只要人人都獻出一點愛 世界將會更美好
作者:Alan Grayson
來源:赫芬頓郵報
2019-11-01 07:00
One of the nice things about being a human being is that when you have a problem, you can appeal for help, and you'll often get it. People actually want to help people. (Unlike chimps, who have a very nasty attitude.)
作為一個人,好處之一就是當你遇到問題時,你可以請求幫助,而且你常常會得到幫助。實際上人們想要幫助他人。(不像脾氣不好的黑猩猩。)
You would not believe how many people called my office after the earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, and asked how they could help. A lot of those people had never met a Haitian in their entire lives. But they wanted to help.
你可能不相信,2010年1月12日海地地震后,多少人往我辦公室打過電話,并詢問他們怎樣才能提供幫助。那些人中的很多人一生中從未遇到過一個海地人,但是他們想要提供幫助。
I'll give you another example.
再給你舉一個例子。
I went to Somalia a few years ago. I went with a group. Our group also visited other countries in East Africa. We flew from one country to another, often because land borders were closed. But flights were few and far between.
幾年前我去了索馬里。我跟一群人一起去的。我們這群人也訪問了東非的其他國家。我們時常因為國土邊界被封鎖而從一個國家飛到了另一個國家,但是那里幾乎沒有什么航班而且航班之間相隔的時間很久。
Upon arrival at the airport in one small country, the immigration official noticed that the visa for a member of our group had expired. She said that that member would have to re-board the flight, and return from whence we had come. Which was a huge problem, because the next flight was four days later, and we were staying only for three.
到達一個小國家機場的時候,移民局官員注意到我們這群人中的一位成員簽證過期了。她說那位成員必須重新登機,從哪里來就回哪里去。這是個大問題,因為下一個航班在四天后,而我們只呆三天。
In some parts of the world, such problems are solved by the sudden appearance of cash. Sure enough, cash suddenly appeared.
在世界上的一些地區(qū),這樣的問題可以通過突然出現(xiàn)的現(xiàn)金來解決。毫無疑問,現(xiàn)金突然出現(xiàn)了。
The immigration official quietly declined the offer. She reiterated that our colleague needed to re-board the airplane. This caused a great deal of consternation within our group.
移民局官員平靜地拒絕了這些錢。她重申我們的同事需要重新登機,這在我們這群人中引起了極大的恐慌。
Our group leader was possibly the most traveled human being who ever lived. For instance, he had been to Ethiopia, a nearby country, more than thirty times. He knew a thing or two about human nature. He went up to the immigration official, he quietly and tactfully explained the awful consequences for our colleague if he were separated from our group, and he then used the magic words:
我們的領隊可能是活著的人中游歷經(jīng)驗最豐富的人了。例如,他去過附近的一個國家埃塞俄比亞30多次。他對人類本性略知一二。他去找移民局官員,他平靜又機智地解釋如果我們的同事和我們這群人分開,對他來說后果很可怕,然后他用了這條咒語:
"Have a heart."
“發(fā)發(fā)善心吧。”
He said those words three times.
他把這句話說了3遍。
The immigration official smiled (for the first time), took the passport with the expired visa, and told him that everyone would have to wait until she returned. So we did.
移民局官員(第一次)笑了,拿起這本簽證過期的護照,并告訴他每個人都必須等到她回來才行。所以我們就按她說的辦了。
The plane left. We didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
飛機起飛了。我們不知道那是好事還是壞事。
After 45 minutes, she came back. She showed my colleague that inside the passport there was a new, valid visa.
45分鐘之后,她回來了。她把護照拿給我的同事看,護照里有一個新的有效簽證。
"No charge," she said in French.
“免費的,”她用法語說。
What makes a $15 minimum wage politically possible? It's because people have a heart. Why immigration reform? Because people have a heart. Why universal healthcare, paid sick leave, free public college? Because ... people have a heart.
什么使得15美元的最低工資在政治上成為可能?這是因為人們發(fā)善心。為什么要進行移民政策改革?因為人們發(fā)善心。為什么會有全民醫(yī)療、帶薪病假、免費公立大學?因為……人們發(fā)善心。
Our progressive campaign is not rooted merely in idealism, the conviction that the world can be a better place. Our progressivism is rooted in human nature, that shared spark in all of us we call "empathy." In a very fundamental way, we care about each other. We love each other. We want everyone to live a decent life - even people we've never met, and never will meet.
我們的革新運動不是僅僅植根于理想主義,而是確信這個世界可以成為一個更好的地方。我們的革新論植根于人類的天性,它閃耀在我們所有人身上,我們稱之為“同理心”。我們以非?;镜姆绞交ハ嚓P心、相親相愛。我們想要每一個人過上體面的生活——即使是我們從未遇見過且以后也不會遇見的人。
We all have a heart.
我們都發(fā)發(fā)善心吧。
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