《Find the Promised Land》歌词

歌曲： Find the Promised Land

所属专辑：美国名校励志演说 17篇

歌手： 英语演讲

时长： 14:31

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Find the Promised Land - 英语演讲 [00:00:01]

Tony Blair Delivers Yale Class Day Speech[00:00:05]

So: after over 100 years of Class Days,[00:00:10]

finally you get a British speaker.[00:00:14]

What took you so long? Did that little disagreement [00:00:16]

of 1776 really rankle so much? [00:00:22]

And why now? Is it because British election[00:00:25]

campaigns only last four weeks?[00:00:29]

For whatever reason, [00:00:31]

it is an honour to be here [00:00:35]

and to say to the Yale College Class of 2008:[00:00:37]

you did it; you came through; [00:00:40]

from all of us to you: congratulations.[00:00:42]

The invitation to a former British Prime Minister[00:00:46]

to address a college which boasts five former Presidents,[00:00:50]

many former Vice Presidents and Senators too numerous to mention, [00:00:53]

is either to give me an exaggerated [00:00:58]

sense of my own importance or you a reduced sense of yours.[00:01:00]

It was Churchill or Oscar Wilde -[00:01:04]

and there is a difference - [00:01:07]

who called us two nations divided[00:01:09]

by a common language and so we are.[00:01:13]

Here I am at Yale and set to come back [00:01:16]

for the fall semester. My old Oxford tutor was,[00:01:20]

I'm afraid, horrified to hear I had been taken on by Yale.[00:01:24]

His worries were all for Yale I may say.[00:01:28]

He said: "I only hope for their sake you[00:01:32]

are going there to learn rather than teach." [00:01:35]

Now I know you Yale guys are smart.[00:01:38]

So what can I tell you [00:01:42]

that you don't already think you know?[00:01:45]

I can tell you something of the world as I see it. [00:01:46]

Three days ago, in my role as Middle East envoy, [00:01:51]

I stood in the heart of Bethlehem. [00:01:55]

On one side of me, lay the concrete barrier[00:01:57]

which now separates Israel and Palestine. [00:02:01]

On the other, the historic birthplace [00:02:04]

of Jesus and the land of Palestine beyond.[00:02:07]

A few days before that, I was in Jericho.[00:02:10]

If you look up from the town centre, [00:02:15]

to the left is the Mount of Temptation,[00:02:18]

where Jesus stayed 40 days and nights.[00:02:20]

To the right, you can see Mount Nebo[00:02:23]

where Moses looked down on the Promised Land. [00:02:26]

And right in front of you is the Valley of Jordan.[00:02:29]

My guide, a Muslim, turned to me and said:[00:02:32]

"Moses, Jesus, Mohammed - [00:02:38]

why in God's name did they all have to come here?"[00:02:41]

But in God's name they came and for centuries [00:02:44]

their followers have waged war in the name of prophets[00:02:49]

whose life's work was in pursuit of peace.[00:02:52]

Today, though the land that encompasses Israel [00:02:54]

and Palestine is small, the conflict symbolises[00:02:59]

the wider prospects of the entire vast region[00:03:03]

of the Middle East and beyond.[00:03:06]

There, the forces of modernisation and moderation battle[00:03:08]

with those of reaction and extremism. [00:03:13]

The shadow of Iran looms large.[00:03:16]

What is at stake is immense. [00:03:19]

Will those who believe in peaceful co-existence triumph, [00:03:23]

matching the growing economic power [00:03:27]

and wealth with a politics and culture at ease [00:03:34]

with the 21st Century? Or will the victors be those[00:03:35]

that seek to use that economic wealth to create a politics [00:03:37]

and culture more relevant to the feudal Middle Ages?[00:03:40]

Thousands of miles from here, [00:03:43]

this struggle is being played out in the suburbs[00:03:47]

of Baghdad and Beirut and the Gaza strip.[00:03:50]

But the impact of its outcome on our security[00:03:53]

and way of life will register in the core of our well-being.[00:03:57]

In fact, if I had to sum up my view of the world,[00:04:00]

I would say to you: turn your thoughts to the East.[00:04:05]

Not just to the Middle East. [00:04:08]

But to the Far East.[00:04:10]

China and India each have populations roughly [00:04:12]

double those of America and Europe combined.[00:04:17]

In the next two decades, these two countries together[00:04:20]

will undergo industrialisation four times [00:04:25]

the size of the USA's and at five times the speed.[00:04:27]

We must be mindful that as these ancient civilisations[00:04:31]

become somehow younger and more vibrant,[00:04:36]

our young civilisation does not grow old.[00:04:39]

Most of all we should know that in this new world,[00:04:42]

we must clear a path to partnership,[00:04:46]

not stand off against each other, [00:04:48]

competing for power.[00:04:51]

The world in which you, in time to come,[00:04:52]

will take the reins, cannot afford a return [00:04:57]

to 20th century struggles for hegemony.[00:05:00]

The characteristic of this modern world is the pace,[00:05:02]

scope and scale of change.[00:05:07]

Globalisation is driving it and people [00:05:10]

are driving globalisation. The consequence is [00:05:14]

that the world opens up; its boundaries diminish; [00:05:19]

we are pushed closer together.[00:05:22]

The conclusion is that we make it work together [00:05:25]

or not at all.[00:05:29]

The issues you must wrestle with - [00:05:31]

the threat of climate change, food scarcity,[00:05:35]

and population growth, worldwide terror based on religion, [00:05:39]

the interdependence of the world economy - [00:05:43]

my student generation would barely recognise.[00:05:46]

But the difference today is they [00:05:49]

are all essentially global in nature.[00:05:52]

You understand this. Yale has become a melting pot [00:05:54]

of culture, language and civilisation. [00:06:01]

You are the global generation. [00:06:03]

So be global citizens. [00:06:06]

Each new generation finds the world they enter.[00:06:09]

But they fashion the world they leave.[00:06:15]

So: what do you inherit and what do you pass on?[00:06:18]

The history of humankind is marked[00:06:22]

by great events but written by great people. [00:06:26]

People like you.[00:06:29]

Given Yale's record of achievement, perhaps by you.[00:06:31]

So to you as individuals, what wisdom, [00:06:37]

if any, have I learnt?[00:06:43]

First, in fact, keep learning.[00:06:44]

Always be alive to the possibilities [00:06:48]

of the next experience, of thinking, doing and being.[00:06:51]

When Buddha was asked, near the end of his life,[00:06:55]

to describe his secret, he answered bluntly: [00:07:00]

"I'm awake". So be awake.[00:07:04]

Understand conventional wisdom,[00:07:07]

but be prepared to change it.[00:07:11]

Feel as well as analyse; [00:07:13]

use your instinct alongside your reason.[00:07:17]

Calculate too much and you will miscalculate.[00:07:21]

Be prepared to fail as well as to succeed,[00:07:25]

and realise it is failure not success[00:07:29]

that defines character.[00:07:32]

I spent years trying to be a politician failing [00:07:34]

at every attempt and nearly gave up.[00:07:39]

I know you're thinking: I should have.[00:07:42]

Sir Paul McCartney reminded me [00:07:44]

that the first record company the Beatles [00:07:48]

approached rejected them as a band no-one[00:07:50]

would want to listen to.[00:07:53]

Be good to people on your way up [00:07:54]

because you never know if you will meet them[00:07:58]

again on your way down.[00:08:01]

Judge someone by how they treat those below them[00:08:02]

not those above them.[00:08:06]

Be a firm friend not a fair-weather friend.[00:08:08]

It is your friendships, including those friends[00:08:13]

you made here at Yale, at this time,[00:08:17]

that sustain and enrich the human spirit.[00:08:18]

A good test of a person is who turns up [00:08:21]

at their funeral and with what sincerity. [00:08:27]

Try not to sit the test too early, of course.[00:08:30]

Recently, I attended a funeral and the speaker [00:08:34]

said he would like to begin by reading [00:08:39]

a list of all those whose funerals he would rather[00:08:41]

have been attending, but the list was too long.[00:08:43]

It was a sweet compliment to our friend.[00:08:46]

Alternatively there was Spike Milligan, [00:08:49]

the quintessential English comic who[00:08:53]

when he was asked what he would like[00:08:56]

as the epitaph on his tombstone,[00:08:58]

replied: "They should write: I told you I was ill."[00:09:00]

There was a colleague of mine in the British Parliament[00:09:03]

who once asked another: [00:09:08]

"Why do people take such an instant dislike to me?" [00:09:09]

and got the reply: "Because it saves time." [00:09:12]

So, when others think of you, let them think [00:09:15]

not with their lips but their hearts of a good friend [00:09:20]

and a gracious acquaintance.[00:09:23]

Above all, however, have a purpose in life.[00:09:25]

Life is not about living but about striving.[00:09:30]

When you get up, get up motivated. [00:09:33]

Live with a perpetual sense of urgency. [00:09:36]

And make at least part of that purpose [00:09:40]

about something bigger than you.[00:09:43]

There are great careers. [00:09:45]

There are also great causes.[00:09:49]

At least let some of them into your lives.[00:09:51]

Giving lifts the heart in a way that getting never can. [00:09:55]

Maybe it really was Oscar Wilde who said: [00:10:00]

"No one ever died, saying if only I had one more day at the office."[00:10:03]

One small but shocking sentence: [00:10:08]

each year three million children die [00:10:12]

in Africa from preventable disease or conflict.[00:10:14]

The key word? Preventable.[00:10:18]

When all is said and done,[00:10:23]

there is usually more said than done.[00:10:27]

Be a doer not a commentator.[00:10:28]

Seek responsibility rather than shirk it.[00:10:32]

People often ask me about leadership,[00:10:37]

I say: leadership is about wanting the responsibility[00:10:40]

to be on your shoulders, [00:10:44]

not ignoring its weight but knowing someone[00:10:45]

has to carry it and, reaching out for [00:10:47]

that person to be you. Leaders are heat-seekers not heat-deflectors.[00:10:51]

And luck?[00:10:57]

You have all the luck you need.[00:11:01]

You are here, at Yale, and what - [00:11:03]

apart from the hats - could be better?[00:11:06]

You have something else: your parents.[00:11:09]

When you are your age,[00:11:13]

you can never imagine being our age.[00:11:16]

But believe me, when you're our age[00:11:18]

we remember clearly being your age.[00:11:21]

That's why I am so careful about young men and my daughter, [00:11:24]

"Don't tell me what you're thinking. [00:11:28]

I know what you're thinking."[00:11:31]

But as a parent let me tell you something about parents.[00:11:33]

Despite all rational impulses,[00:11:38]

despite all evidence to the contrary,[00:11:41]

despite what we think you do to us [00:11:44]

and what you think we do to you -[00:11:46]

and yes, it is often hell on both sides -[00:11:48]

the plain, unvarnished truth is we love you.[00:11:51]

Simply, profoundly, utterly.[00:11:55]

I remember, back in the mists of time,[00:11:58]

my Dad greeting me off the train[00:12:02]

at Durham railway station. [00:12:05]

I was a student at Oxford. [00:12:06]

Oxford and Cambridge are for Britain[00:12:08]

kind of like Yale and Harvard,[00:12:11]

only more so. It was a big deal.[00:12:14]

I had been away for my first year[00:12:16]

and was coming home.[00:12:19]

I stepped off the train. [00:12:21]

My hair was roughly the length of Rumpelstiltskin's [00:12:25]

and unwashed. I had no shoes and no shirt.[00:12:29]

My jeans were torn - and this was in the days [00:12:32]

before this became a fashion item. [00:12:36]

Worst of all, we had just moved house.[00:12:40]

Mum had thrown out the sitting room drapes.[00:12:41]

I had retrieved them and made a sleeveless long coat with them.[00:12:44]

My Dad greeted me. There were all his friends at the station.[00:12:48]

Beside me, their kids looked paragons of respectability.[00:12:54]

He saw the drapes, and visibly winced. [00:12:58]

They did kind of stand out.[00:13:01]

I took pity on him.[00:13:06]

"Dad", I said. "There is good news. [00:13:07]

I don't do drugs." He looked me in the eye and said:[00:13:11]

"Son, the bad news is if you're looking like this[00:13:15]

and you're not doing drugs we've got a real problem."[00:13:19]

Your parents look at you today with love. [00:13:22]

They know how hard it is to make the grade[00:13:26]

and they respect you for making it. [00:13:29]

And tomorrow as I know, [00:13:32]

as a parent of one of this class, [00:13:35]

as you receive your graduation,[00:13:38]

their hearts will beat with the natural rhythm of pride.[00:13:40]

Pride in what you have achieved. [00:13:44]

Pride in who you are.[00:13:46]

They will be nervous for you, [00:13:48]

as you stand on the threshold of a new adventure[00:13:53]

for they know the many obstacles that lie ahead.[00:13:55]

But they will be confident [00:13:58]

that you can surmount them, [00:14:02]

for they know also the strength of character[00:14:03]

and of spirit that has taken you thus far.[00:14:06]

To my fellow parents: [00:14:08]

I say, let us rejoice and be glad together.[00:14:12]

To the Yale College Class of 2008, [00:14:15]

I say: well done; and may blessings and good fortune be yours in the years to come.[00:14:20]