MLK Interlude

I say to you this morning,
今早我告诉你
that if you have never found something
倘若你从未找寻到弥足珍贵
so dear and so precious to you that you will die for it,
自己甘愿誓死守卫的东西
then you aren’t fit to live
那你定活得毫无意义
You may be 38 years old as I happen to be
你或许和我一样 年纪三十八
And one day some great opportunity stands before you
当有一天 上天赐你良机
And calls upon you to stand up for some great principle
召唤你为真理准则而坚守
Some great issue, some great cause
为远大宏图而砥砺
And you refuse to do it because you are afraid
你却因恐惧 回绝了号召
You refuse to do it because you want to live longer
而这仅是因为 你想活得更长久
You’re afraid that you will lose your job
你担心自己会为此失去工作
Or you’re afraid that you will bе criticized
担忧自己会被指责批判
Or that you will lose your popularity
直至无人问津
Or you’re afraid that somеbody will stab you or shoot at you or bomb your house
甚至畏惧被行刺枪杀 或是被烧毁房屋
And so you refuse to take the stand
因此你拒绝为正义而战
Well you may go on and live until you are 90
行吧 或许你能活到九十岁
But you’re just as dead at 38 as you would be at 90
就算如此 可实际上在你三十八岁那年 你已心魂已亡
And the sensation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit
苟延残喘地呼吸着 不过是灵魂早夭而宣告终结 姗姗来迟罢了
You died when you refused to stand up for right
当你拒绝为公道而战时 你便已如死尸
You died when you refused to stand up for truth
当你拒绝为公道而战时 你便已如死尸
You died when you refused to stand up for justice
当你拒绝为公道而战时 你便已如死尸