Repression
压迫
Today, as I was relaxing at the beach, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on a conversation four high school kids we having on the beach blanket next to me. Their conversation was about making a positive difference in the world. And it went something like this…“It’s impossible to make a difference unless you’re a huge corporation or someone with lots of money and power,” one of them said.“Yeah man,” another replied. “My mom keeps telling me to move mountains – to speak up and stand up for what I believe. But what I say and do doesn’t even get noticed. I just keep answering to ‘the man’ and then I get slapped back in place by him when I step out of line.”“Repression…” another snickered.I smiled because I knew exactly how they felt. When I was their age, I was certain I was being repressed and couldn’t possibly make a difference in this world. And I actually almost got expelled from school once because I openly expressed how repressed I felt in the middle of the principals’ office.
今天，我在海滩上休息时，不经意间听到了我旁边沙滩垫上的四个高中生谈话。他们谈论的是在世上建功立业，内容大致是这样的：
“除非你有钱有势，或者开了一家大公司，否则你不可能有所作为，”其中一个说。
“没错，”有一个答道。“我妈总是告诉我要竭尽全力——说出自己的信仰，坚持到底。但是我的言行甚至没有引起任何人注意。每当离开常轨，我就被打回原位。我只能循规蹈矩。”
“压迫……”另一个苦笑着说。
我笑了笑，因为我理解他们的确切感受。我在他们这个年纪，也确信自己饱受压迫，不可能在这个世界上有所作为。事实上，我曾经差点被学校开除了，因为我公开抱怨说在校长办公室感到很无比压抑。