前美国总统奥巴马16号在“一起毕业：2020级高中毕业典礼”上发表网络讲话。这个活动由XQ学院组织跟勒布朗·詹姆斯的基金会和娱乐业基金会合作。
奥巴马表示，现在的形势让这代人不得不更快速成长，自己已老，让世界变得更好就靠你们这一代了！
奥巴马演讲全文：
大家好。 Aniyah，感谢您的精彩介绍。我为您在奥巴马基金会期间所做的一切感到自豪。
当然，对即将毕业的2020级，我不能为你们所有人感到更骄傲，你们的老师、教练、以及最重要的是引导你前进的父母和家人都为你们感到骄傲。
在任何情况下，毕业都是一项重大成就。你们当中有些人必须克服各种严重的障碍，无论是生病，父母失去工作，还是住在人们经常把你拒之门外的社区中。除了成长过程中常见的挑战，你们所有人都必须应对社交媒体带来的更大压力、学校枪击事件的报道、以及气候变化的阴影。然后，就像你即将庆祝成功一样，就像你一直期待着毕业舞会和典礼，说实话还有一堆派对，而现在受到全球大流行性病影响整个世界都处于颠覆状态。而且，我当然肯定，你们爱父母，但我敢打赌，与父母呆在一起，玩棋盘游戏或在电视上看Tiger King并不是你们对毕业前最后几个月的预期。
现在，我对您说实话，缺少现场毕业典礼的失望，这些很快就会过去。我不太记得自己高中毕业的时候。我知道不必坐在那里听演讲，这不是很糟糕-我的经历是演讲通常会持续太久。而且，并不是很多人都喜欢这些帽子，特别是如果你有像我这样的大耳朵。一旦迫在眉睫的公共卫生危机结束，你们将有足够的时间与朋友保持联系。
但是，真正的事实是，毕业标志着你们进入成年，这是你们开始掌控自己的生活的时刻。当你们决定对自己重要的事情时：你们想要从事的职业。你们想与谁建立家庭。你们想赖以生存的价值观。鉴于目前的世界状况，这可能有点吓人。
如果你们打算去上大学，那么秋天就到校园里上学，这已不再是一定的了。如果你们打算在上学时工作，那么找到第一份工作将变得更加艰难。即使是相对富裕的家庭也面临着巨大的不确定性。那些曾经在挣扎中的人们，他们更困难。
所有这些意味着你们将必须比某些世代成长更快。这种大流行病动摇了现状，暴露出我国许多深层次的问题，从严重的经济不平等、持续的种族差距、到缺乏为需要它的人提供基本医疗服务。许多年轻人意识到，旧的做事方式行不通；如果周围的每个人都饥饿、生病，那你赚多少钱都没有意义；而且我们的社会和民主，只有在我们不仅思考自己，而且思考彼此时，才能发挥作用。
这也揭开了另一个真相，这是一旦我们的童年结束，所有人都必须最终接受的。你们曾经认为的所有那些成年人，都在承担责任，并且知道他们在做什么。事实证明他们并没有所有答案。他们中的许多人甚至都没有在问正确的问题。因此，如果世界会变得更好，那将取决于你们。
这种认识可能有点吓人。但我希望它也能激发灵感。面对这个国家目前面临的所有挑战，没有人能告诉您“不，您太年轻了，无法理解”或“一直以来就是这么办的。”因为存在如此多的不确定性，突然之间所有事情都可以做，这就是你们这一代人的世界。
由于我是老家伙之一，因此我不会告诉你们如何处理这种掌握在你们手中的力量。但是，我给你们提供三个简单的建议。
首先，不要害怕。美国经历了艰难的时期，奴隶制、内战、饥荒、疾病、大萧条和9/11。每次我们变得更加强大时，通常是因为新一代的年轻人，像你们一样，从过去的错误中吸取教训，并弄清楚了如何使事情变得更好。
第二，做你认为正确的事。做感觉好、方便、容易的事情-那就是小孩子的想法。不幸的是，许多所谓的成年人，包括一些拥有高级头衔和重要工作的成年人，仍然以这种方式思考，这就是事情如此混乱的原因。
我希望相反，你们决定以持久的价值观为基础，例如诚实、勤奋、责任、公平、慷慨、尊重他人。你们不会每次都做对，你们会像我们所有人一样犯错误。但是，如果你们倾听自己内心的真相，即使很难，即使不便，人们也会注意到。他们会被你们吸引。你们将成为解决方案的一部分，而不是问题的一部分。
最后，建立一个社区。没有人独自做大事。现在，当人们感到害怕时，很容易产生愤世嫉俗的声音，说出：让我只为自己、家人，或跟我看起来、思考或信仰与我相似的人。但是，如果我们要度过这些困难的时期，如果我们要创造一个每个人都有机会找到工作、并负担大学学费的世界；如果我们要保护环境、并战胜未来的流行病，那么我们将不得不一起做。因此，要为彼此的斗争而活着。捍卫彼此的权利。抛弃所有使我们分裂的旧思维方式-性别歧视，种族偏见，地位，贪婪-并使世界走上一条不同的道路。
当你们需要帮助时，我和米歇尔已将基金会的使命，赋予了像你们这样的年轻人，以技能和支持来领导自己的社区，并使你们与全国和全球的其他青年领袖建立联系。
但事实是，他们不需要我们告诉他们该怎么做。
因为在很多方面，他们已经开始发挥领导作用。
恭喜，2020级。继续让我们感到骄傲。
Hi, everybody. Aniyah, thank you for that beautiful introduction. I could not be prouder of everything you’Ve done in your time with the Obama Foundation.
And of course, I couldn’t be prouder of all of you in the graduating Class of 2020 – as well as the teachers, coaches, and most of all, parents and family Who guided have you along the way.
Now graduating is a big achievement under any circumstances. Some of you have had to overcome serious obstacles along the way, whether it was an illness, or a parent losing a Job, or living in a neighborhood where people too often count you out. Along with the usual challenges of growing Up, all of you have had to deal with the added pressures of Social media, reports of school shootings, and the specter of climate change. And then, just as you’re about to celebrate having made it through, just as you’Ve been looking forward to proms and senior nights, graduation ceremonies – and, let’s face it, a whole bunch of parties – the world is turned upside down by a global pandemic. And as much as I’m sure you love your parents, I’ll bet that being stuck at Home with them and playing board games or watching Tiger King on TV is not exactly how you envisioned the last few months of your senior year.
Now I’ll be honest with you – the disappointments of missing a live graduation – those will pass pretty quick. I don’t remember much from my own high school graduation. I know that not having to sit there and listen to a commencement speaker isn’t all bad – mine usually go on way too long. Also, not that many people look great in those caps, especially if you have big ears like me. And you’ll have a chance to catch Up with your friends once the immediate Public health Crisis is over. But what remains true is that your graduation marks your passage into adulthood – the time when you begin to take Charge of your own life. It’s when you get to decide what’s important to you: the kind of Career you want to pursue. Who you want to Build a family with. The values you want to live by. And given the current state of the world, that may be kind of scary.
If you’d planned on going away for college, getting dropped off at campus in the fall – that’s no longer a given. If you were Planning to work while going to school, finding that first Job is going to be tougher. Even families that are relatively well-off are dealing with massive Uncertainty. Those Who were struggling before – they’re hanging on by a thread.
All of which means that you’re going to have to grow Up faster than some generations. This pandemic has shaken Up the status quo and laid bare a Lot of our Country’s deep-seated problems – from Massive economic inequality to on-going racial disparities to a lack of basic health care for people Who Need it. It’s woken a Lot of Young people to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don’t work; that it doesn’t Matter how much Money you make if everyone around you is hungry and sick; and that our Society and our Democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves, but about each other.
It’s also pulled the curtain back on another hard truth, something that we all have to eventually accept once our childhood comes to an end. All those adults that you used to think were in Charge and knew what they were doing? It turns out that they don’t have all the answers. A Lot of them aren’t even asking the right questions. So, if the world’s going to get better, it going to be Up to you.
That realization may be kind of intimidating. But I hope it’s also inspiring. With all the challenges this Country faces right now, nobody can tell you “no, you’re too Young to understand” or “this is how it’s always been done.” Because with so much Uncertainty, with everything suddenly Up for grabs, this is your generation’s world to shape.
Since I’m one of the old guys, I won’t tell you what to do with this Power that rests in your hands. But I’ll leave you with three quick pieces of advice.
First, don’t be afraid. America’s gone through tough times before – slavery and Civil war, famine and disease, the Great Depression and 9/11. And each time we came out stronger, usually because a new generation, Young people like you, learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.
Second, do what you think is right. Doing what feels good, what’s convenient, what’s easy – that’s how little kids think. Unfortunately, a Lot of so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way – which is why things are so screwed Up. I hope that instead, you decide to ground yourself in values that last, like Honesty, hard work, Responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others. You won’t get it right every time, you’ll make mistakes like we all do. But if you listen to the truth that’s inside yourself, even when it’s hard, even when Its inconvenient, people will notice. They’ll gravitate towards you. And you’ll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
And finally, Build a community. No one does big things by themselves. Right now, when people are scared, it’s easy to be cynical and say let me just look out for myself, or my family, or people Who look or think or pray like me. But if we’re going to get through these difficult times; if we’re going to create a world where everybody has the opportunity to find a Job, and afford college; if we’re going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, then we’re going to have to do it together. So be alive to one another’s struggles. Stand Up for one another’s rights. Leave behind all the old ways of Thinking that divide us – sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed – and Set the world on a different path.
When you Need help, Michelle and I have made it the mission of our Foundation to give Young people like you the Skills and Support to Lead in your own communities, and to connect you with other Young leaders around the Country and around the globe.
But the truth is that you don’t Need us to tell you what to do.
Because in so many ways, you’Ve already started to Lead.
Congratulations, Class of 2020. Keep making us proud.
来源：网络
