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来自亚利桑那州的共和党参议员杰夫·弗雷克(Jeff Flake)是今年因哈佛法学院毕业生票选而获得邀请的毕业典礼上的致辞嘉宾。弗雷克是共和党里少有的敢于站出来谴责特朗普总统的人。他的这个演讲几乎就是针对现任总统的，他不仅谴责了总统对法律的无视与践踏，对权力的滥用与越权，而且把现在的华盛顿称为黑暗触底的时刻。
弗雷克的致辞被许多毕业生誉为哈佛法学院历史上最棒的毕业典礼致辞，下面是全文翻译，分享给大家。
亲爱的曼宁院长，毕业生，毕业班代表，家人和老师们：
今天，在这个你和家人庆祝你的成就的日子，在这个一年一度给予忠告的季节，能够站在你面前，我深感殊荣。我来这里的原因是，也非常希望你们能给我一些忠告。
很快我也要加入求职的队伍了。
你的邀请让我受宠若惊。祝贺2018年哈佛法律班！在这个产生我们国家众多领导人以及最优秀的法律思想的地方，我深感谦卑。这是一个为世界提供了霍姆斯（Oliver Wendell Holmes，美国最高法院大法官），现任最高法院大法官中的大多数，不仅是巴拉克·奥巴马，而且还有米歇尔·奥巴马的大学——这一切都让我好奇，给我发邀请函是不是搞错了？
我永远不会忘记，我毕业时，在我心爱的母校杨百翰大学（Brigham Young University）的疯狂庆典。一碗接一碗的冰激凌，巧克力口味的、软糖口味的、黄油核桃口味的，嘿，作为摩门教徒，冰淇淋是你唯一的奢侈。
我不仅因为这个地方而感到谦卑，我也为这个国家的此时此刻感到谦卑。你看，你们将在这样一个特殊时刻接手这个世界。
特别是，我今天从政界来到你的身边，我尤其感到谦卑。我非常认真地说，今天将是我从倾听你的意见中获益，而不是我告诉你什么，因为我的职业近来已变得庸俗不堪，我不确定今日的华盛顿能够提供多少智慧。我今天是在国家面临关键考验的时刻，作为一个与我们的联邦政府三权分立的一支的代表来到这里，但这个分支没有履行其抗衡总统权力的宪法义务，这样做是对这个分支的自我羞辱。
所以，请允许我谦卑地建议，或许最好把我今天要说的话当作一种警示性的故事：
关于法治极其脆弱；
关于我们的民主准则，以及它们是多么的难得又易于被破坏；
关于我们的司法制度的独立性，以及如何保护其独立性的重要，使其免受某些人出于自身目的随意践踏和不计后果的行为；
关于这些珍贵的美国价值观的立足之本：真相——经验的、客观的事实；
以及关于捍卫这些价值观的必要、捍卫你们即将继承的这些机构的必要，哪怕这意味着有时你必须孤军奋战，哪怕为某些对你而言很重要的东西去冒险，甚至包括牺牲你的职业生涯，因为有些时候会需要你以职业生涯为代价来捍卫原则。
但是你和你的国家会更好。你可以重新再找一份工作，但你不能重新再找一个灵魂。
不是要让你不愉快，但我确实从首都带来了消息。首先，好消息是：你的国家领导层……不好。一点也不好。我们的总统职位已经被这样一个人物玷污了，他有着无休止的进行破坏和分裂的欲望，而对于宪法如何运作的了解仅限于皮毛。
我们政府分支的第一道关口，国会（就是我），完全投降于白宫每日每时的道德败坏行为。我不认为我们的国父们预料到他们美丽的发明可能有一天会栽倒在真人秀电视节目上，而且国会居然是这一灾难的同谋。而我们的头号敌人，哪怕极尽努力（他们真的是极尽努力），也不会比我们自己所做的能够伤害我们更多。
现在，你完全有理由问，你这个好消息好在哪里？
简单地说：我们可能已经触底了。
（哦，这也是一个坏消息，在罕见的融合中，好消息和坏消息是一样的———我们的领导人并不好，但也不可能更糟了。）
如果你曾经好奇过触底是怎样的情形，这就是了。这就是当你对所有维持宪政民主的机构同时进行压力测试时的样子。你可以说我们是历史的见证人，如果有可能将自己从这场明显的悲剧中剥离出来，那么从学术的角度来看，我想说见证历史是一件有意思的事情，就像一些罕见疾病对医学研究人员来说是有趣的一样。
但这是我们可以而且应该避免的体验。陷入这种困境并不是自然发生的事情。相反，这完全是人为的。我们政治体系现在所罹患的疾病已严重到我们必须面对的时刻了，它对我们重要器官的威胁已不容我们假设一切在正常地继续运作。已经是什么都不正常了。我们的疾病是精神上的。继续完成我所用的医学隐喻，你可以说我们现在处于危险状态。
我们是如何到达这样一个危险的时刻，历史学家会注意到，在这个时刻，美国总统在“福克斯和朋友”电视节目上公开威胁并干涉司法部门，似乎认为他的职位赋予了他决定调查对象的权力。就在本周，总统以光怪离奇的理由，下令调查“通俄门”的调查 — 我告诉你，不是为了保护国家免遭进一步的攻击，而是为了保护他自己。要知道，下令（做这样的）调查并不在总统的合法权限之内。
我挑选了总统最近的一些行为来举例，并不是因为这些行为在这位总统的工作中很少见，而是因为它非常准确地代表了我们在过去的一年半中习惯了这些行为的悲哀事实。谁能想到我们会看到白宫居然鼓励在集会上呼吁监禁一个失败的政治对手。当你甚至不知道总统的权力是有限的，你滥用权力时，你根本不懂得在乎什么。
这是怎么发生的？我们可以从中学到什么？我们是如何被这种全球性的独裁卷土重来所扫荡的，其结果是我们的民主制度受到严重威胁，强人把自己置于法律之上，而我们国家的领导人却对我们的民主面临的最可憎的敌人表示尊敬？
我们是否真的厌倦了民主？当坚持“美国第一”的人群在欢呼之时，当我们摒弃了半个世纪来促进自由、繁荣与和平的全球机构之时，我们是否正在见证民主的消逝？
让我们暂且欣赏一下法治的奇迹。我们很少因感动而停下脚步来这样欣赏，因为我们一直都认为这是理所当然的，并且认为它是不可动摇的——就像万有引力一样。但与牛顿法则不同，法治既不是天生的，也不是不可避免的。与遏制人们的冲动和要求自由人遵守组成一个国家的规则和规范，培育文明相比，一个抛起的物体会自然下落是一件不费吹灰之力的事情。
经历了几个世纪的战争、牺牲和社会动荡，又经历了更多的战争和伟大的公民权利斗争，才建立了这样一个基本概念：任何人都不可凌驾于法律之上，或者不配享受强大的法律体系所提供的保护，这个体系把我们从封建奴化带入了令世人羡慕的宪法模式。在你的帮助下，这个系统还将维持下去。
这一本质变化的开端可追溯到1688年的辉煌革命———法律的伟大和平衡效应 — 这场革命造成了国王神权的死亡，因为从那时开始，即便是君主也要服从法律，议会甚至通过了一项效果良好的权利法案。
但是我们现在正在测试这个当初连威廉姆三世都明智地接受了的概念的持久性，一个在接下来的几个世纪里被不断锻造和强化了的概念。我们见证了它的脆弱之处。在世界上其他民主根源不那么深的地区，我们看到它正在以令人难以承受的轻松和惊人的速度被拆除。更糟糕的是，我们看到的是模拟民主国家，波将金村庄式的民主国家（Potemkin democracies），仅存在于称谓意义上的民主国家。
经验法则：如果在法律或正义问题上唯一可以接受的结果必须是令领导者满意，那么你可能生活在一个民主已陷入困境的国家。如果领导人攻击任何没有对他表示尊敬的机构的合法性，比如说独立的司法机构或自由的新闻机构，那么你可能生活在一个民主已陷入困境的国家。更进一步说，当一个掌权的人物不由自主地把所有不合他意的新闻说成“假新闻”时，应该被怀疑的是这个人，而不是媒体。
确保民主的这种退化不会继续下去将是你们这一代人的任务———要确保目前对无法无天和专制主义的钟情不会成为这位总统继续传承下去的东西。
法治是一种基本价值，是产生于宪法之先并促成宪法诞生的价值。这不是一种可以跟随政治做左右摇摆的意识形态，也不是那种你可以打电话给个好评或差评的早间秀。它是我们自治体系的基础。没有法治的美国不再是美国。
我是一位保守的共和党人，是在这些理念还有真正含义之时，在我们的政治陷入我们目前所忍受的等级部落主义之前的共和党人。我对在共和党旗帜下当选的自称是保守派的政府发出这样的警告，并不妨碍我依旧是共和党人或保守派。反对这位总统和他的大部分主张不是背叛的行为———而是一种忠诚。
因为我们经常忘记这样一个事实，我们有必要重复上千次，特别是在这样的时代：价值超越政治。
作为一名保守的共和党人，我敢说我对政府的认识和理念可能会与今天在座的许多人不一致。我不怕冒昧，容我假设在政策处方方面，我们意见分歧非常大。 （说我疯了吧。）
但我一直认为，唯一的、持久的解决问题的方式必须是双方共同合作的。立法决不应该是报复行为，因为复仇的人是短视的，利己的，是不适合做领导的。我相信我们的政府应该包括那些像我一样心存执念的人，就像我相信应该包括那些像我的朋友蒂姆·凯恩（Tim Kaine）或科里·布克（Cory Booker）一样心存执念的人，这里仅仅列出两个人做例子。
我们体系的伟大之处在于它的设计是不容易运作的，以迫使妥协。当你尊重这个制度并寻求善意治理时，这个制度就会起作用。
这使我们回头正视我们目前的险境。我今天来到这里，就是对我们时代的证明，也是对我们面临的拐点的证明。因为，这是抛开了通常的政治要求，以及政治游戏所需要的不断得分的惯常方式。与我们现在民主制度所面临的考验相比，通常分裂我们的事情已是微不足道。
面对这些挑战，我们同意有的东西远比立法计划更为重要，远比我们关于政府在经济和个人生活中如何作用的理念更重要：我们同意必须保护美国宪政民主的生存和健康，以及美国理念本身，尤其在我们的宪政体系和这一非凡理念的价值观从顶端开始受到威胁的时候。
导致美国的建立的价值——这个世界历史上独一无二的实验——已经背离其初衷有光年之远了，以至于在这个时刻，有些人错误地认为残酷的交易品牌就是使美国伟大的东西。
必须搞明白的是，我们没有因为放纵和怂恿我们最糟糕的冲动而变得伟大——永远也不会因此而伟大，无论你卖多少红帽子都没用。
历史学家Jon Meacham在他精彩的新书“美国的灵魂”中揭示，历史告诉我们“我们经常容易受到恐惧，痛苦和冲突的伤害”。他说，好消息是“我们之前已经经历了这样的黑暗。”
也许是。但那时没有核武和推特。而且绝对不是有像这样一个异常的总统。但我理解你的看法，Meacham先生，并为此感到鼓舞。
当然，我们最终会克服目前的困难。但目前，当我们身处其中时，我们必须正视它。因为这事关我们最珍视的东西，我们不能就这样转身离去，把困难留给其他人。
像总统选举这样有着终极效果的事件，搅乱了普通的政治二元观念，我和你们许多人一样，在这次重新校准中迷失了方向。我们发现，一天中最大的问题很多都不能简单地分解为我们曾经熟悉的左或右，而是更多地符合下面这些描述：
你相信民主吗？
你是忠于你的国家还是你的党派？
你是忠于法律和宪法，还是忠于一个人？
- 你是否本能地将最糟糕的动机归咎于你的对手，但不知何故，却否认、原谅或认可你的同胞说的、做的每一件令人厌恶的事情或每一个推文？
这些问题使我们中的一些人陷入了政治荒野。 而正是当我处于政治荒野时，收到了你们美妙的邀请函。
不过，荒野对我是很合适的。 事实上，我因为自己已经非常喜欢华盛顿近年来的运作方式，以至于在国会休会期间，我不得不着手将自己搁置在海洋中无人的岛屿上，以解除我体内所有这些爱的感觉。 我不是开玩笑。
我曾经孤独地度过了一个星期，在一个叫做Jabonwod的小岛上，一个距离华盛顿大约7000英里的太平洋中部的有着沙滩和椰子树的小岛。
为了苦修，并决心测试我的生存技能，我没有带任何食物或水，只依靠我可以捕捉或收集的东西生存。事实证明，这是相对容易的部分。更难的是对付自第一个晚上就开始陪伴我并从未离开的寂寞。
到了第三天，只是为了有陪伴，我开始把数字标记在经过我营地的寄居蟹上，看看它们是否会再回来。到一周结束时，我有了126个带编号的朋友。我仍然想念72号，在吃椰子碎片成瘾后，它很少离开我的身边。我不太喜欢12号，他钳了我的大脚趾。
当然，我不会推荐以这种极端的措施来摆脱你的处境，但我希望如果你面临艰难的选择，你也会避开安逸进入旷野，而不是出卖你的良知。
以我今天的警示故事，我敦促你把挑战你所有的假设作为常态。承认对手的优点。时常道歉。认错。原谅，并请求原谅。多听。勇于说话，因为政治有时会让我们在应该发声时保持沉默。
如果你发现自己处在一个牛群中，那就把你的脖子抬起来，回头看看你的品牌，问问你自己它是否真的适合你。从个人经验来看，我可以说离开牛群永远不会太晚。
当你从牛群中脱离时，你会恢复平衡。于是，食物更香甜，睡眠很好，你又是你自己了。你不再是非理性冲动或糟糕想法的俘虏了。
当然，这可能会影响你与某些人的关系，会时不时让你只能独自一人在参议院餐厅吃饭。但没关系。把总统本人可能很熟悉的某个说法稍做改动，你可以这样说：我喜欢那些思想不被束缚的人。（特朗普总统竞选时曾说“我喜欢不被俘虏的士兵”。）
这一个是给你的，麦凯恩参议员。我们都在为你加油。
从政治角度来说，我一直没有改变我的信仰。但是，天哪，我变了太多。我们又如何能够渡过这些不正常的时期而不被改变？
我们国家现在需要我们。我们的国家需要你。
我们彼此需要，而试图分裂、挑斗我们而从中获益的是恶棍。
让我们从我们所处的时代向未来发出一个信息，我们没有丢失民主，我们发扬光大了它。民粹主义的怨恨和独裁主义的抬头相互作用，造成的不和谐的愤世嫉俗的暂时成功，却使我们最终摆脱自满情绪，提醒我们自己是谁，知道对彼此负责。这也重新唤醒了我们作为公民的责任。
让我们骄傲地告诉未来，当我们面对这些威胁我们自由体制并分裂我们的力量时，我们铿锵有力地说了：不。
在我今天结束时，我还有更多的好消息和坏消息。这一次我将从坏消息开始，那就是：所有这些都将是你的问题。所有的。
当然，这也是一个好消息：所有这些都将由你来解决，而我们的国家将由如你这般具有高尚性格、坚定原则和卓越才能的人士尽快掌舵是何其幸运。
我小时候在亚利桑那州农村的F-Bar牧场长大，如果我们需要估测我们的状况或洪灾后的损害，我们会找到最高的坡或小山，骑马跑到最高处。只有这样看见全景，我们才可以派牛仔去唤回牛，分配机器修理道路或指派工人修理围栏 - 使秩序得以恢复。
华盛顿没有足够高的小山。但是，我们有义务评估我们的政治状况，然后着手减轻损害并修复。
然而，只有当我们在经历了这次的困难课程后做得更好，这才是美国故事。我们远比华盛顿所展示的我们更好，更体面。我们是好人。我们是一个充满智慧，坚韧不拔的国家。我们的伟大不是建立在一个人的基础上的 - 没有任何个人能够“独自解决问题”，而是建立于已经成为这个世界上数百年楷模的持久的自治和法治的理念之上的。这个理念可以被嘲笑，却不容被破坏。
是的，华盛顿没有足够高的小山，但我们仍然必须寻找高地以调查损失。而获得制高点的意义是从那里你可以看到损害以外的。你可以看到一切。一切好的，体面的东西。
这是摆在我们面前的工作 —— 我们必须完成它，还要超越它。而你就是要把我们带到那里的人。
谢谢。再次祝贺哈佛2018年法律班！
以下为英语原文：
Dean Manning, graduates, class marshalls, families and faculty:
It is such an honor to stand before you today, on this very special day of celebration and accomplishment for you and your families, in this annual season of advice-giving. That is why I am here. I am very much hoping you can give me some advice.
I’ll soon be in the job market myself.
I feel truly privileged by your invitation. Congratulations to the Harvard Law Class of 2018! To be here in this place that has produced so many of our nation’s leaders and our finest legal minds is deeply humbling. An institution that gave the world Oliver Wendell Holmes, a majority of the current Supreme Court, and not only Barack but Michelle Obama, too — well, it all has me wondering if I didn’t somehow receive this invitation by mistake.
I’ll always remember the decadent celebration after graduation at my beloved alma mater, BYU. Bowl after bowl of rocky road, double fudge chunk and butter pecan. Hey, when you’re Mormon, ice cream is all you’ve got.
I am not only humbled by this place, I am also humbled by this moment in the life of our country. You see, you are set to inherit the world in just the nick of time.
I am also especially humbled given the fact that I come to you today from the political class. In utter seriousness, it is I who could benefit from listening to you today rather than speaking to you, as I am not so sure that there is much distilled wisdom to be imparted from Washington these days, given what has lately become the tawdriness of my profession. I am here today as representative of a co-equal branch of our federal government — which is failing its constitutional obligations to counteract the power of the president, and in so doing is dishonoring itself — at a critical moment in the life of our nation.
And so, with humility, let me suggest that perhaps it is best to consider what I have to say today as something of a cautionary tale —
-about the rule of law and its fragility;
-about our democratic norms and how hard-won and vulnerable they are;
-about the independence of our system of justice, and how critically important it is to safeguard it from malign actors who would casually destroy that independence for their own purposes and without a thought to the consequences;
-about the crucial predicate for all of these cherished American values: Truth. Empirical, objective truth;
-and lastly, about the necessity to defend these values and these institutions that you will soon inherit, even if that means sometimes standing alone, even if it means risking something important to you, maybe even your career. Because there are times when circumstances may call on you to risk your career in favor of your principles.
But you — and your country — will be better for it. You can go elsewhere for a job, but you cannot go elsewhere for a soul.
Not to be unpleasant, but I do bring news from our nation’s capital. First, the good news: Your national leadership is… not good. At all. Our presidency has been debased by a figure who has a seemingly bottomless appetite for destruction and division and only a passing familiarity with how the constitution works.
And our Article I branch of government, the Congress (that’s me), is utterly supine in the face of the moral vandalism that flows from the White House daily. I do not think that the founders could have anticipated that the beauty of their invention might someday founder on the rocks of reality television, and that the Congress would be such willing accomplices to this calamity. Our most ardent enemies, doing their worst (and they are doing their worst), couldn’t hurt us more than we are hurting ourselves.
Now, you might reasonably ask, where is the good news in that?
Well, simply put: We may have hit bottom.
(Oh, and that’s also the bad news. In a rare convergence, the good news and bad news are the same — our leadership is not good, but it probably can’t get much worse.)
This is it, if you have been wondering what the bottom looks like. This is what it looks like when you stress-test all of the institutions that undergird our constitutional democracy, at the same time. You could say that we are witnesses to history, and if it were possible to divorce ourselves from the obvious tragedy of this debacle, I suppose that might even be interesting, from an academic perspective. The way some rare diseases are interesting to medical researchers.
But this is an experience we could and should have avoided. Getting to this state of distress did not occur naturally. Rather, this was thoroughly man-made. This disease of our polity is far too serious to not be recognized for what it is, the damage it threatens to do to our vital organs is far too great for us to carry on as if all is well. All is not well. We have a sickness of the spirit. To complete the medical metaphor, you might say that we are now in critical condition.
How did we arrive at a moment of such peril, wherein a president of the United States publicly threatens— on Fox & Friends, historians will note — to interfere in the administration of justice, and seems to think that the office confers on him the ability to decide who and what gets investigated, and who and what does not? And just this week, the President — offering an outlandish rationale, ordered an investigation into the investigation of the Russian attack on our electoral process — not to defend the country against further attacks, mind you, but to defend himself. Obviously, ordering investigations is not a legitimate use of presidential power.
I pick this egregious example of recent presidential conduct not because it is rare in terms of this president’s body of work, but because it so perfectly represents what we have tragically grown accustomed to in the past year and a half. Who would have thought that we would ever see encouragement coming from the White House for chants at rallies calling for the jailing of a defeated political opponent. When you don’t even know that there are limits on presidential power, then you might not even care when you are abusing that power.
How did this happen to us? And what might we learn from it? How did we get swept up in this global resurgence of the authoritarian impulse, which now has democracies teetering on the brink, strongmen placing themselves above the law, and in our own country a leader who reveres some of the most loathsome enemies of democracy in our time?
Have we really grown tired of democracy? Are we watching its passing, cheered on by the America First crowd even as we cast aside global institutions that have fostered freedom, prosperity and peace for more than a half-century?
For just a moment, let us marvel at the miracle that is the rule of law. We have seldom been moved to pause for such an appreciation, as we have been too busy taking it for granted and assuming its inviolability — like gravity. But unlike Newton’s Laws, the rule of law was neither innate nor inevitable. What goes up must come down is a piece of cake compared to curbing the impulses of man and asking free people to abide rules and norms that form a country, and foster civilization.
It took centuries of war and sacrifice and social upheaval and more war and great civil rights struggles to establish the foundational notion that no one is either above the law or unworthy of the protections afforded by a robust legal system, a system that took us from feudal servility to a constitutional model that is the envy of the world. And will continue to be, with your help.
We trace the beginnings of this radical egalitarianism — of the awesome and leveling effect of the law – to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which saw the death of the divine right of kings, as even the monarch from that point forward would be subject to the law — and the parliament even threw in a bill of rights for good measure.
But we are now testing the durability of this idea that William III first had the good sense to agree to, an idea which was then forged and tempered over the ensuing centuries. And we are seeing its vulnerabilities. In other parts of the world where democracy’s roots are not so deep, we are seeing it being torn down with sickening ease and shocking speed. And worse, we are seeing the rise of simulated democracies, Potemkin democracies, democracies in appearance and affect only.
Rule of thumb: If the only acceptable outcome in a matter of law or justice is a result that is satisfactory to the leader, then you might live in a democracy that is in trouble. If the leader attacks the legitimacy of any institution that does not pay him obeisance — say, the independent judiciary, or the free press — then you might live in a democracy that is in trouble. Further to that point: when a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn’t suit him “fake news,” it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press.
It will be the work of your generation to make sure that this degradation of democracy does not continue — to see to it that our current flirtation with lawlessness and authoritarianism does not become a heritable trait to be passed down from this presidency.
The rule of law is an elemental value, a value that preceded and gave rise to our Constitution. It is not an ideology subject to the pendulum swings of politics, or something to be given a thumbs-up or thumbs-down in a call-in to your favorite morning show. It is the basis of our system of self-governance. America without the rule of law is no longer America.
I am a conservative Republican, a throwback from the days when those words actually meant something, before the collapse of our politics into the rank tribalism we currently endure. My sounding this alarm against a government that was elected under the Republican banner and that calls itself conservative makes me no less Republican or conservative. And opposing this president and much of what he stands for is not an act of apostasy — it is, rather, an act of fidelity.
Because we forget this fact far too often, and it bears repeating a thousand times, especially in times such as these: Values transcend politics.
As a conservative Republican, I dare say that my idea of government may differ with the beliefs of many of you here today. I will be thoroughly presumptuous and assume that in terms of policy prescriptions, we disagree on much. (Call me crazy.)
But I have long believed that the only lasting solutions to the problems before us must involve both sides. Lawmaking should never be an exercise in revenge, because vengeful people are myopic, self-interested, and not fit to lead. I believe that our government should include people who believe as I do, just as I believe it must include people who believe as my friend Tim Kaine does, or as my friend Cory Booker does, to name but two.
The greatness of our system is that it is designed to be difficult, in order to force compromise. And when you honor the system, and seek to govern in good faith, the system works.
Which brings us back to our current peril. It is a testament to our times — and to the inflection point that we face — that I am here today. For, setting aside the usual requirements of politics, and the usual ways that politics keeps score, the things that normally divide us seem trivial compared to the trials that have now been visited upon our democracy.
In the face of these challenges, we agree on something far more important than a legislative program, even more important than our thoughts on the proper role of government in the economy and in the lives of individuals: We agree on the need to safeguard the health and survival of constitutional democracy in America and the preservation of the American idea itself — at a time when the values underpinning our constitutional system and that extraordinary idea are under threat, from the top.
The values of the Enlightenment that led to the creation of this idea of America — this unique experiment in world history — are light years removed from the base, cruelly transactional brand of politics that in this moment some people mistakenly think is what it means to make America great.
To be clear, we did not become great — and will never be great — by indulging and encouraging our very worst impulses. It doesn’t matter how many red caps you sell.
The historian Jon Meacham, in his splendid new book, The Soul of America, reassures that history shows us that “we are frequently vulnerable to fear, bitterness, and strife.” The good news, he says, “is that we have come through such darkness before.”
Perhaps. But not with both nuclear weapons and Twitter. And certainly not with such an anomalous presidency as this one. But I take your point, Mr. Meacham, and am heartened by it.
We will get through this, of course. But at the moment, we are in it, and we must face it squarely. Because too much is at stake for us to turn away, to leave it to others to defend the things we hold most dear.
A culminating event such as the election of our current president scrambles normal binary notions of politics, and I am as disoriented as many of you are at this dealignment. We find that many of the day’s biggest issues simply don’t break down neatly to familiar ideas of left v. right, but rather more along these lines:
— Do you believe in democracy, or not?
— Are you faithful to your country, or to your party?
— Are you loyal to the law and the Constitution, or to a man?
— Do you reflexively ascribe the worst motives to your opponents, but somehow deny, excuse, or endorse every repulsive thing your compatriot says, does or tweets?
These questions have sent some of us wandering into the political wilderness. And it is in that wilderness where your wonderful letter of invitation reached me.
Well, the wilderness suits me fine. In fact, I so love the way Washington has become that in recent years, during congressional recesses, I have taken to stranding myself on deserted islands in the middle of the ocean to detoxify all these feelings of love out of my system. I am not kidding.
I once spent a week alone, voluntarily marooned, on a tiny island called Jabonwod, a remote spit of sand and coconut trees in the central Pacific, about 7,000 miles from Washington.
As penance, and determined to test my survival skills, I brought no food or water, relying solely on what I could catch or collect. That, it turned out, was the easier part. More difficult was dealing with the stultifying loneliness that set in on the first night and never left me.
By day three, for companionship, I began to mark the hermit crabs that wandered through my camp with a number, just to see if they would reoccur. By the end of the week I had 126 numbered friends. I still miss number 72, who rarely left my side after developing an addiction to coconut scraps. I was less fond of number 12, who pinched my big toe.
Now, I would not recommend such drastic measures to escape your situation, but I hope that should you be presented with the hard choice, you too will eschew comfort and set out into the wilderness rather than compromise your conscience.
From my cautionary tale to you today, I urge you to challenge all of your assumptions, regularly. Recognize the good in your opponents. Apologize every now and then. Admit to mistakes. Forgive, and ask for forgiveness. Listen more. Speak up more, for politics sometimes keeps us silent when we should speak.
And if you find yourself in a herd, crane your neck, look back there and check out your brand, ask yourself if it really suits you. From personal experience, I can say that it’s never too late to leave the herd.
When you peel off from the herd, your equilibrium returns. Food tastes better. You sleep very well. Your mind is your own again. You cease being captive to some bad impulses and even worse ideas.
It can strain relationships, to be sure, and leave you eating alone in the senate dining room every now and then. But that’s okay. To revise and extend a remark the president himself may recognize: You might say that I like people whose minds weren’t captured.
That one was for you, Senator McCain. We’re all pulling for you.
Politically speaking, I have not changed my beliefs much at all. But my goodness, how I have changed. How can we live through these abnormal times and not be changed?
Our country needs us now. Our country needs you.
We need each other, and it is a scoundrel who would prosper politically by turning us against each other.
From our time, let us send a message into the future that we did not fail democracy, but that we renewed it. That a patchwork of populist resentments and authoritarian whims that for a while succeeded in its cynical mission of discord had the ultimate effect of shaking us from our complacency, reminding us of who we are and of our responsibilities to each other. Of reawakening us to our obligations as citizens.
Let us be able to say in the future that we faced these forces that would threaten the institutions of our liberty and tear us apart and that we said: NO.
I leave you today with more good news and bad news. This time I will start with the bad news, which is: All of this is yours to fix. All of it.
And that of course is also the good news: All of this is yours to fix, and our country could not be more fortunate than to have people of your high character, strong principle and awesome talent soon taking the helm.
I grew up as a kid on the F-Bar Ranch in rural Arizona, and if we needed to gauge the condition of the range or to measure the damage after a flood, we would find the highest hill or butte and ride our horses to the top. From such a vista we could dispatch cowboys to gather cattle, machinery to shore up roads, or workers to repair fences — to restore some semblance of order.
There are no tall buttes in Washington. But it is nonetheless our obligation to assess the condition of our politics, then to mitigate and repair the damage.
It is the story of America, though, that we will be better for the hard lessons of this experience. We are much better and more decent than Washington shows us to be. We are a good people. And we are a deeply resourceful and resilient nation, and our greatness is based on no one man — no one man who “alone can fix it,” but rather on enduring ideas of self-governance and the rule of law that have been a model for the world for centuries. Ideas that can be mocked, but not marred.
No, there are no high buttes in Washington, but still we must gain the high ground, and survey the damage. And the thing about gaining the high ground is from up there you can see beyond the damage, too. You can see everything. Everything that is good and decent.
That is the job before us — to get through this, and beyond it. And you’re just the ones to take us there.
Thank you. And once again, congratulations to the Harvard Law Class of 2018!
文章内容纯属作者个人观点，不代表平台观点。感谢作者辛苦付出与创作，版权归属原作者，如有版权问题欢迎联系。
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