were change agents,

他們是變化劑。

and they left for me

他們留給我

a legacy.

精神財富。

They are my heroes

他們是我的英雄，

and my father is my hero,

我的父親是我的英雄。

who understood democracy

他理解民主，

and guided me through it.

並引導我理解它。

They gave me a legacy,

他們留給我精神財富，

and with that legacy comes a responsibility,

而伴隨這這筆財富是責任。

and I am dedicated

我致力於

to making my country

讓我們的國家

an even better America,

變成一個更好的美國。

to making our government

讓我們我們的政府

an even truer democracy,

變得更具有真實的民主。

and because of the heroes that I have

正因為我心目中的這些英雄，

and the struggles that we've gone through,

以及我們經歷過的奮鬥歷程，

I can stand before you

我可以站在各位跟前，

as a gay Japanese-American,

以美國日裔同性戀的身份，

but even more than that,

但不止如此，

I am a proud American.

我還是個驕傲的美國人。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝你們。

(Applause)

（掌聲）