智慧人生篇章 第52期:从民族荣誉看奥运

 　　Two weeks ago while at a soccer match in Houston, the woman beside me said she was in London last year and "the Olympics will be a mess", or at least that was a polite paraphrase 1. 两周前，在休斯敦的一场足球赛上，我旁边一位女士说，她去年到过伦敦，"伦敦奥运会将是一塌糊涂"，或者可以这样委婉地解释。

　　It had been clear from my pink freckled 2 skin and my lack of enthusiasm for using the word "awesome 4" that I was from elsewhere. 从我长有雀斑的粉色肤色和很少用"酷毙了"这个词，可以明确判断我非英国人。
　　Asking me if I was a Brit, the woman then shared her expectation of the British ability to deliver . 那女士问了我是否是英国人，然后和我分享了她对英国递送能力的期许。
　　I muttered quietly, and it has to be said not with great confidence, that it will be good. 我喃喃自语，这不得不说缺少强大信心，但是会好的。
　　I wish that I had been beside my American friend watching television on Friday. 我真希望周五那天，和我的美国朋友一起看的电视。
　　With virtually the whole nation, I was amazed, amused and filled with awe 3 at British creativity and achievement. 事实上，我对英国整个民族的创造力和成就，感到惊奇、愉悦和敬畏。
　　My own whingeing about tickets and our failings as a nation were simply superseded 5 by the delight of history, spectacle and a parachuting monarch 6. 我对无门票的牢骚和对失败国家的抱怨，立刻被厚重的历史、精彩绝伦的表演和跳伞女王带来的愉悦代替。
　　I was proud to be British. Yet pride can be a difficult thing. 我身为英国人，很骄傲。然而骄傲会是个艰难事。
　　The early church theologian, St Augustine, said that it was "pride that changed angels into devils. It is humility 7 that makes men as angels". 早期的基督教神学家奥古斯丁曾说过，"骄傲使天使堕落为恶魔，谦虚使凡人成为天使"。
　　Certain types of pride can lead to unhealthy nationalistic fervor 8, arrogance 9 and even aggression 10. 某些骄傲会引起危险的民族主义狂热、傲慢自大、甚至挑衅攻击。
　　But pride is a complex thing, often expressing itself differently in different cultures and genders 11. 然而骄傲很复杂，不同的文化，不同的性别对其表述不一。
　　Jane Austin famously distinguished 12 between pride and vanity, suggesting, "Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity, to what we would have others think of us". 简·奥斯汀对骄傲和虚荣有过极好地区分，她说，"骄傲更多的是我们对自己的评价；虚荣，则是期望别人对自己的评价"。
　　It seems to me that pride is healthy if woven with modesty 13, self deprecating humour and an honesty that sometimes we don't get it right. 在我看来，如果骄傲和谦虚、自嘲、诚实并存，那么骄傲是可取的，但有时我们很难做到。
　　Perhaps most importantly it is the attitude that does not grasp selfishly at power and status but shares its gifts with all. 也许最重要的是态度，有那种无私放弃权利和地位，与众人分享自己天赋的态度。
　　At the heart of the opening ceremony, pride was earthed by the message that this is for everyone, symbolised supremely 14 by the stepping aside of the great Olympians to allow young people to light the flame. 在开幕式间，骄傲被这一切属于大家这一信息掩埋，年轻人取代伟大的奥运会选手点亮奥运圣火，便是最高的象征。
　　This comes not from vanity but confidence. 这不是虚荣，而是自信。
　　Former President Jimmy Carter picked up on this confidence when he commented,  美国前总统吉米·卡特评论这一现象时，他重拾这种信心，他说，
　　"A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping 15 hand to others. "一个强大的国家，犹如一个强大的人，能温文尔雅、坚定不移、深思熟虑、自我克制和乐于助人。
　　It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster 16 and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity. 一个软弱的国家，犹如一个软弱的人，必须咆哮怒嚎、自我吹嘘、轻率鲁莽和做些其它显示出不安的事情"。
　　So in all that is to come I want to take pride in my nation, my family, others and even myself in a way that names and celebrates that which is good, while still refusing to use the word awesome. 因此，我对自己国家感到骄傲，对自己家庭感到骄傲，对他人感到骄傲，甚至对自己命名和庆祝美好事物的方式感到骄傲，尽管仍旧拒绝使用"酷毙了"这个词。