TED演讲:失落了的民主辩论艺术(5)

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　　First, no real sports fan would talk that way.  首先，没有哪个真正爱好运动的人会说出那样的话

　　If we had thought that the rules of the sports we care about are merely arbitrary, 如果我们所喜爱的运动的规则只是些随意独断的条例

　　rather than designed to call forth² the virtues³ and the excellences⁴ that we think are worthy⁵ of admiring, 而不是为了引领我们更好地欣赏体育运动的真善美和精湛技艺

　　we wouldn't care about the outcome of the game.  那么，我们谁都不会关心比赛结果了

　　It's also objectionable on a second ground. 第二个也是令人反感的

　　On the face of it, it seemed to be -- this debate about the golf cart 表面上看，这似乎是一场关于高尔夫球车的辩论

　　an argument about fairness, what's an unfair advantage. 一场关于公平竞争的讨论，辩论什么是不公平优待

　　But if fairness were the only thing at stake,  但如果受到威胁的仅仅是比赛的公平性，

　　there would have been an easy and obvious solution.  那就会有一个显而易见的解决办法

　　What would it be? 是什么呢？

　　Let everyone ride in a golf cart if they want to. 允许每个人使用高尔夫球车，只要他们想用

　　Then the fairness objection goes away.  这样公平公正的问题就解决了

　　But letting everyone ride in a cart would have been, I suspect, 但是我想，如果让每个人都坐车

　　more anathema⁶ to the golfing greats and to the PGA, 那可能会让那些高尔夫名将和职业高尔夫球协会更加头痛

　　even than making an exception for Casey Martin. Why? 还不如给凯西·马丁立个特例呢。为什么？

　　Because what was at stake in the dispute over the golf cart 原因是：允许球手使用代步车

　　was not only the essential nature of golf,  不仅会威胁到高尔夫运动的本质

　　but, relatedly, the question:  而且也涉及到这一问题：

　　What abilities are worthy of honor and recognition as athletic⁷ talents? 运动员的哪些天资和品质是值得尊敬和认可的？

　　Let me put the point as delicately as possible: 让我委婉地升华一下：

　　Golfers are a little sensitive about the athletic status of their game. 高尔夫球手对于高尔夫运动的体育地位有点精神敏感

　　After all, there's no running or jumping, and the ball stands still. 毕竟，他们既不需跑也不要跳，高尔夫球更是呆呆地停在原地

　　So if golfing is the kind of game that can be played while riding around in a golf cart, 所以，如果高尔夫变成一种边开车边打的运动

　　it would be hard to confer on the golfing greats the status that we confer, 那么我们就很难授予高尔夫球手们

　　the honor and recognition that goes to truly great athletes.  我们对于体育健将的尊敬和景仰

　　That illustrates⁸ that with golf, as with flutes⁹, 高尔夫球的例子说明，正如分笛子一样

　　it's hard to decide the question of what justice requires, 要决定什么是公平公正

　　without grappling with the question,  就必须先探讨这样一个问题：

　　"What is the essential nature of the activity in question,  我们所讨论事物的本质是什么？

　　and what qualities, what excellences connected with that activity, are worthy of honor and recognition?" 哪些相关品质和技艺是值得尊敬和称道的？

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