Cameron Kasky, Jaclyn Corin, David Hogg, Emma González and Alex Wind SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER
卡梅隆·卡斯基，贾克琳·科林，大卫·霍格，艾玛·冈萨雷斯和亚历克斯·温德 对强权直言不讳
BY BARACK OBAMA
文/巴拉克·奥巴马
(Time Notes:Obama was the 44th President of the United States)
(注:奥巴马是美国第44任总统)
America’s response to mass shootings has long followed a predictable pattern.
长期以来，美国对大规模枪击事件的反应一直是有章可循的。
We mourn. Offer thoughts and prayers. Speculate about the motives.
首先，我们哀悼。发表看法，为逝者祈祷。猜测罪犯的动机。
And then—even as no developed country endures a homicide rate like ours, a difference explained largely by pervasive accessibility to guns;
接着——尽管没有一个发达国家的谋杀率像我们这么高,这种差异主要源于枪支泛滥；
even as the majority of gun owners support commonsense reforms—
尽管大多数枪支拥有者都支持对枪支进行常识性的改革——
the political debate spirals into acrimony and paralysis.
这场政治辩论还是会逐渐演变成激烈的争吵和麻痹。
This time, something different is happening.
然而，这一次不一样。
This time, our children are calling us to account.
这一次，我们的孩子呼吁我们承担责任了。
The Parkland, Fla., students don’t have the kind of lobbyists or big budgets for attack ads that their opponents do.
佛罗里达州帕克兰的学生们既不像他们的竞争对手那样拥有游说团体那样的实力，也没有投放攻击性广告的大笔预算。
Most of them can’t even vote yet.
他们中的大多数人甚至还没有到能投票的年龄。
But they have the power so often inherent in youth:
但他们有年轻人往往与生俱来的那种力量：
to see the world anew; to reject the old constraints, outdated conventions and cowardice too often dressed up as wisdom.
那种重新认识世界；拒绝旧的约束、过时的习俗和常常装扮成智慧的懦弱的力量。
The power to insist that America can be better.
坚持认为美国可以变得更好的力量。
Seared by memories of seeing their friends murdered at a place they believed to be safe,
亲眼目睹朋友在他们认为安全的地方被谋杀，有了这样的烙印，
these young leaders don’t intimidate easily.
这些年轻的领袖们已经不会轻易被吓住了。
They see the NRA and its allies—whether mealymouthed politicians or mendacious commentators peddling conspiracy theories—
在他们眼里，全国步枪协会及其盟友——无论是甜言蜜语的政客，还是兜售阴谋论的虚假评论员——
as mere shills for those who make money selling weapons of war to whoever can pay.
不过是那些卖战争武器给有能力买的人来赚钱的一个幌子。
They’re as comfortable speaking truth to power as they are dismissive of platitudes and punditry.
他们对强权直言不讳，就像他们不屑于陈词滥调和权威一样。
And they live to mobilize their peers.
他们将动员同龄人当作人生的目标。
Already, they’ve had some success persuading statehouses and some of the biggest gun retailers to change.
目前他们已经成功地说服州议会和一些最大的枪支零售商做出了改变。
