Michael 2001年牛津大学演讲.doc

Michael 2001年牛津大学演讲（中文版） Love, ladies and gentlemen, is the human familys most precious legacy, its richest bequest, its golden inheritance. And it is a treasure that is handed down from one generation to another. Previous ages may not have had the wealth we enjoy. Their houses may have lacked electricity, and they squeezed their many kids into small homes without central heating. But those homes had no darkness, nor were they cold. They were lit bright with the glow of love and they were warmed snugly by the very heat of the human heart. Parents, undistracted by the lust for luxury and status, accorded their children primacy in their lives. 爱，女士们先生们，爱是人类家庭最珍贵的遗产，是最贵重的馈赠，是最无价的传统，是我们应该代代相传的财富。以前，我们或许没有现在所享受的富有，房子里可能没有电，很多孩子挤在没有取暖设施的狭小房间里。但这些家庭里没有黑暗，也没有寒冷。他们点燃爱之光，贴紧的心让他们感到温暖。父母不为各种享受和权利的欲望分心，孩子才是他们的生活中最重要的。 Psychologists are publishing libraries of books detailing the destructive effects of denying ones children the unconditional love that is so necessary to the healthy development of their minds and character. And because of all the neglect, too many of our kids have, essentially, to raise themselves. They are growing more distant from their parents, grandparents and other family members, as all around us the indestructible bond that once glued together the generations, unravels. This violation has bred a new generation, Generation O let us call it, that has now picked up the torch from Generation X. The O stands for a generation that has everything on the outside - wealth, success, fancy clothing and fancy cars, but an aching emptiness on the inside. That cavity in our chests, that barrenness at our core, that void in our centre is the place where the heart once beat and which love once occupied. And its not just the kids who are suffering. Its the parents as well. For the more we cultivate little-adults in kids-bodies, the more removed we ourselves become from our own child-like qualities, and there is so much about being a child that is worth retaining in adult li