給青少年的話

by Katherine Bindley

Whether you agree with the advice or not， some no-nonsense[嚴肅的] words directed at teenagers have drawn the attention of parents and youth alike after going viral[病毒的] on Facebook. Posts featuring a New Zealand school newsletter[時事通信] clipping[剪報] have well over 10，000 shares on Mix 96.7s page alone.

The advice came courtesy[禮貌，好意] of a principal[校長] named John Tapene， who was quoting a judge who regularly deals with youths. The judge was aiming to answer questions in the vein[血管] of，“What can I do and where can I go？”

The gist[主旨] of his answer？ Get out there and do something：

My answer is this： Go home， mow[割草] the lawn， wash the windows， learn to cook， build a raft[木筏]， get a job， visit the sick， study your lessons and after youve finished， read a book. Your town does not owe you recreational[娛樂的] facilities[設施] and your parents do not owe you fun.

The world does not owe you a living， you owe the world something. You owe it your time， energy and talent so that no one will be at war， in sickness and lonely again. In other words grow up， stop being a cry baby， get out of your dream world and develop a backbone[脊柱] not a wishbone[叉骨]. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. I ts too late to sit around[無所事事] and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you！

Responses to the clip include enthusiastic[熱情的] approval[贊成]， with people saying theyre going to print it out and post it on their refrigerator， as well as disproval， with others deeming[認為] it far too harsh and old-school[老派的] authoritarian[專制的]. （The latter could be the result of the line where the judge says stop being a cry baby and to develop a backbone instead of a wishbone.）

For those who are suggesting the advice is somewhat dated[過時的]， there might be a good explanation： If the Pierce County Tribune is correct， then these words actually date back to 1959.

According to a 2010 post on the newspapers website， staff members came across a clipping with a letter from Judge Phillip B. Gilliam of Denver， Colo.， published on Dec. 17th， 1959. The website seems to suggest that the letter originally appeared in the South Bend Tribune a few weeks earlier.

The full text of what may be the original letter can be found on the Pierce County Tribunes website and it ends with different words than those presently circulating[流通] on the web—ones that might cause more of a stir[轟動]：

Youre supposed to be mature[成熟的] enough to accept some of the responsibility your parents have carried for years.

They have nursed， protected， helped， appealed[投其所好]， begged， excused， tolerated[容忍] and denied themselves needed comforts so that you could have every benefit. This they have done gladly， for you are their dearest treasure.

But now， you have no right to expect them to bow[屈從] to every whim[奇想] and fancy just because selfish ego[自我] dominates[控制] you， instead of common sense.

Grow up and go home！

無論你是否贊同這些建議，針對青少年的嚴肅話語還是引起了家長和年輕人的注意，如病毒般在“臉譜”上迅速地傳播開來。一份出現(xiàn)在新西蘭某學校時事通訊報上的剪報在Mix 96.7廣播電臺的“臉譜”主頁上已經(jīng)有超過一萬人分享了。

這些好心的建言來自一位名叫約翰·塔皮尼的校長，他引用了一位經(jīng)常處理青少年事務的法官的話。法官的話旨在回答（青少年）一系列的問題——“我能做什么？我能去哪里？”

他的回答要旨是什么？就是大膽走出去，腳踏實地做事：

我的答案如下：回家，割草，擦洗窗戶，學習烹飪，制作木筏，找工作，探望病弱，學習功課，完成（以上所有）之后，讀一本書。你的家鄉(xiāng)沒有提供你娛樂設施的義務，你的父母也沒有提供你樂趣的義務。

世界不欠你生活，而是你欠世界一些東西。你應該貢獻出你的時間、精力和天賦。這樣，沒人要去打仗，沒有人生病，也不再孤單。換句話說，長大吧，不要再作個哭哭啼啼的小孩，走出你的幻想世界，做個有擔當?shù)娜?，而不是只想著別人來幫你。開始像個負責任的人一樣行事吧！你很重要；世界需要你。無所事事，等待某個人某一天來做什么，那就太晚了。某一天就是現(xiàn)在，那個某人就是你！

對這份簡報的回應各有各樣：有的熱情地贊成，他們說要把它打印出來貼在冰箱上，也有反對的，認為這過于嚴苛，而且老派專制。（后者可能是針對法官的那句“不要再作個哭哭啼啼的小孩子，做個有擔當?shù)娜耍皇侵幌胫鴦e人來幫你?！倍f的。）

對于那些暗示這些建議多少有點過時的人來說，或許有一個很好的解釋：如果《皮爾斯郡論壇報》是正確的話，那么這些建言事實上可以追溯到1959年。

根據(jù)該報網(wǎng)站上一篇2010年的文章，工作人員偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了一份剪報，還有一封來自（美國）科羅拉多州丹佛市的法官菲利普·B.吉列姆的信，發(fā)表日期為1959年12月17日。網(wǎng)站似乎暗示，這封信幾周前最初出現(xiàn)在《南本德論壇報》上。

原版信件的全文可以在《皮爾斯郡論壇報》的網(wǎng)站上找到，它的結(jié)尾處與目前在網(wǎng)上流傳的有些不同——目前流傳的版本可能會更轟動些：

你應該足夠成熟，以承擔起一些你的父母已經(jīng)承擔多年的責任。

他們養(yǎng)育你，保護你，幫助你，迎合你，懇求你，原諒你，容忍你，并且否認自己需要安慰，為的是讓你可以得到一切益處。他們樂意這么做，因為你是他們最親愛的寶貝。

但如今，你已經(jīng)沒有權(quán)利去期望他們會屈從于你的每一個奇思妙想，只因為這些想法出于自私的自我，而不是常識。

快點長大吧！回家吧！