美国国家公共电台 NPR What We Can Learn From 'Washington's Farewell'

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Finally, today we want to look ahead to President Obama's farewell address to the nation on Tuesday. It will take place where it all started for him politically, the city of Chicago. That got us thinking about the custom of a presidential farewell address, and we found out it started off with - who else? - George Washington. Washington's farewell address set the bar for future presidents. His words from that address are even read aloud every year by a member of the Senate. Last year, it was Senator Chris Coons of Delaware.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHRIS COONS: It is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness, that you should cherish a cordial, habitual¹...

MARTIN: Here to talk with us about the art of the farewell address is John Avlon. He's an author and political analyst² with a new book out this week "Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father's Warning To Future Generations." And I started our conversation by asking him what George Washington was trying to convey to the American people in his farewell address.

JOHN AVLON: He had the greatest team of ghostwriters in history - James Madison on the first draft and then Alexander Hamilton. But while the final words may have been largely Hamilton's, the ideas were all Washington's. And Washington's farewell - you got to appreciate - was the most famous speech in American history for the first 150 years of the Republic. And yet, today, it's almost entirely³ forgotten. Washington wanted to leave his friends and fellow citizens which is who he addressed the open letter to published in the American daily advertiser, a series of lessons culled⁴ from his life and his understanding of history.

He came up with a series of warnings that are remarkably⁵ prescient, prophetic to us today - hyper-partisanship, excessive debt, foreign wars, particularly - and this is almost eerie⁶ with the debate we're having of Russian hacking⁷ today - the danger of foreign influence in our politics as a way of subverting⁸ sovereignty.

These were some of the forces he felt could destroy our democratic republic, and he wanted to warn future Americans when he was off the stage and dead, long gone that these were the really important things to remember and they had transcendent value. And to that extent, it's a talismanic⁹ document. It connects the past, Washington's present and the future.

MARTIN: You said just now that the speech has been largely forgotten, but his farewell address has been read aloud in the Senate every year since 1862. And there's a gorgeous duet in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway hit "Hamilton" that certainly brings it to life. But why do you say it's been largely forgotten?

AVLON: Well, it was the most famous speech in American history. It was taught in public schools. Students memorized it the way people do the Gettysburg Address today. But it's sort of the Old Testament¹⁰ to the Gettysburg Address's New Testament. It's sort of these stern rules from a distant god of how to live, and not this sort of hopeful, you know, poetic¹¹ premonition on rebirth. So it was sort of eclipsed in the national memory. And when Lin Manuel-Miranda brought it back for "Hamilton," it was really the first time in a long time it had gotten that kind of attention.

MARTIN: Has the farewell address become, though, a custom or is it just something that certain presidents choose to deliver?

AVLON: The presidential farewell address is close to a standard operating procedure for outgoing presidents. There's this idea that perhaps President Obama was doing something unusual by giving a farewell address - far from it. Washington's example was followed by subsequent presidents. Eisenhower's is the most famous farewell, but that continues a really specific tradition that's also core to Washington which is that of the presidential warning, the warning from a parting friend. And I wouldn't be surprised if President Obama carries that forward.

MARTIN: Let's hear a little bit from Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER: In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence whether sought or unsought by the military industrial complex.

MARTIN: Interesting coming from a person who was a military leader.

AVLON: Exactly. And that's why it had so much moral authority. And both Washington and Eisenhower both warned against overgrown military establishments in their farewell, but Eisenhower took that point and really elevated it. And one of the most fascinating things in doing the book for me was looking at how Washington's farewell address echoed on throughout the years, how it was picked up by different people to wage debates about original principles.

You know, one of the stories that I captured in the book was that of Bill Clinton's farewell address, and his speechwriter, Jeff Shesol, was working on it. But what's interesting is - as he described to me - is that Bill Clinton didn't really want to, in his words, confront his political mortality and kept pushing off the speech prep until the last day of the address. But even then, that speech - it contained a warning about those voices that would try to remove America from the activities of the world and therefore cede¹² American leadership.

MARTIN: Let's play a little bit of that.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BILL CLINTON: America cannot and must not disentangle itself from the world. If we want the world to embody¹³ our shared values, then we must assume a shared responsibility.

MARTIN: So looking ahead to President Obama's farewell address, do you have any sense of what he will say? And do these addresses still have impact?

AVLON: I think they do because they serve as a bookend to a presidency¹⁴. I think it inevitably¹⁵ will be partly a recitation of his record. But then I think there will probably be a section that is a warning to his fellow citizens, and there will be a lot of people who instinctively¹⁶ say that, oh, that's out of the American tradition or, oh, that's a cheap shot at an incoming president. But in fact, that is a core part of the farewell tradition.

MARTIN: That was John Avlon. He wears many hats. He's editor-in-chief of the Daily Beast. You've probably seen him on CNN as an analyst, but today we're talking about his latest book "Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father's Warning To Future Generations." He was kind enough to join us from our studios in Washington, D.C.

And what better reason to hear from the Broadway play "Hamilton." This is Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hamilton and Chris Jackson as George Washington and the words you will hear come directly from George Washington's farewell address.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "HAMILTON")

LIN MANUEL-MIRANDA AND CHRIS JACKSON: (As Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, singing) The benign¹⁷ influence of good laws under a free government, the ever-favorite object of my heart and the happy reward as I trust of our mutual¹⁸ cares, labors¹⁹ and dangers.

1 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 culled   

v.挑选，剔除( cull的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The herd must be culled. 必须有选择地杀掉部分牧畜。 来自辞典例句
• The facts were culled from various sources. 这些事实是从各方收集到的。 来自辞典例句

5 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

6 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

7 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

8 subverting   

v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的现在分词 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠

参考例句：

• This viewpoint sees the Multinational Corporation as capable of circumventing or subverting national objectives and policies. 这种观点认为，跨国公司能够遏制和破坏国家的目标和政策。 来自辞典例句
• By simply subverting an expectation, a novelist can undermine a prejudice. 藉由完全推翻期待，一个小说家可以逐渐破坏一种歧视。 来自互联网

9 talismanic   

adj.护身符的，避邪的

参考例句：

• In fact, however, there is no talismanic significance to the word \"proposal\". 然而，事实上，“提案”一词本身并不具备护身符般的特殊意义。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The talismanic captain scored twice yesterday afternoon as Roma beat Parma 3-0 at the Stadio Tardini. 罗马队长在昨天下午进行的罗马3：0战胜帕尔玛的比赛中梅开二度。 来自互联网

10 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

11 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

12 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

13 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

14 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

15 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

16 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

18 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

19 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句