I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence— the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
精神分裂的後遺症就是晚上3點睡覺早上7點就起床了 還精力充沛地騎腳踏車踅去阜杭豆漿吃早餐 以前還住姑姑家的時候幾乎天天吃阜杭豆漿,真是懷念~ 今天去吃早餐的時候依舊大排長龍 還發生一件好笑的事… 就是八點過後沒多久就有人拿消費券來買早餐了 然後老闆娘就又驚又喜,還大呼:哇!消費券耶!今天第一炮喔!要不要來歡呼一下!! 結果還真的有人拍手XDDDD 氣氛整個很歡樂XD 後來還騎去東區買了詹琦琦的生日禮物 (這個禮物集猥褻、實用與可愛於一身,我實在太滿意了!) 今天陽光好燦爛,好溫暖喔… 騎車的時候都會忍不住閉上一下眼睛感受陽光的溫度 不然就是停下來盯著樹葉間灑下來的光發呆… though the passersby might think that the girl was sufferred from dementia.
。
I'm on my way back to myself. Though it's the journey only as a matter of itself. I've been digging my lowest low. Right now I'm going to embrace the highest of high. And the best, is yet to come.
我的大學生活。哈 還是以一張史上無敵超級簡單的期末考卷做ending。 現在完全可以體會何謂「生命中不能承受之輕」 悠閒讓我好害怕,一點都不輕鬆。 原來我想要的是沉重的負擔,負擔愈沉重我才會感覺生命貼近真實。(或是說我已經"習慣"了負擔不習慣輕浮?負擔跟恐懼是人一生下來就有的生理需求嗎? 我是天生就傾向選擇困難還是外在環境附加的結果?) 沒有負擔讓我的存在比空氣還要輕,輕到…變氫氣 明天去加氡氣好了… 存在感往上飛的空虛 I can't take it.
我第一次學到「親密」這個字,是在電影《親密關係》。這部1983年的奧斯卡最佳影片,描述叛逆的女兒(黛博拉溫姬),不顧寡母(莎莉麥特琳)的反對而結婚生子,後來得了癌症,讓白髮人送黑髮人。母女雖然愛恨交織,但片名仍叫「Terms of Endearment」。「Endearment」是「Dear」的名詞,比「Dear」多了行動的決心。我把這個字記在日記中,希望有一天能當它的受詞。那天起,我學到親密未必有快樂的結局,但沒有親密,注定是悲劇。
第二次在電影中聽到「親密」這個字,是1996年的《征服情海》。湯姆克魯斯飾演紅牌運動員經紀人,交遊廣闊、人見人愛。然而當他被公司fire掉,所有的朋友瞬間消失。前女友批評他「Great at friendship. Bad at intimacy」(「很會做朋友,但從不敢和人交心」)。
親密感不一定來自快樂,有時原產地是悲傷。女性友人失戀了,我去家裡看她。看到她的前男友上電視,我立刻亂按遙控器,轉到迪士尼頻道。她看出我的刻意,但配合地說,「我最喜歡小熊維尼了!」我帶她去陽明山,我坐右邊,她坐左邊,計程車中各自看著窗外。此時廣播突然放出Rod Stuart的「I don't want to talk about it. How you broke my heart……」我轉過頭,她仍空洞地望著窗外,我伸出左手握住她窒息的右手,她一動也不動。她的心碎了,碎片飛到我身上。她的啜泣,在我心中聲若洪鐘。她的痛,我無法感受,但約略能懂。
當口中默唸著「There's no spoon」的他們乘著電梯鋼索來到屋頂,等在面前的是難纏(但卻西裝筆挺!)的電腦探員。便是在那片白色的屋頂上,名留影史的「尼歐下腰閃子彈」場面再度驚豔了全球的觀眾。無招要如何勝有招?許多少年漫畫都會告訴你:只要動作快到讓敵人完全跟不上,就什麼都不用怕了。藉由子彈時間突出的敘事效果,武俠小說裡「一眨眼功夫」難以看清的出招得以被放慢了;而身為一個畢竟比西方觀眾多看了不少功夫電影的台灣影迷,在《駭客任務》的諸多創意間也許會有三分是熟悉,剩下的七分、依舊是驚喜。
人類當然嚥不下這口氣。一場「全人類大軍VS機器人王國01」的大戰於焉展開。但最後的結局你們都很清楚了:機器人得到最終的勝利,而一度絕望地施放化學武器遮蔽藍天、冀望能靠著切斷太陽能來癱瘓機器軍團的人類們,則像在承接自己的罪業般,被機器人抓來當作能量的來源。「Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.」墨菲斯如是說。在這史稱「二度文藝復興」的大變革過後,全人類的價值變成了一顆顆供應能量的電池,而其意識則被接上機器文明所建造的、名為「母體(The Matrix)」的虛擬世界中,過著難辨真假的生老病死。
「介於現實和夢境之間」,是《駭客任務》念念不忘的對「母體」世界的描述。片中多次地辯論什麼是「真實」:「如果『真實』指的只是你的所感與所聞、所嚐與所見,那所謂的真實也不過就是你的大腦所接收到所解讀之的一堆電子訊號罷了(If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain)。」以科學的目光去看待所有事物,到頭來一切都只會剩下物理和化學。但靈魂的本體應該不只有電子訊號,而還有讓它們繞之旋轉的「存在」的核心吧?
於此還能連接到:片中的角色命名多少都帶有宗教與神話的意涵,從「沈睡之神」墨菲斯、「三位一體」崔妮蒂,再到祭司、神諭和甚至「救世主」本身的彌賽亞形象,都不脫和西方古典的連結。但《駭客任務》之所以特別,更因為片中許多名詞和電腦軟體的相關:從Mouse到Switch、從紅色藥丸內含的搜尋信號到三兩下功夫下載完畢的駕駛能力等等、從「you've been bugged」到「Matrix」這個用詞的本身,都是再明喻不過的計算機概念。
所以在最後,我想重提片中我最喜歡的一句對白作結。嗯不,不是「It is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself」,不是「Every thing that has a beginning has an end」(進度還沒到那裡啦!),也不是「I can only show you the door, you are the one that has to walk through it」。而是當尼歐滿頭問號地在懷疑自己到底是不是「The One」,此時祭司以一句絕妙的譬喻告訴他「別再窮想了」。她說的是:
"Being the one is just like being in love. No one needs to tell you you are in love, you just know it , through and through, balls to bones."
聽到這句話我想到的是,even是一個喪失記憶、沒有家人的人都還要對生活有期許,要努力的活下去,而我喪失的不過是一段感情,就對人性、對生活失去信心,然後任憑生活失序,沉浸在自己的悲傷裡,難過到現在。我真的太脆弱了。這部片真的是好片,它給我的啟示是,既使受到再大的沖擊、破碎,還是要有信心,要勇敢的去相信,相信知識可以改變這個社會,相信生活會work out to be better,相信未來是充滿希望的,相信認真的對一個人好是值得的,相信愛…。相信的人,最接近奇蹟。