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LarryLessig_2013-_作为人民，和我们必须夺回的共和国_
Once upon a time , there was a place called Lesterland. 很久很久以前 有個地方叫做萊斯特國(Lesterland)
Once upon a time:从前(常用于故事的开头)
Now Lesterland looks a lot like the United States. 萊斯特國跟美國很像
United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
Like the United States, it has about 311 million people, and of that 311 million people, it turns out 144,000 are called Lester. 跟美國一樣,人口數大約有3.11億 而這3.11億人當中 有14.4萬人叫萊斯特(Lester)
If Matt's in the audience, 若麥特 (辛普森家庭製作人) 在現場
I just borrowed that, I'll return it in a second , this character from your series . 你的卡通人物借我用一下 馬上就還
in a second:立刻,很快; series:n.系列,连续;[电]串联;级数;丛书;
So 144,000 are called Lester, which means about .05 percent is named Lester. 那麼 14.4萬人叫萊斯特 代表 0.05%的人叫萊斯特
Now, Lesters in Lesterland have this extraordinary power. 這些萊斯特在萊斯特國有非凡的力量
extraordinary:adj.非凡的;特别的;离奇的;临时的;特派的;
There are two elections every election cycle in Lesterland. 每逢選舉會有兩次投票
One is called the general election . 一個叫做大選
general election:n.大选;普选;
The other is called the Lester election. 另一個叫做萊斯特選
And in the general election, it's the citizens who get to vote, but in the Lester election, it's the Lesters who get to vote. 在大選中,是由公民投票 但在萊斯特選是由萊斯特們投票
in the general:通常,一般;
And here's the trick. 這其中的竅門是
In order to run in the general election, you must do extremely well in the Lester election. 為了在大選參選 你必須在萊斯特選 表現非常出色
extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地;
You don't necessarily have to win, but you must do extremely well. 你大可不必贏 但絕對需要表現出色
necessarily:adv.必要地;必定地,必然地;
Now, what can we say about democracy in Lesterland? 那麼 我們可以怎麼說萊斯特國的民主?
democracy:n.民主,民主主义;民主政治;
What we can say, number one, as the Supreme Court said in Citizens United, that people have the ultimate influence over elected officials, because, after all, there is a general election, but only after the Lesters have had their way with the candidates who wish to run in the general election. 我們可以說 第一 就如同最高法院在聯合公民中所說的 人民對當選官員有最終的影響 畢竟是有大選 但只在萊斯特們依照自己所願 讓他們想要的候選人參選大選
Supreme Court:最高法院; ultimate:adj.最终的;极限的;根本的;n.终极;根本;基本原则; influence:n.影响;势力;感化;有影响的人或事;v.影响;改变;
And number two, obviously, this dependence upon the Lesters is going to produce a subtle , understated , we could say camouflaged , bending to keep the Lesters happy. 第二呢 很明顯 取決於萊斯特們的選擇 會產生一個微妙、低調 甚至是可以說偽裝的讓步 只為滿足讓萊斯特們
dependence:n.依赖;依靠;信任;信赖; subtle:adj.微妙的;精细的;敏感的;狡猾的;稀薄的; understated:adj.低调的;朴素的;轻描淡写的;不夸张的; camouflaged:adj.伪装的;vt.伪装;欺骗(camouflage的过去分词);
Okay, so we have a democracy, no doubt, but it's dependent upon the Lesters and dependent upon the people. 毫無疑問的 我們確實有民主 但取決於萊斯特們 再取決於人民
dependent upon:取决于;
It has competing dependencies , we could say conflicting dependencies , depending upon who the Lesters are. 他們有互相競爭關係 我們也可以說是相互衝突的關係 端看萊斯特們是誰
competing:adj.相互冲突的;相互矛盾的;v.竞争;对抗;参加比赛;(compete的现在分词) dependencies:n.依赖性,相关性;管理; conflicting:adj.互相斗争的;相冲突的;v.冲突,抵触;(conflict的现在分词)
Okay. That's Lesterland. 這就是萊斯特國
Now there are three things I want you to see now that I've described Lesterland. 現在有三件事情我想讓你們看看關於萊斯特國
described:v.描述;形容;把…称为;做…运动;(describe的过去分词和过去式)
Number one, the United States is Lesterland. 第一 美國就是萊斯特國
The United States is Lesterland. 美國就是萊斯特國
The United States also looks like this, also has two elections, one we called the general election, the second we should call the money election. 美國也是如此,也有兩次投票 一個叫做大選 另一個我們應該叫做錢選
In the general election, it's the citizens who get to vote, if you're over 18, in some states if you have an ID. 在大選中 是由人民投票 只要你年滿18歲,在一些州你要有身分證 (就可以投票)
In the money election, it's the funders who get to vote, the funders who get to vote, and just like in Lesterland, the trick is, to run in the general election, you must do extremely well in the money election. 在前選中是由投資人投票 是由投資人投票,也和萊斯特國一樣 竅門在於 要參選大選 你必須在錢選中表現得非常出色
You don't necessarily have to win. There is Jerry Brown. 你大可不必贏 傑利布朗是個例外
But you must do extremely well. 但你必須表現得非常出色
And here's the key: There are just as few relevant funders in USA-land as there are Lesters in Lesterland. 關鍵在這:美國的投資人數量 跟萊斯特國的萊斯特們一樣少
relevant:adj.相关的;切题的;中肯的;有重大关系的;有意义的,目的明确的;
Now you say, really? 你可能會說 真假的?
Really .05 percent? 真的才 0.05%?
Well, here are the numbers from 2010: .26 percent of America gave 200 dollars or more to any federal candidate, .05 percent gave the maximum amount to any federal candidate, 這些是2010年的數據 美國 0.26% 給了200美金或以上給任何一位候選人 0.05%給了最高上限金額給任何一位候選人
federal:adj.联邦的;同盟的;联邦政府的;联邦制的;adv.联邦政府地; maximum:n.最大限度;最大量;最高限度;adj.最高的;最多的;最大极限的;
.01 percent -- the one percent of the one percent -- gave 10,000 dollars or more to federal candidates, and in this election cycle, my favorite statistic is .000042 percent 0.01% 也就是百分之一的百分之一 給了 1萬美金或以上給候選人 而在這輪選舉,我最愛的一個數據 是 0.000042%
statistic:n.统计学;统计数字;统计资料;(一项)统计数据;adj.统计(上)的;
— for those of you doing the numbers, you know that's 132 Americans — gave 60 percent of the Super PAC money spent in the cycle we have just seen ending. 那些正在計算的人,會知道132美國人 提供了超級政治促進會 (Super PAC) 60%的資金 就在剛結束的這場選舉
So I'm just a lawyer, I look at this range of numbers, and I say it's fair for me to say it's .05 percent who are our relevant funders in America. 我只是個律師 我看了這些數字 我想我可以很公正地說 在美國,0.05% 才是相關投資者
In this sense, the funders are our Lesters. 照這麼說,投資者就是萊斯特們
Now, what can we say about this democracy in USA-land? 那麼 我們可以怎說美國的民主?
Well, as the Supreme Court said in Citizens United, we could say, of course the people have the ultimate influence over the elected officials. We have a general election, but only after the funders have had their way with the candidates who wish to run in that general election. 就如同最高法院在聯合公民中所說的 我們可以說,人民當然對當選官員 有最終的影響。我們有大選 但只能在投資人如他們所願 讓他們希望的候選人參選大選
And number two, obviously, this dependence upon the funders produces a subtle, understated, camouflaged bending to keep the funders happy. 第二呢 很明顯 取決於投資者的選擇 會產生一個微妙、低調、偽裝的讓步 來滿足投資人
Candidates for Congress and members of Congress spend between 30 and 70 percent of their time raising money to get back to Congress or to get their party back into power, 國會候選人和國會議員 都會花大約30%到70%的時間 籌備資金好讓他們回到國會 或是讓他們的黨派重拾權力
Congress:n.国会;代表大会;会议;社交;
and the question we need to ask is, what does it do to them, these humans, as they spend their time behind the telephone, calling people they've never met, but calling the tiniest slice of the one percent? 我們需要問是 對於這些人,到底有什麼好處 把時間花在 打電話給那些他素不相識的人 而不打給屬於那百分之一的人?
slice:n.片; v.切成片; (很容易地)切开;
As anyone would, as they do this, they develop a sixth sense , a constant awareness about how what they do might affect their ability to raise money. 就像每個人都會做的 他們會逐漸產生種直覺跟意識針對 他們所做的將如何影響籌集資金的能力
sixth sense:n.第六感觉;直觉; awareness:n.意识,认识;明白,知道;
They become, in the words of "The X-Files," 套X檔案的說法,他們會變成
shape-shifters , as they constantly adjust their views in light of what they know will help them to raise money, not on issues one to 10, but on issues 11 to 1,000. 變形人,因為他們會為了籌集更多資金 不斷調整他們的觀點 不是從1到10 的問題上去調整 而是從11到1千
shape-shifters:变形人; constantly:adv.不断地;时常地; adjust:v.调整;调节;适应;习惯; in light of:根据;鉴于;从…观点; 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)
Leslie Byrne, a Democrat from Virginia , describes that when she went to Congress, she was told by a colleague , "Always lean to the green." 來自維吉尼亞州的民主黨員,萊思麗柏恩 說她剛到國會的時候 一位同僚對她說:「千萬要向綠色靠攏」
Democrat:n.民主党人;民主主义者;民主政体论者; Virginia:adj.弗吉尼亚州的; describes:v.描述;形容;把…称为;画出…图形;(describe的第三人称单数) colleague:n.同事,同僚; lean:v.前俯(或后仰):倾斜:adj.肉少的:难以赚钱的:贫乏的:n.瘦肉:
Then to clarify , she went on, "He was not an environmentalist ." (Laughter) 為了澄清一下,她接著說 「他不是個環保主義者」 (笑聲)
clarify:v.澄清;阐明;得到澄清;得到净化; environmentalist:n.环保人士;环境论者;研究环境问题的专家;
So here too we have a democracy, a democracy dependent upon the funders and dependent upon the people, competing dependencies, possibly conflicting dependencies depending upon who the funders are. 那麼我們也是有民主的 一個取決於投資者 和人民的民主 有著相互競爭的關係 也可能相互衝突的關係 取決於投資者是誰
Okay, the United States is Lesterland, point number one. 好 美國就是萊斯特國 這是第一點
Here's point number two. 接下來 第二點
The United States is worse than Lesterland, worse than Lesterland because you can imagine in Lesterland if we Lesters got a letter from the government that said, "Hey, you get to pick who gets to run in the general election," 美國比萊斯特國更糟 比萊斯國更糟因為你可以想像在萊斯特國 如果萊斯特們收到一封來自政府的信寫著 「嘿,你們可以挑參選大選的候選人」
we would think maybe of a kind of aristocracy of Lesters. 我們或許會覺得萊斯特們是有特權階級的貴族
aristocracy:n.贵族;贵族统治;上层社会;贵族政治;
You know, there are Lesters from every part of social society. 你知道 有來自社會各階級的萊斯特
There are rich Lesters, poor Lesters, black Lesters, white Lesters, not many women Lesters, but put that to the side for one second. 有錢萊斯特、窮萊斯特、黑種萊斯特、白種萊斯特 沒太多女萊斯特,但先把這撇開不談
We have Lesters from everywhere. We could think, "What could we do to make Lesterland better?" 我們有來自各地的萊斯特。我們可以想 「我們能做什麼讓萊斯特國更好」
It's at least possible the Lesters would act for the good of Lesterland. 至少有個可能萊斯特們是為了萊斯特國的利益著想
But in our land, in this land, in USA-land, there are certainly some sweet Lesters out there, many of them in this room here today, but the vast majority of Lesters act for the Lesters, 但在我們的國家,這國家,在美國 當然的也有些可愛的萊斯特 今天在場的很多都是 但是大部分的萊斯特是為了萊斯特們的利益著想
majority:n.大部分:大多数:多数票:成年人:
because the shifting coalitions that are comprising the .05 percent are not comprising it for the public interest. 由聯盟所組成的那0.05% 並不是為了大眾的利益而組成的
shifting:adj.不断移动的;流动的;v.转移;赶快;快速移动;变换;(shift的现在分词) coalitions:n.联合;结盟(coalition的复数); comprising:vt.包含;由…组成;
It's for their private interest. In this sense, the USA is worse than Lesterland. 是為了他們各人的利益。也就是說,美國比萊斯特更糟
And finally , point number three: 終於來到第三點:
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
Whatever one wants to say about Lesterland, against the background of its history, its traditions, in our land, in USA-land, Lesterland is a corruption , a corruption. 無論誰想評論萊斯特國 針對它的歷史背景或傳統 在我們的國家,在美國,萊斯特國是個腐敗貪污的國家 腐敗貪污
corruption:n.贪污,腐败;堕落;
Now, by corruption I don't mean brown paper bag cash secreted among members of Congress. 但是,當我說腐敗貪汙,不是說指國會議員之間 的秘密現金紙袋
secreted:v.分泌;隐藏,藏匿(小物件);(secrete的过去分词和过去式)
I don't mean Rod Blagojevich sense of corruption. 我也不是指羅德布拉戈耶維奇的那類的腐敗貪污
Rod:n.杆;竿;棒;(责打人用的)棍棒;手枪;
I don't mean any criminal act. 我不是指任何犯罪行為
The corruption I'm talking about is perfectly legal . 我所說的腐敗貪污是完全合法
legal:adj.法律的;合法的;法定的;
It's a corruption relative to the framers ' baseline for this republic. 是針對這個共和國制定者的底線的腐敗貪污
relative:adj.相对的;有关系的;成比例的;n.亲戚;相关物;[语]关系词;亲缘植物; framers:n.制宪者;筹划者(framer的复数); baseline:n.基线;底线;
The framers gave us what they called a republic, but by a republic they meant a representative democracy, and by a representative democracy, they meant a government, 制定者給我們他們所謂的共和國 但共和國他們真正指的是一個代表性民主 而代表性民主他們指的是政府
representative:n.代表; adj.典型的;
as Madison put it in Federalist 52, that would have a branch that would be dependent upon the people alone. 如同麥迪遜在聯邦黨人文集52篇中提到,會有一派 只取決於人民
Federalist:n.联邦党;联邦制拥护者;支持北部联邦者;adj.(支持)联邦党人的;联邦制的;
So here's the model of government. 這就是政府的模式
They have the people and the government with this exclusive dependency , but the problem here is that Congress has evolved a different dependence, no longer a dependence upon the people alone, increasingly a dependence upon the funders. 有人民和政府 相互依賴 但問題在於國會改變了這依賴關係 不再是取決於人民 逐漸提升了投資者的決定權
exclusive:adj.独有的;排外的;专一的;n.独家新闻;独家经营的项目;排外者; dependency:n.属国;从属;从属物; evolved:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成;(evolve的过去分词和过去式) increasingly:adv.越来越多地;渐增地;
Now this is a dependence too, but it's different and conflicting from a dependence upon the people alone so long as the funders are not the people. 這也是一種依賴關係 但是跟單純取決於人民的那種依賴性不同且相衝突 因為投資者並非那些人民
so long as:adv.只要;
This is a corruption. 這就是貪污腐敗
Now, there's good news and bad news about this corruption. 然而,貪污腐敗有好有壞兩面
One bit of good news is that it's bipartisan , equal-opportunity corruption. 好的一部分是兩黨合作 同等機會的貪污腐敗
bipartisan:adj.两党连立的;代表两党的;
It blocks the left on a whole range of issues that we on the left really care about. 阻擋了左派真正關心的一系列的問題
It blocks the right too, as it makes principled arguments of the right increasingly impossible. 同時也阻擋右派 因為它讓 右派的主要論點越來越不可能
principled:adj.有原则的;有操守的;
So the right wants smaller government. 因此右派想要較小的政府
When Al Gore was Vice President, his team had an idea for deregulating a significant portion of the telecommunications industry. 艾爾高爾任職副總統的時候 他的幕僚有個想法 對大量的電信公司解除管制
Vice:n.恶习;缺点;[机]老虎钳;卖淫;prep.代替;v.钳住;adj.副的;代替的; deregulating:v.解除管制;撤销对…的管制规定;(deregulating是deregulate的现在分词) 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; portion:n.部分;(食物的)一份;分担的责任;v.把…分成若干份(或部分); telecommunications:n.电信;电讯;
The chief policy man took this idea to Capitol Hill , and as he reported back to me, the response was, "Hell no! 政策首長把這個想法帶到國會山莊 他回報給我的時候 答覆是:「死都不行！
policy:n.政策,方针;保险单; Capitol Hill:美国国会;美国国会山; response:n.响应;反应;回答;
If we deregulate these guys, how are we going to raise money from them?" 如果我們對這些人解除管制 我們怎跟他們募資？」
deregulate:vt.解除对…的管制;vi.解除控制;
This is a system that's designed to save the status quo , including the status quo of big and invasive government. 這是一個為了維持現狀而設計的系統 包含維持大且有侵略性的政府現狀
status quo:n.现状;原来的状况;
It works against the left and the right, and that, you might say, is good news. 他可以壓制左右兩派 因此你可以說是好的一面
But here's the bad news. 但也有壞的一面
It's a pathological , democracy-destroying corruption, because in any system where the members are dependent upon the tiniest fraction of us for their election, that means the tiniest number of us, the tiniest, tiniest number of us, can block reform . 這是個病態、毀滅民主的貪污腐敗 因為在任何系統中 會員在競選中依賴 極少部分的人 代表我們之中的極少數 極少、極少數的我們 可以阻止改革
pathological:adj.病理学的;病态的;由疾病引起的(等于pathologic); fraction:n.分数;小部分;小数;少量; reform:v.改革;改进;改良;(使)悔改;n.改革;改良;改善;
I know that should have been, like, a rock or something. 我知道我本來應該放顆石頭或其他東西
I can only find cheese. I'm sorry. So there it is. 但我只找到起司,不好意思 將就一下
Block reform. 阻止改革
Because there is an economy here, an economy of influence, an economy with lobbyists at the center which feeds on polarization . 因為存在經濟,一個受影響的經濟 一個以說客為中心的經濟 靠對立而活
economy:n.经济;节约;理财; lobbyists:n.游说者(lobbyist的复数形式); polarization:n.极化;偏振;两极分化;
It feeds on dysfunction . 靠失序而活
dysfunction:n.功能紊乱;机能障碍;官能不良;vi.功能失调;出现机能障碍;垮掉;
The worse that it is for us, the better that it is for this fundraising . 情況對我們來說越糟 就對募資越有利
fundraising:n.筹款;募捐;
Henry David Thoreau: "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." 亨利·戴維·梭羅說過:「有一千人在砍罪惡的樹枝 但只有一個人在砍罪惡的根」
hacking:v.黑客行为;砍;劈;猛踢;(hack的现在分词) evil:adj.邪恶的;不幸的;有害的;讨厌的;n.罪恶,邪恶;不幸;
This is the root. 這就是根
Okay, now, every single one of you knows this. 那麼現在我們每個人都知道這問題
You couldn't be here if you didn't know this, yet you ignore it. 若你不知道你就不可能在這裡,但你視而不見
ignore:v.驳回诉讼;忽视;不理睬;
You ignore it. This is an impossible problem. 你視而不見這是個不可能的問題
You focus on the possible problems, like eradicating polio from the world, or taking an image of every single street across the globe, or building the first real universal translator, or building a fusion factory in your garage . 你集中在可能的問題 如同從地球上根絕小兒麻痺 或是拍攝世界上的每一條街 或是建造第一個萬能翻譯機 或是在你的車庫建核融合廠
eradicating:根除; polio:n.小儿麻痹症(等于poliomyelitis);脊髓灰质炎; universal:adj.普遍的;全体的;全世界的;共同的; fusion:n.融合;熔化;熔接;融合物;[物]核聚变; garage:n.车库;汽车修理厂;飞机库;v.把…送入车库;把(汽车)开进车库;
These are the manageable problems, so you ignore — 這些都是可以處理的問題,所以
manageable:adj.易管理的;易控制的;易办的;
(Laughter) (Applause) — so you ignore this corruption. (笑聲)(掌聲) 對貪污腐敗視而不見
But we cannot ignore this corruption anymore. 但我們不能繼續對貪污腐敗視而不見
(Applause) (掌聲)
We need a government that works. 我們需要一個有在做事的政府
And not works for the left or the right, but works for the left and the right, the citizens of the left and right, because there is no sensible reform possible until we end this corruption. 不是為左派或右派做事的政府 為左派和右派做事的政府 為左派和右派的公民 因為在我們終結貪污腐敗前 不可能會有合理的改革
sensible:adj.明智的; n.可感觉到的东西;
So I want you to take hold, to grab the issue you care the most about. 因此我希望你們抓住你們最關心的問題
grab:v.攫取;霸占;将…深深吸引;n.攫取;霸占;夺取之物;
Climate change is mine, but it might be financial reform or a simpler tax system or inequality. 氣候變遷是我最關心的,但我也可能是經濟改革 或是一個簡單點的稅制或不平等問題
financial:adj.金融的;财政的,财务的;
Grab that issue, sit it down in front of you, look straight in its eyes, and tell it there is no Christmas this year. 抓住那個問題,和它一起坐下來 直視它雙眼,跟它說你今年不會過聖誕節
There will never be a Christmas. 永遠不會有聖誕節
We will never get your issue solved until we fix this issue first. 在我們解決這問題前 我們永遠不會解決你的問題
So it's not that mine is the most important issue. It's not. 不是說我的問題最重要,因為真的不是
Yours is the most important issue, but mine is the first issue, the issue we have to solve before we get to fix the issues you care about. 你們的問題最重要,但我的是首要問題 是解決我們所關心的問題前 首先應該解決的問題
No sensible reform, and we cannot afford a world, a future, with no sensible reform. 不透合理的改革,我們不能承擔不起 一個沒有合理改革的世界和未來
afford:v.给予,提供;买得起;
Okay. So how do we do it? 好 那我們怎麼做
Turns out, the analytics here are easy, simple. 事實證明,分析出來的很簡單明瞭
analytics:n.[化学][数]分析学;解析学;
If the problem is members spending an extraordinary amount of time fundraising from the tiniest slice of America, the solution is to have them spend less time fundraising but fundraise from a wider slice of Americans, to spread it out, 如果問題是出在國會議員花超多時間 向極小部分的美國募資 解決辦法就是讓他們花少點時間募資 但讓他們向 讓他往外擴展
solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答; fundraise:n.募捐;
to spread the funder influence so that we restore the idea of dependence upon the people alone. 讓投資者的影響力擴展好讓我們恢復 取決於人民力量
funder:投资者; restore:v.恢复;修复;恢复(某种情况或感受);使复原;
And to do this does not require a constitutional amendment, changing the First Amendment . 這不需要修憲 或修改憲法第一修正案
constitutional:adj.宪法的;本质的;体质上的;保健的;n.保健散步;保健运动; First Amendment:n.美国宪法第一修正案(保护言论与信仰自由以及和平集会权);
To do this would require a single statute , a statute establishing what we think of as small dollar funded elections, a statute of citiz en-fun ded campaigns, 我們需要一個單一法令 一項奠定我們對於 小金額資助選舉想法的法令 一項人民資助競選的法令
statute:n.[法]法规;法令;条例; establishing:v.建立;创立;设立;使稳固;(establish的现在分词)
and there's any number of these proposals out there: 外界已經有很多的提議:
proposals:n.建议书(Proposal的复数);求婚;
Fair Elections Now Act, the American Anti-Corruption Act, an idea in my book that I call the Grant and Franklin Project to give vouchers to people to fund elections, an idea of John Sarbanes called the Grassroots Democracy Act. 立即公平競選法案、 美國反貪污法案、 我書裡面的 格蘭特和富蘭克林計畫 提倡給人民票券讓他們資助競選 還有約翰薩博尼的基層民主法案
Anti-Corruption:n.反腐败;反贪腐;廉政风暴; Grant:v.授予;允许;承认;同意;n.拨款;[法]授予物; vouchers:n.付款凭单;[法]证明人;抵用券(voucher的复数); Grassroots:adj.基层的;草根的;乡村的;n.草根;基础;
Each of these would fix this corruption by spreading out the influence of funders to all of us. 以上每個一的都可以解決貪汙 讓投資者的影響力擴展到我們每個人身上
The analytics are easy here. 分析很簡單明瞭
It's the politics that's hard, indeed impossibly hard, because this reform would shrink K Street, and Capitol Hill, as Congressman Jim Cooper, a Democrat from Tennessee , put it, has become a farm league for K Street, a farm league for K Street. 難在政治,確實很困難 因為這樣的改革會削減華盛頓K街 國會山莊,這麼說吧 國會議員吉米庫柏 田納西州民主黨員 成為華盛頓K街的一個聯盟,一個K街聯盟
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) impossibly:adv.不可能地;难以置信地;无法可想地; shrink:v.收缩;减少;退缩;畏缩;n.精神病学家;心理学家; Congressman:n.国会议员;众议院议员; Tennessee:n.田纳西州(美国州名);
Members and staffers and bureaucrats have an increasingly common business model in their head, a business model focused on their life after government, their life as lobbyists. 會員、工作人員和官僚腦海裡有 逐漸相同的商業模式 這商業模式專注在他們執政後的生活 也就是說客生活
staffers:n.职员;编辑;采访记者; bureaucrats:官僚;
Fifty percent of the Senate between 1998 and 2004 left to become lobbyists, 42 percent of the House. 1998年到2004年之間,參議院有50%的人 出走當說客,白宮的42%
Senate:n.参议院,上院;(古罗马的)元老院;
Those numbers have only gone up, and as United Republic calculated last April, the average increase in salary for those who they tracked was 1,452 percent. 這些數字持續上升 去年4月聯合共和國(United Republic)計算 他們有在追蹤的人,薪水平均增幅了 1,452%
tracked:v.跟踪;追踪;(track的过去分词和过去式)
So it's fair to ask, how is it possible for them to change this? 我們可以問,他們怎麼可能改變這情況?
Now I get this skepticism . 我感到懷疑
skepticism:n.怀疑论;怀疑的态度;
I get this cynicism . I get this sense of impossibility . 我感到憤世嫉俗,我感到這種不可能性
cynicism:n.玩世不恭,愤世嫉俗;犬儒主义;冷嘲热讽; impossibility:n.不可能;不可能的事;
But I don't buy it. 但我不同意
This is a solvable issue. 這是個可以解決的問題
solvable:adj.可以解决的;可以解的;可溶的;
If you think about the issues our parents tried to solve in the 20th century, issues like racism , or sexism , or the issue that we've been fighting in this century, homophobia , those are hard issues. 若你想想我們父母在20世紀 試著解決的問題 像是種族歧視或兩性不平等 或是我們這世紀奮戰的問題: 同性戀恐懼症 那些都是很困難的問題
racism:n.种族主义,种族歧视;人种偏见; sexism:n.(针对女性的)性别歧视;男性至上主义; homophobia:n.对同性恋的恐惧;对同性恋的憎恶;
You don't wake up one day no longer a racist . 你不會睡一覺起來就不再是種族主義者
racist:n.种族主义者;种族主义的;
It takes generations to tear that intuition , that DNA, out of the soul of a people. 得花上好幾個世代從一個人的靈魂 去破除那種觀念,那種基因
intuition:n.直觉;直觉力;直觉的知识;
But this is a problem of just incentives , just incentives. 但這問題只礙於動機,只有動機
incentives:n.激励;奖励;诱因(incentive的复数形式);奖励措施;
Change the incentives, and the behavior changes, and the states that have adopted small dollar funded systems have seen overnight a change in the practice. 動機改變了,行為就跟著改變 接著採用小金額資助制度的幾個州 會一夜就看到實行上的改變
adopted:adj.被收养的;被采用的;v.采用;接受;(adopt的过去式和过去分词); overnight:adj.夜间的; v.在夜间; n.(美)前一天的晚上;
When Connecticut adopted this system, in the very first year, 78 percent of elected representatives gave up large contributions and took small contributions only. 當康乃狄克州(Connecticut)在第一年採用這制度 78%的當選代表 放棄了大額助選金而選擇只收取小額助選金
representatives:n.代表;众议院(representative的复数形式); contributions:n.捐款;捐资;定期缴款;贡献;促成作用;(contribution的复数)
It's solvable, not by being a Democrat, not by being a Republican . 是解決得了的 不是透過民主黨 不是透過共和黨
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;
It's solvable by being citizens, by being citizens, by being TEDizens. 是透過公民解決,透過人民解決的 、透過TED成員解決的
Because if you want to kickstart reform, look, I could kickstart reform at half the price of fixing energy policy, 因為若你想要發起一項改革 我可以發起一項改革 只用到解決能源政策所需的一半金額
kickstart:脚踏起动;脚踏起动器;
I could give you back a republic. 我可以還給你一個共和
Okay. But even if you're not yet with me, even if you believe this is impossible, what the five years since I spoke at TED has taught me as I've spoken about this issue again and again is, even if you think it's impossible, that is irrelevant . 好 若你還沒加入我 甚至覺得這是不可能的 過去五年我在TED演講教導我的 我一而再再而三的討論這個議題 就算你覺得這是不可能,沒關係
again and again:adv.再三地,反复地; irrelevant:adj.不相干的;不切题的;
Irrelevant. 沒關係
I spoke at Dartmouth once, and a woman stood up after I spoke, 我曾在達特茅斯演講一次,我講完之後有一位女性站起來
Dartmouth:n.达特茅斯(英国港口);
I write in my book, and she said to me, "Professor, you've convinced me this is hopeless. Hopeless. 我有寫在我書裡,她告訴我 「教授,你說服我這沒希望了。沒希望了
convinced:adj.坚信; v.使确信; (convince的过去分词和过去式)
There's nothing we can do." 我們束手無策了」
When she said that, I scrambled . 當她這麼說,我慌了
scrambled:v.爬,攀登;争抢;抢占;争夺;(scramble的过去式和过去分词)
I tried to think, "How do I respond to that hopelessness ? 我試著想:「我該怎回應這種絕望?」
respond:vi.回答;作出反应;承担责任;n.应答;唱和; hopelessness:n.绝望,无望;不抱希望;
What is that sense of hopelessness?" 「這種絕望是什麼感覺?」
And what hit me was an image of my six-year-old son. 讓我頓悟的是我六歲兒子
And I imagined a doctor coming to me and saying, "Your son has terminal brain cancer , and there's nothing you can do. 我想像一位醫生告向我走來並告訴我: 「你兒子有晚期腦癌,你束手無策
terminal:n.终端;航站楼;终端机;航空终点站;adj.晚期的;不治的;致命的;患绝症的; cancer:n.癌症;恶性肿瘤;
Nothing you can do." 你束手無策」
So would I do nothing? 我真的什麼都不做嗎?
Would I just sit there? Accept it? Okay, nothing I can do? 我就坐在這？坦然接受？我什麼都不能做嗎?
I'm going off to build Google Glass. 我就去做研發谷歌眼镜
Google:谷歌;谷歌搜索引擎;
Of course not. I would do everything I could, and I would do everything I could because this is what love means, that the odds are irrelevant and that you do whatever the hell you can, the odds be damned . 當然不是 我會盡力而為 我會盡力而為因為這意味著愛 這無關輸贏,你就做所有你能夠做的 管他輸還是贏
odds:n.几率;胜算;不平等;差别; damned:adj.该死的; v.该死,混账; (damn的过去分词和过去式)
And then I saw the obvious link, because even we liberals love this country. 然而我就看到其中的關係因為即便是我們這些自由派人士 都愛這個國家
obvious:adj.明显的;显著的;平淡无奇的; liberals:n.自由主义者(liberal的复数);
(Laughter) (笑聲)
And so when the pundits and the politicians say that change is impossible, what this love of country says back is, "That's just irrelevant." 所以當權威人士或政客 說這改變是不可能 愛國情操會這麼回答: 「這不重要」
pundits:权威(pundit的复数); politicians:n.政治家;(蔑)政客;(美)政治贩;(politician的复数)
We lose something dear, something everyone in this room loves and cherishes , if we lose this republic, and so we act with everything we can to prove these pundits wrong. 若我們失去共和 我們會失去我們所摯愛的東西 會失去在場所有人共同珍惜的東西所以我們要採取行動 盡其所能地去證明這些權威人士是錯的
cherishes:vt.珍爱;vt.怀有(感情等);抱有(希望等);
So here's my question: 那麼這是我的問題:
Do you have that love? 你有這種愛嗎?
Do you have that love? 你有這份種愛嗎?
Because if you do, then what the hell are you, what are the hell are we doing? 因為如果你有 那你到底是誰? 你到底在做什麼?
When Ben Franklin was carried from the constitutional convention in September of 1787, he was stopped in the street by a woman who said, "Mr. Franklin, what have you wrought ?" 1787年9月,當班富蘭克林(Ben Franklin)從制憲會議離開 他在街上被一位女性攔下來問說 「富蘭克林先生,你造就了什麼?」
convention:n.习俗;惯例;协定;常规; wrought:adj.锻造的;加工的;精细的;v.工作(work的过去分词);wreak的过去分词;
Franklin said, "A republic, madam, if you can keep it." 富蘭克林回答:「一個共和,若你們能繼續保有它」
A republic. A representative democracy. 一個共和。一個代表性的民主
A government dependent upon the people alone. 一個單獨取決於人民的政府
We have lost that republic. 我們失去了這個共和
All of us have to act to get it back. 所有人必須行動把它找回來
Thank you very much. 非常感謝你們
(Applause) (掌聲)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause) 謝謝 謝謝 謝謝 (掌聲)