58. Sing the Melody Line in Your Life

58. 奏出生命中最美的乐曲

Every era has its defining struggle and the fate of Africa is one of ours. It's not the only one, but in the history books it's easily going to make the top five---what we did or what we did not do. It's a proving ground, as I said earlier, for the idea of equality. But whether it's this or something else, I hope you'll pick a flight and get in it. Get your boots dirty. Get rough. Steel your courage with a final drink there at Somoky Joe's, one last primal scream and go.

每一个时代都有其特定的斗争使命，而我们的一个使命就是改变非洲的命运。这不是我们唯一的使命，但无论是对我们已经解决的或尚未解决的困难来说，这都被历史列为五大挑战之一。正如我之前说过的，非洲是平等理念的试验场。不管是什么原因，我都希望你们掀起这场斗争并为之奋斗。去感受苦难，去磨练你的意志，在斯莫基乔酒吧再饮上最后一杯，大喊一声，然后踏上征程。

Sing the melody line you hear in your own head Remember, you don't owe anybody any explanations. You don't owe your parents any explanations. You don't owe your professors any explanations. You know, I used to think that the future was solid, or fixed, or something you inherited like an old building that you move into when the previous generation moves out or gets chased out. But it's not. The future is not fixed. It's fluid. You can build your own building, or hut or condo, whatever. This is the metaphor part of the speech by the way.

唱出你心中最美的乐曲!记住，你无须向任何人解释，你无须向父母做出任何解释，你也无须向你的教授做出任何解择。我曾经认为未来是注定的、一成不变的，就像继承一座老房子，上一代搬出去或被逐出去，你们就可以搬进去。但事实并非如此。未来并非一成不变，而是可以改变的。你们可以建造自己的大楼或小棚子或公寓。顺便说一下，这只是今天致辞中的暗喻。

But my point is that the world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape. Now if I were a folksinger I'd immediately launch into "If I Had a Hammer" right now, get you all singing and swaying. But as I say I come from punk rock, so I'd rather have the bloody hammer right here in my fist. That's what this degree of yours is, a blunt instrument. So go forth and build something with it. And remember what John Adams said about Ben Franklin, "He does not hesitate at our boldest Measures but rather seems to think us too irresolute."

但我要说的是，世界比你们想象的更具可塑性，它正等待着你们把它塑造成型。现在，如果我是一名民间歌手，我就会立即开始唱《假如我有一把铁锤》，带领你们一起唱、一起跳。但如我所言，我是朋克乐队的一名歌手，我宁愿手中握着一把带血的铁锤。你们的学位不过算是一把不算锋利的武器，所以，向前冲吧!用它去铸造未来!记住约翰·亚当对本·富兰克林的评价：“对于我们最勇敢的行动，他毫不犹豫地响应，但似乎认为我们过于优柔寡断了。”