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CaitlinQuattromaniandLauranArledge_2017X-_我们的友谊如何在相对立的政治立场中存活下来_
Caitlin Quattromani: The election of 2016 felt different. 凯特琳卡楚曼尼:2016 年的 选举感觉不太一样。
Political conversations with our family and friends uncovered a level of polarization that many of us had not previously experienced. 我们和家人及朋友之间的政治对话 呈现出某种程度的两极化对立, 这是我们许多人过去没有经历过的。
uncovered:adj.裸露的; v.揭开盖子; (uncover的过去式和过去分词) polarization:n.极化;偏振;两极分化; previously:adv.先前;以前;
People who we always thought were reasonable and intelligent seemed like strangers. 我们本来一直认为理性且有智慧的人 变得像陌生人一样。
reasonable:adj.合理的,公道的;通情达理的; intelligent:adj.有才智的;悟性强的;聪明的;有智力的
We said to ourselves, "How could you think that? 我们对自己说:「你怎么能那样想？
I thought you were smart." 我本来以为你很聪明。」
Lauran Arledge: Caitlin and I met in the summer of 2011, and we bonded around being working moms and trying to keep our very energetic boys busy. 萝伦亚雷吉:凯特琳和我 是在 2011 年暑假认识的, 我们都是在职妈妈,且试图让 精力过盛的儿子有事可以忙, 因而成为好友。
energetic:adj.精力充沛的;充满活力的;需要能量的;积极的;
And we soon found out we had almost everything in common. 我们很快就发现, 我们的共通点非常多。
From our love of Colorado to our love of sushi, there wasn't much we didn't agree on. 从我们对科罗拉多的爱, 到我们对寿司的爱, 我们几乎没有任何歧见。
Colorado:n.科罗拉多;[城]科罗拉多州;科罗拉多河;
We also discovered that we share a deep love of this country and feel a responsibility to be politically active. 我们也发现,我们都 对这个国家有深刻的爱, 且觉得有责任要参与政治活动。
politically:adv.政治上;
But no one's perfect -- 但没有人是完美的──
(Laughter) （笑声）
and I soon found out two disappointing things about Caitlin. 我很快就发现, 凯特琳有两点让我很失望。
disappointing:adj.令人失望的;v.使失望;使破灭;使落空(disappoint的现在分词)
First, she hates camping. 第一,她讨厌露营。
CQ: I think camping is the worst. 凯特琳:我认为露营是最糟糕的。
LA: So there would not be any joint camping trips in our future. 萝伦:所以我们未来 绝对不可能来趟露营之旅。
joint:n.关节; adj.共同的; v.连接,贴合;
The second thing is that she's politically active all right -- as a conservative . 第二,她的确积极参与政治活动, 但她是保守派。
conservative:adj.保守的;n.保守派,守旧者;
CQ: I may hate camping, but I love politics . 凯特琳:我也许 讨厌露营,但我爱政治。
politics:n.政治;钩心斗角;政治观点;v.(贬)从事政治活动;(politic的第三人称单数)
I listen to conservative talk radio just about every day, and I've volunteered for a few different conservative political campaigns. 我几乎每天都会听保守派的 谈话性广播节目, 我曾在几个不同的保守派 政治竞选活动当志工。
talk radio:n.电台听众热线节目; volunteered:v.自愿做;义务做;自愿参军;(volunteer的过去分词和过去式)
LA: And I'd say I'm a little to the left, like all the way to the left. 萝伦:我会说我有点偏左派, 一路到最左边的左派。
(Laughter) （笑声）
I've always been interested in politics. 我一向对政治很感兴趣。
I was a political science major, and I worked as a community organizer and on a congressional campaign. 我主修政治学, 我当过社区组织者, 也在国会竞选活动做过事。
political science:n.政治学; community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体; organizer:n.组织者;承办单位;[生物]组织导体; congressional:adj.国会的;会议的;议会的;
CQ: So as Lauran and I were getting to know each other, it was right in the middle of that 2012 presidential campaign, and most of our early political conversations were really just based in jokes and pranks . 凯特琳:萝伦与我开始认识彼此时, 正好是 2012 总统大选期间, 我们之前和政治有关的对话, 大多是玩笑和恶作剧。
presidential:adj.总统的;首长的;统辖的; pranks:n.恶作剧(prank的复数);v.盛装;打扮(prank的三单形式);
So as an example, I would change Lauran's computer screen saver to a picture of Mitt Romney, or she would put an Obama campaign magnet on the back of my car. 比如,我会把萝伦的 电脑萤幕保护程式 改成米特罗姆尼的照片, 或者她会把欧巴马的 竞选磁铁贴在我的车后面。
screen saver:n.屏幕保护程序; Mitt:n.手;棒球手套;连指手套;女用露指长手套; magnet:n.磁体;磁铁;磁石;吸铁石;
(Laughter) （笑声）
LA: Car, not minivan . 萝伦:是汽车,不是休旅车。
minivan:n.小型货车;
CQ: But over time, those conversations grew more serious and really became a core of our friendship. 凯特琳:但随时间过去, 那些对话开始变认真了, 真正成为了我们友谊的核心。
core:n.核心;要点;果心;[计]磁心;vt.挖...的核;
And somewhere along the line, we decided we didn't want to have any topic be off limits for discussion, even if those topics pushed us way outside of our friendship comfort zone . 在某个时点, 我们决定,我们不希望 有任何主题是禁止讨论的, 即便是会把我们 远远推出舒适圈的主题。
comfort zone:n.舒适区;最佳状态;
LA: And so to most of us, political conversations are a zero-sum game . 萝伦:对大多数人而言, 政治对谈是场零和游戏。
zero-sum game:零和博奕;
There's a winner and there's a loser. 有位赢家,有位输家。
We go for the attack and we spot a weakness in someone's argument. 我们要去攻击,我们要找出 某人论点中的弱点。
And here's the important part: we tend to take every comment or opinion that's expressed as a personal affront to our own values and beliefs. 重要的是这个部份: 我们会把表述出来的每个评论或意见 当作是针对我们 价值观及信念的冒犯。
expressed:v.表示;表达;显而易见;不言自明;(express的过去分词和过去式) personal:adj.个人的;身体的;亲自的;n.人事消息栏;人称代名词; affront:vt.冒犯,有意冒犯;面对;公开侮辱;n.轻蔑;公开侮辱;
But what if changed the way we think about these conversations? 但如果去改变我们 对这些谈话的看法呢？
what if:如果…怎么办?
What if, in these heated moments, we chose dialogue over debate ? 如果在这些激动的时刻, 我们选择对话,而非争论？
debate:n.辩论;争论;考虑;v.辩论;争论;考虑;
When we engage in dialogue, we flip the script . 当我们进行对话时, 我们会快速翻过剧本。
engage:v.吸引,占用;使参加;雇佣;使订婚;预定; flip:n.浏览;空翻;轻抛;捻掷;v.迅速翻动;按(开关);按(按钮);开(或关)(机器等); script:n.剧本;电影剧本;笔迹;广播(或讲话等)稿;v.为电影(或戏剧等)写剧本;
We replace our ego and our desire to win with curiosity , empathy and a desire to learn. 我们会把想要赢的自我和欲望 换成好奇心、同理心、 以及学习的欲望。
ego:n.自我;自负;自我意识; curiosity:n.好奇,好奇心;珍品,古董,古玩; empathy:n.神入;移情作用;执着;
Instead of coming from a place of judgment , we are genuinely interested in the other person's experiences, their values and their concerns . 我们不是从评断的角度出发, 而是真心对于对方的经历、价值观、 关心的事感到兴趣。
judgment:n.判断;裁判;判决书;辨别力; genuinely:adv.真诚地;诚实地; concerns:n.关注; v.使关心(concern的三单形式);
CQ: You make it sound so simple, Lauran. 凯特琳:你把它说得很简单,萝伦。
But getting to that place of true dialogue is hard, especially when we're talking about politics. 但要做到真正对话是很难的, 特别是在谈政治的时候。
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分;
It is so easy to get emotionally fired up about issues that we're passionate about, and we can let our ego get in the way of truly hearing the other person's perspective . 对于我们很有热情的议题, 情绪很容易就会被挑起来, 我们的自我很可能会阻碍我们真正去 倾听另一个人的观点。
emotionally:adv.感情上;情绪上;令人激动地;情绪冲动地; issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数) passionate:adj.热情的;热烈的,激昂的;易怒的; get in the way:妨碍;挡道;挡住去路;阻碍; perspective:n.观点;远景;透视图;adj.透视的;
And in this crazy political climate we're in right now, unfortunately , we're seeing an extreme result of those heated political conversations, to the point where people are willing to walk away from their relationships. 在我们现在所处的 这种疯狂政治气候中, 不幸的是,我们看到那些激动的 政治对话产生很极端的结果, 极端到人们愿意为此 断绝彼此的关系。
unfortunately:adv.不幸地; extreme:adj.极端的;极度的;偏激的;尽头的;n.极端;末端;最大程度;极端的事物;
In fact, Rasmussen released a poll earlier this year that said 40 percent of people reported that the 2016 election negatively impacted a personal relationship, and the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience tells us 事实上,今年早些时候, 拉斯穆森公布了一项民调, 指出 40% 的人认为 2016 年选举 对他们的个人关系产生负面影响, 而认知神经科学期刊告诉我们,
released:v.释放;使免除;已发布;(release的过去分词和过去式) poll:n.投票; v.获得(票数); adj.当事人一方作成的; negatively:adv.消极地;否定地; impacted:adj.压紧的;结实的;嵌入的;(人口)稠密的;v.装紧;挤满(impact的过去分词); Journal:n.杂志;日记;日志;(用于报纸名)…报; Cognitive:adj.认知的,认识的; Neuroscience:n.神经系统科学(指神经病学,神经化学等);
that people tend to feel their way to their beliefs rather than using reasoning, and that when reason and emotion collide , it's emotion that invariably wins. 对于信念,人们倾向是用感觉的, 而不是用推论思考, 而当理性与感性相撞时, 永远是感性胜出。
collide:vi.碰撞;抵触,冲突;vt.使碰撞;使相撞; invariably:adv.总是;不变地;一定地;
So no wonder it's hard to talk about these issues. 难怪谈论这些议题是很困难的。
LA: And look, we're just two regular friends who happen to think very differently about politics and the role that government should play in our lives. 萝伦:而且,我们只是 两个普通的朋友, 对政治以及政府在我们生活中 该扮演的角色, 刚好有非常不同的想法。
And I know we were all taught not to talk about politics because it's not polite, but we need to be able to talk about it, because it's important to us and it's a part of who we are. 我知道我们都被教导不要去谈政治, 因为那样不礼貌, 但我们必须要能够谈政治, 因为政治对我们很重要, 它是我们本质的一部份。
CQ: We have chosen to avoid political debate and instead engage in dialogue in order to maintain what we fondly call our bipartisan friendship. 凯特琳:我们选择避免政治争辩, 取而代之,我们进行对话, 以维持我们所谓的 两党构成的友谊。
maintain:v.维持;保持;维修;保养;坚持(意见); fondly:adv.天真地;怜爱地;温柔地; bipartisan:adj.两党连立的;代表两党的;
(Laughter) （笑声）
LA: And this election and all of the craziness that has followed has given us several opportunities to practice this skill. 萝伦:这场选举,以及 随后而来的各种疯狂, 给了我们一些机会来练习这项技巧。
craziness:n.愚蠢;狂热;摇摇晃晃;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Let's start with January and the Women's March. 我们从一月的女权大游行开始。
At this point, you can probably guess which one of us participated . 此时,你们应该已经能猜出 我们两个是谁去参与了游行。
participated:v.参加;参与;(participate的过去式和过去分词)
(Laughter) （笑声）
CQ: Oh, the Women's March. 凯特琳:喔,女权大游行。
I was annoyed and irritated that entire day, really because of two things. 那一整天,我都觉得很心烦, 原因有两个。
annoyed:adj.恼怒;生气;烦恼;v.使恼怒;使生气;打扰;骚扰(annoy的过去分词和过去式) irritated:adj.烦恼;恼怒;v.使烦恼;刺激(irritate的过去分词和过去式)
Number one, the name "Women's March." 第一,「女权大游行」这个名称。
As a conservative woman, the march's platform of issues didn't represent me, and that's OK, but hearing it talked about as this demonstration of sisterhood and solidarity for all women didn't ring true for me. 身为保守派女性, 这场游行的议题平台并不代表我, 那没关系, 但听它谈论要展现姐妹情谊、 所有女性要团结, 在我听来并没有道理。
platform:n.平台; v.把…放在台上[放在高处; represent:v.代表;表现;描绘;回忆;再赠送; demonstration:n.示范;演示;论证;证明; sisterhood:n.姐妹关系;妇女团体; solidarity:n.团结,团结一致;
The other piece was the timing of the event, the fact that it was the day after the presidential inauguration . 另一个理由是游行的时间点, 它刚好是总统就职典礼的隔天。
inauguration:n.就职典礼;开始,开创;开幕式;
It felt like we weren't even giving the new administration to actually do anything, good or bad, before people felt the need to demonstrate against it. 感觉就像我们甚至不让新政府 有机会做什么,不论做得好坏, 人们就已经觉得需要展现出反对了。
demonstrate:vt.证明;展示;论证;vi.示威;
LA: And under normal circumstances , I would agree with Caitlin. 萝伦:在正常情况下, 我会同意凯特琳的说法。
circumstances:n.情况;环境;情形;(circumstance的复数)
I think an administration does deserve the benefit of the doubt . 我认为政府的确应该要 先被认定是无辜的才对。
deserve:vi.应受,应得; the benefit of the doubt:暂且相信;姑且信之;
But in this case, I was marching to show my concern that a man with such a poor track record with women and other groups had been elected as president. 但在这个情况下, 我游行是要表示我的担心, 一个过去对女性及其他群体 都有不良记录的人 竟被选为总统。
track record:n.径赛成绩记录;过去的成绩或成就;
I had to be part of the collective voice that wanted to send a clear message to the new president that we did not accept or condone his behavior or rhetoric during the election. 我必须要成为集体声音的一部份, 想要给予新总统一个清楚的讯息, 告诉他,我们不能接受或容忍 他在选举过程的行为或言辞。
collective:adj.集体的;共同的;集合的;集体主义的;n.集团;集合体;集合名词; condone:vt.宽恕;赦免; rhetoric:n.修辞,修辞学;华丽的词藻;adj.花言巧语的;
CQ: So I'm already feeling kind of aggravated , and then I see this Facebook from Lauran pop up in my social media feed. 凯特琳:所以,我已经有点被惹火, 接着,我看到萝伦的这则脸书贴文 在我的动态时报跳出来。
aggravated:adj.(罪行)严重的,加重的; v.使严重; (aggravate的过去式和过去分词) pop up:v.突然出现; media:n.媒体;媒质(medium的复数);血管中层;浊塞音;中脉;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Seeing Lauran's sons at the march and holding signs took it to a new level for me, and not in a good way, because I know these boys, 看到萝伦的儿子们 出现在游行中,拿着标语, 把我带到了一个新的境界, 且不是好的境界, 因为我认识那些男孩,
I love these boys, and I didn't feel they were old enough to understand what the march stood for. 我爱那些男孩, 我不觉得他们的年纪够大到 能了解游行的意义。
I didn't understand why Lauran would choose to have them participate in that way, and I assumed it wasn't a choice that the boys made for themselves. 我不了解萝伦为什么会选择 让他们用那种方式参与, 我假设那些男孩 并不是自己做决定的。
assumed:adj.假定的;假设的;v.假定;假设;认为;承担;(assume的过去分词和过去式)
But I also know Lauran. 但,我也了解萝伦。
You're an incredible mom who would never exploit your boys in any way, so I had to stop and check myself. 你是个了不起的妈妈, 永远不会以任何方式利用你的孩子, 所以我得停下来,克制自己。
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; exploit:v.利用…为自己谋利;剥削;压榨;运用;发挥;
I had a decision to make. 我得要做一个决定。
I could take the easy way out and just choose not to say anything to her, and instead just kind of simmer in my frustration , or I could ask her to learn more about her motivations . 我可以选简单的路, 什么都不要对她说, 把挫折感都往肚里吞, 或是我可以问她, 以更了解她的动机。
simmer:vi.炖;内心充满;即将爆发;vt.炖;n.炖;即将沸腾的状态;即将发作; frustration:n.挫折; motivations:n.动机(motivation的复数);表明动机;
LA: And I shared with Caitlin that we actually started talking about the March weeks before we participated. 萝伦:而我和凯特琳分享, 告诉她,我们在参与之前的几周, 就开始谈论那场游行。
And my boys were curious as to why the event was being organized , and this led to some very interesting family conversations. 我的儿子们很好奇 为什么要办这个活动, 这带来了一些很有意思的家庭对谈。
curious:adj.好奇的,有求知欲的;古怪的;爱挑剔的; organized:adj.有组织的; v.组织; (organize的过去分词和过去式)
We talked about how in this country, we have the right and the privilege to demonstrate against something we don't agree with, and my husband shared with them why he thought it was so important that men joined the Women's March. 我们谈到在这个国家中 我们能有权利和特权, 来针对我们不认同的事物示威抗议, 我先生与他们分享了 他为什么认为男性参与 女权大游行很重要的原因。
privilege:n.特权;优待;v.给与…特权;特免;
But the most significant reason we marched as a family is that it was a way for us to honor my parents' legacy . 但我们会全家一起去游行, 最重要的理由是, 这是我们榮耀 我父母的精神遗产的方式。
significant:adj.重大的;有效的;有意义的;值得注意的;意味深长的;n.象征;有意义的事物; legacy:n.遗赠,遗产;
They spent their careers working to defend the rights of some of our most vulnerable citizens, and they passed these values down to me and my brother, and we want to do the same with our sons. 他们投入整个职涯, 来为一些最脆弱的公民捍卫权利, 他们将这些价值观传给我和我兄弟, 我们也想要再传给我们的儿子。
careers:n.职业(career的复数);事业;职业生涯;v.全速前进(career的三单形式); vulnerable:adj.易受攻击的,易受…的攻击;易受伤害的;有弱点的;
CQ: After talking to Lauran, 凯特琳:和萝伦谈过之后,
I really understood not only why she felt it was so important to march, but why she had her boys with her. 我真的能了解为什么 她觉得游行那么重要, 以及为什么她会带儿子同行。
And frankly, my assumptions were wrong. 坦白说,我的假设是错的。
assumptions:n.假定;假设;承担;获得;(assumption的复数)
It was the boys who wanted to march after they talked about the issues as a family. 在与家人谈过这些议题后, 男孩们自己主动想要去游行的。
But what's most important about this example is to think about the alternative . 但这个例子最重要的一点是, 是要去想想其他的可能。
alternative:adj.供选择的;选择性的;交替的;n.二中择一;供替代的选择;
Had Lauran and I not talked about it, 如果萝伦和我没有谈这件事,
I would have been annoyed with her, and it could have resulted in an undercurrent of disrespect in our friendship. 我就会对她很不爽, 可能会导致我们的友谊 产生不尊重的潜在情绪。
undercurrent:n.暗流;潜流; disrespect:n.无礼,失礼,不敬;
But by asking Lauran questions, it allowed us to use dialogue to get to a place of true understanding. 但藉由问萝伦问题, 让我们能使用对话, 来达成真正的了解。
Now, to be clear, our conversation didn't really change my mind about how I felt about the March, but it absolutely changed my thinking around why she brought her boys with her. 让我说清楚, 我们的对谈并没有改变 我对于那场大游行的看法, 但绝对改变了我对于 她为什么带儿子同行的想法。
absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地;
And for both of us, that dialogue allowed us to understand each other's perspective about the Women's March even though we disagreed . 对我们两个而言, 那对话让我们可以了解 彼此对于女权大游行的看法, 即使我们意见不相同。
disagreed:v.不同意;有分歧;不符;不一致;(disagree的过去分词和过去式)
LA: The second topic that challenged our ability to engage in dialogue was around my need to understand how Caitlin could vote for Trump . 萝伦:挑战我们进行对话 之能力的第二个主题是 是我需要了解 凯特琳怎么能投票给川普。
Trump:n.王牌;主牌花色;v.出王牌赢(牌);;赢;胜过;打败;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Caitlin is a successful professional woman who is deeply caring and compassionate , and the Caitlin I know would never excuse any man from talking about women the way that Trump did during the campaign. 凯特琳是个成功的职業女性, 她有深切的关怀与同理心, 而我所认识的凯特琳 绝对不会原谅任何男人像川普在 竞选期间那样谈论女人。
professional:adj.专业的;职业的;职业性的;n.专业人员;职业运动员; compassionate:adj.慈悲的;富于同情心的;vt.同情;怜悯;
It was hard for me to reconcile these two things in my mind. 对我来说,我很难在脑中 把这两者放在一起。
reconcile:v.使和谐一致;调和;使配合;使和解;妥协;
How could you overlook the things that were said? 你怎么能忽略他说的那些话？
overlook:v.忽略;俯视;视而不见;眺望;
CQ: So I'm guessing I may not be the only one here that thought we didn't have the best choices for the presidential election last year. 凯特琳:我猜,这里 并不只有我一个人认为 去年总统大选我们 并没有最好的选择。
(Laughter) （笑声）
The Republican candidate who I did support didn't make it out of the primary, so when it came time to vote, I had a decision to make. 我本来支持的共和党候选人 在初选就被淘汰了, 到了要投票的时候, 我得要做一个决定。
Republican:adj.共和国的;共和政体的;共和主义的;拥护共和政体的;n.共和主义者;
And you're right, there were some terrible things that came out during the Trump campaign, so much so that I almost decided to just abstain rather than voting for president, something I had never even considered doing before. 你说的没错,在川普竞选期间的确 说出了一些很糟糕的话, 我几乎就打算要投废票 而不是投给总统了, 我以前从来没这样考量过。
abstain:v.(投票时)弃权;戒除;离开;回避;
But ultimately , I did vote for Donald Trump, and for me it was really a vote for party over person, especially recognizing how important that presidential pick is on influencing our judicial branch. 但最终,我确实投给了川普, 对我而言,那张票是 投给党而不是投给人的, 特别是我知道总统的选择对于 我们的司法有多大的影响。
ultimately:adv.最终;最后;归根结底;终究; recognizing:v.认识;认出;承认;接受,赞成(recognize的现在分词) influencing:v.影响;对…起作用;支配;左右(influence的现在分词) judicial:adj.公正的,明断的;法庭的;审判上的;
But I shared with Lauran it was a decision I really wrestled with, and not one that I made lightly . 但我与萝伦分享说, 这个决定也让我很挣扎, 我并不是轻易就决定的。
wrestled:v.摔跤;奋力对付;全力解决;(wrestle的过去分词和过去式) lightly:adv.轻轻地;轻松地;容易地;不费力地;
LA: And so after our conversation, I was struck by a few things. 萝伦:在我们谈过之后, 我被点醒了几件事。
First, I had fallen victim to my own confirmation bias . 第一,我成了我自己 确认偏误的受害者。
victim:n.受害人;牺牲品;牺牲者; bias:adv.使有偏见;n.偏见;偏心;偏爱;v.使有偏见;使偏向;adj.斜的;[电]偏动的;
Because of my strong feelings about Trump, 因为我对川普的强烈感受,
I had given all Trump voters the same attributes , and none of them forgiving. 让我给予所有投给 川普的人同样的特质, 不原谅他们任何一个人。
attributes:v.把…归因于; n.属性; (attribute的第三人称单数和复数)
(Laughter) （笑声）
But knowing Caitlin, I started to ask questions. 但因为了解凯特琳, 所以我开始问问题,
What were Trump voters really concerned about? 投给川普的人关心的到底是什么？
concerned:adj.有关的;关心的;v.关心;与…有关;(concern的过去时和过去分词)
Under all the divisive language, what was really going on? 在所有这些分化的言辞底下 到底是发生了什么事？
divisive:adj.分裂的;区分的;造成不和的;
What could we learn about ourselves and our country from this unlikely event? 我们能从这个不太像真的事件中, 学到些关于自己及国家的什么？
unlikely:adj.不大可能发生的;非心目中的;非想象的;难以相信的;
I also learned that we shared a deep disappointment in this election, and that we have growing concerns about our two-party political system. 我也发现,我们都 对这次选举很失望, 我们也都越来越担心 我们的两党政治体系。
two-party:adj.两大政党的;
But the most important thing about this conversation is that it happened at all. 但关于这次对谈,最重要的就是: 我们对谈了。
Without an open and honest dialogue between the two of us, this election would have been the elephant in the room for the next four years, pun intended . 如果我们两人之间没有 开放且诚实的对话, 接下来的四年,这次选举 就会像是房间中的大象,
elephant in the room:房间里的大象,形容明明存在的问题却被人刻意回避; pun:n.双关语;v.使用双关语 intended:adj.预定的;计划的;v.打算;计划;想要;(intend的过去分词和过去式)
(Laughter) （笑声） （指棘手问题及共和党的党徽为大象）
CQ: So, look -- 凯特琳:所以──
(Applause) （掌声）
So, look -- we know it takes work to get past the difficult, frustrating and sometimes emotional parts of having discussions about issues like the Women's March or why your friend may have voted for a candidate that you can't stand. 所以──我们知道 要花心力才能克服困难、 挫折、有时还包括讨论时的情绪, 如在讨论像女权大游行、 或为何你朋友要 投票给你无法忍受的候选人 等等议题时的情绪。
frustrating:adj.令人沮丧的;v.使沮丧;(frustrate的现在分词)
But we need to have these conversations. 但我们需要进行这些对谈。
Our ability to move past political debate into true dialogue is a critical skill we should all be focused on right now, especially with the people that we care about the most. 我们能从政治辩论 改变成真正对话的这项能力, 是我们目前应该重视的关键技能, 特别是对于我们最珍视的人。
critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的;
LA: And it's not just as adults that we need to bottle this behavior. 萝伦:不只是我们 身为成人需要这么做。
It's critical that we do it for our children as well. 我们为孩子而做也是很重要的。
My sons were inundated with this election. 我的儿子们快被 这选举的资讯淹没了。
inundated:adj.洪泛的;v.淹没(inundate的过去分词);
We were listening to the news in the morning, and they were having conversations with their friends at school. 我们早上会听新闻, 他们在学校会和朋友谈论。
I was concerned that they were picking up so much polarizing misinformation , and they were growing really fearful of a Trump presidency . 我会担心他们接收到 这么两极化的错误资讯, 他们开始对川普当总统感到很害怕。
polarizing:v.(使)两极化,截然对立; (polarize的现在分词) misinformation:n.误报;错误的消息; fearful:adj.可怕的;担心的;严重的; presidency:n.总统(或董事长,会长,大学校长等)的职位(任期);管辖;支配;
Then one day, after the election, I was taking my sons to school, and my younger son, completely out of the blue , said, "Mom, we don't know anybody who voted for Trump, right?" 选后的某一天, 我带我的儿子们上学, 我的小儿子突然间说: 「妈,我们不认识任何 投票给川普的人,对吧？」
out of the blue:突然地;意外地;
(Laughter) （笑声）
And I paused and I took a deep breath. 我停了一下,深呼吸。
'"Yes, we do." 「我们有认识。」
(Laughter) （笑声）
'"The Quattromanis." 「卡楚曼尼一家人。」
And his response was so great. 他的反应很棒。
response:n.响应;反应;回答;
He kind of got this confused look on his face, and he said ... 他脸上有点困惑的神情,他说:
confused:adj.困惑的; v.使糊涂; (confuse的过去分词和过去式)
'"But we love them." 「但我们爱他们。」
(Laughter) （笑声）
And I answered, "Yes, we do." 我回答:「是的,我们爱他们。」
(Laughter) （笑声）
And then he said, "Why would they vote for him?" 接着他说:「他们为何投给他？」
And I remember stopping and thinking that it was really important how I answered this question. 我记得我停下来,心想, 我如何回答这个问题是非常重要的。
Somehow , I had to honor our own family values and show respect for our friends. 我得以某种方式榮耀 我们的家庭价值观, 同时还要能尊重我们的朋友。
Somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地;
So I finally said, "They think that's the right direction for this country." 于是,我终于说: 「他们认为这是国家该走的方向。」
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
And before I had even gotten the whole sentence out, he had moved on to the soccer game he was going to play at recess . 我还没能把整个句子说完, 他就转话题到每次下课时 踢的足球比赛了。
recess:n.休会;休庭;壁橱;隐蔽处;v.休会;暂停;把…放进壁橱;将…嵌入墙壁;
CQ: So life with boys. 凯特琳:男孩的生活啊。
(Laughter) （笑声）
So what Lauran and I have discovered through our bipartisan friendship is the possibility that lives in dialogue. 透过我们的两党构成之友谊, 萝伦和我所发现的 是对话中蕴涵的可能性。
We have chosen to be genuinely curious about each other's ideas and perspectives and to be willing to listen to one another even when we disagree. 我们选择要对彼此的想法 和观念展现真诚的好奇, 即使在我们意见分歧时, 也要愿意倾听彼此。
perspectives:n.[数]透视,远景,看法;构面;观点展示(perspective的复数形式);
And by putting aside our ego and our preconceived ideas, we've opened ourselves up to limitless learning. 把我们的自我以及 先入为主的想法放在一边, 我们得以打开自己, 让学习不再受限。
preconceived:adj.预想的; v.预想(preconceive的过去式和过去分词); limitless:adj.无限制的;无界限的;
And perhaps most importantly for our relationship, we have made the commitment to each other that our friendship is way more important than either of us being right or winning a conversation about politics. 也许对我们的关系而言最重要的是, 我们对彼此做出了承诺, 我们承诺,比起我们谁对谁错、 或是在政治对谈中争赢对方, 我们的友谊要更重要许多。
commitment:n.承诺;投入;保证;许诺;
So today, we're asking you to have a conversation. 所以,今天,我们想 请各位去进行对谈。
Talk to someone outside of your political party who might challenge your thinking. 与和你支持不同政党的人谈谈, 他可能会挑战你的思想。
Make an effort to engage with someone with whom you might typically avoid a political conversation. 花点心力,去和你通常会 避免谈政治的对象来做互动。
typically:adv.代表性地;作为特色地;
But remember, the goal isn't to win, the goal is to listen and to understand and to be open to learning something new. 但切记,目标不是要争赢, 目标是要倾听和了解, 是要开放去学习新事物。
LA: So let's go back to election night. 萝伦:咱们回到选举夜。
As the polls were closing and it became clear that Trump was going to be our new president, 开票即将告一段落, 显然川普会成为我们的新总统,
polls:n.民意调查; v.对…进行民意测验,使投票(poll的单三形式);
I was devastated . 我极为震惊。
devastated:adj.不安的,混乱的,震惊的; v.彻底破坏; (devastate的过去分词和过去式)
I was sad, I was confused, and I'll be honest -- I was angry. 我很伤心,很困惑, 老实说,我也很生气。
And then just before midnight, 就在午夜之前,
I received this text message from Caitlin. 我收到了凯特琳的文字讯息。
text message:n.文本信息;短信息;
[I know this is a hard night for you guys. 〔我知道这对你们来说 是很艰苦的夜晚。
We are thinking of you. Love you.] 我们一直在想着你们。爱你们。〕
And where there so easy could have been weeks or months of awkwardness and unspoken hostility , there was this -- an offering of empathy rooted in friendship. 本来很容易就可能会 产生数周或数月的尴尬, 不说出来的敌意, 但我就收到这讯息── 她提供了以友谊为基础的同理心。
awkwardness:n.尴尬;笨拙; unspoken:adj.无言的;未说出口的;不言而喻的; hostility:n.敌意;战争行动;
And I knew, in that moment, that we would make it through this. 那一刻我就知道, 我们会渡过这难关。
CQ: So we must find a way to engage in meaningful conversations that are going to move us forward as a nation, and we can no longer wait for our elected officials to elevate our national discourse . 凯特琳:我们必须要找到方法 来进行更有意义的对谈, 让我们能以一个国家的 身份一同前行, 我们不能再等待, 不能再等我们选出的官员 来提升我们国家级的对话。
meaningful:adj.严肃的;重要的;重大的;意味深长的; elevate:vt.提升;举起;振奋情绪等;提升…的职位; discourse:n.论述;谈话;演讲;vi.演说;谈论;讲述;vt.说出;演奏出;
LA: The challenges ahead are going to require all of us to participate in a deeper and more meaningful way ... 萝伦:在前头的挑战 会需要我们所有人一起参与, 以更深刻、更有意义的方式,
and it starts with each one of us building connection through dialogue -- in our relationships, our communities and as a country. 从我们每一个人开始做起, 透过对话来建立连结…… 在我们的关系中、社区中, 以一个国家的身份 来建立连结。
communities:n.社区;社会;团体;共有(community的复数)
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）