My students often ask me, "What is sociology?" And I tell them it's the study of the way in which human beings are shaped by things that they don't see. And they say, "So, how can I be a sociologist? How can I understand those invisible forces?" And I say, "Empathy. Start with empathy. It all begins with empathy. Take yourself out of your shoes, put yourself into the shoes of another person."
Moji učenici me često pitaju "Što je sociologija?" Kažem im: "To je znanost o načinu na koji su ljudska bića oblikovana stvarima koje ne vide." I oni odgovore: "Kako ja mogu biti sociolog? Kako mogu razumjeti te nevidljive sile?" I kažem im: "Empatija. Počnite s empatijom. Sve počinje empatijom. Zaboravite svoju situaciju, stavite se u situaciju druge osobe."
Here, I'll give you an example. So I imagine my life if, a hundred years ago, China had been the most powerful nation in the world and they came to the United States in search of coal. And they found it, and, in fact, they found lots of it right here. And pretty soon, they began shipping that coal, ton by ton, railcar by railcar, boatload by boatload, back to China and elsewhere around the world. And they got fabulously wealthy in doing so. And they built beautiful cities all powered on that coal. And back here in the United States, we saw economic despair, deprivation. This is what I saw. I saw people struggling to get by, not knowing what was what and what was next. And I asked myself the question: How is it possible that we could be so poor here in the United States, because coal is such a wealthy resource; it's so much money? And I realize: because the Chinese ingratiated themselves with a small ruling class here in the United States, who stole all of that money and all of that wealth for themselves. And the rest of us, the vast majority of us, struggle to get by. And the Chinese gave this small ruling elite loads of military weapons and sophisticated technology in order to ensure that people like me would not speak out against this relationship. Does this sound familiar?
Evo, da vam dam primjer. Zamislim kakav bi bio moj život da je prije stotinu godina Kina bila najmoćnija nacija u svijetu i da su došli u SAD u potrazi za ugljenom, i da su ga našli, u stvari, upravo ovdje su ga našli u velikim količinama. Malo po malo, počeli su izvoziti taj ugljen, tone i tone ugljena, gomile ugljena željeznicama i brodovima u Kinu i ostatak svijeta. Strašno su se obogatili u tom poslu. Izgradili su prekrasne gradove zahvaljujući tom ugljenu. A ovdje, u Sjedinjenim Državama, suočili bismo se s ekonomskom propašću i očajem. To sam zamislio. Zamislio sam kako se ljudi bore da prežive, ne znajući što ih čeka, što je slijedeće. Onda sam si postavio pitanje. Rekoh, "Kako bi bilo moguće da tu u SAD-u budemo tako siromašni ako je ugljen tako bogat izvor, kad vrijedi toliko mnogo novca?" Shvatio sam da bi se to dogodilo zato što bi se Kinezi dodvorili malenom vladajućem staležu u SAD-u koji je sebi prisvojio sav taj novac i bogatstvo. A ostatak nas, velika većina, bi se borili za preživljavanje. Kinezi bi dali ovoj malenoj vladajućoj eliti gomile vojnih oružja i sofisticirane tehnologije da osiguraju da ljudi kao ja ne bi mogli govoriti protiv ovakve povezanosti. Zvuči li vam to poznato?
And they did things like train Americans to help protect the coal. And everywhere, there were symbols of the Chinese -- everywhere, a constant reminder. And back in China, what do they say in China? Nothing! They don't talk about us. They don't talk about the coal. If you ask them, they'll say, "Well, you know, we need the coal. I mean, come on, I'm not going to turn down my thermostat. You can't expect that." And so, I get angry, and I get pissed, as do lots of average people. And we fight back, and it gets really ugly. And the Chinese respond in a very ugly way. And before we know it, they send in the tanks and they send in the troops. And lots of people are dying. And it's a very, very difficult situation.
Na primjer,istrenirali bi Amerikance da pomognu zaštititi ugljen. A svugdje bi bili simboli Kineza -- svugdje, kao stalan podsjetnik. U Kini, pak, što kažu u Kini? Ništa. Ne govore o nama. Ne govore o ugljenu. Ako ih pitate, rekli bi: "Pa, znate, ugljen, treba nam ugljen. Mislim, dajte, pa neću smanjiti svoj termostat. Ne možete to očekivati." I tako bih se naljutio, tako bih se razbjesnio, kao što većina prosječnih ljudi i čini. I borili bismo se za sebe, postalo bi stvarno ružno. A Kinezi bi odgovorili na jako ružan način. I prije nego trepneš, poslali bi tenkove i odrede, i puno ljudi bi umiralo, bila bi jako, jako teška situacija.
Can you imagine what you would feel if you were in my shoes? Can you imagine walking out of this building and seeing a tank sitting out there, or a truck full of soldiers? Just imagine what you would feel, because you know why they're here; you know what they're doing here. And you just feel the anger and you feel the fear. If you can, that's empathy. That's empathy. You've left your shoes, and you've stood in mine. And you've got to feel that.
Možete li zamisliti kako biste se osjećali u takvoj situaciji? Možete li zamisliti da izađete iz ove zgrade i tamo vani vidite tenk ili kamion pun vojnika? Zamislite samo kako biste se osjećali. Zato što znate zašto su tu, i znate što tu rade. Osjećate samo ljutnju, i strah. Ako možete, to je empatija -- to je empatija. Zaboravili ste vlastitu situaciju, i uskočili u moju. Uspjeli ste to osjetiti.
OK, so that's the warm-up. That's the warm-up. Now we're going to have the real radical experiment. So, for the remainder of my talk, what I want you to do is put yourselves in the shoes of an ordinary Arab Muslim living in the Middle East -- in particular, in Iraq. And so to help you, perhaps you're a member of this middle-class family in Baghdad. What you want is the best for your kids. You want your kids to have a better life. And you watch the news, you pay attention. You read the newspaper, you go down to the coffee shop with your friends, you read the newspapers from around the world. Sometimes you even watch satellite, CNN, from the United States. You have a sense of what the Americans are thinking. But really, you just want a better life for yourself. That's what you want. You're Arab Muslim living in Iraq. You want a better life for yourself.
U redu, to je bilo zagrijavanje. To je bilo zagrijavanje. Sad ćemo imati pravi radikalan eksperiment. Dakle, u ostatku mog govora, ono što želim od vas je da se stavite u situaciju običnog Arapa muslimana koji živi na Bliskom Istoku -- točnije, u Iraku. Da vam pomognem, možda ste član obitelji srednje klase u Bagdadu -- i samo želite najbolje za svoju djecu. Želite da vaša djeca imaju bolji život. Gledate vijesti, obraćate pažnju, čitate novine, idete u kafić s prijateljima, i čitate novine iz cijelog svijeta. Ponekad čak gledate satelitsku, CNN iz Sjedinjenih Država. Tako da imate ideju o čemu razmišljaju Amerikanci. Ali zapravo, sve što želite je bolji život za sebe. To je ono što želite. Vi ste Arap musliman koji živi u Iraku. Želite bolji život za sebe.
So here, let me help you. Let me help you with some things that you might be thinking. Number one: this incursion into your land these past 20 years and before -- the reason anyone is interested in your land, and particularly the United States, is oil. It's all about oil; you know that, everybody knows that. People back in the United States know it's about oil. It's because somebody else has a design for your resource. It's your resource -- it's not somebody else's. It's your land; it's your resource. Somebody else has a design for it. And you know why they have a design? You know why they have their eyes set on it? Because they have an entire economic system that's dependent on that oil -- foreign oil, oil from other parts of the world that they don't own.
Evo, pustite da vam pomognem. Pustite me da vam pomognem oko nekih stvari o kojima biste mogli razmišljati. Kao prvo: ovaj upad u vašu zemlju proteklih 20 godina, a i prije, razlog zbog kojeg je itko zainteresiran za vašu zemlju, posebice SAD, je nafta. Sve je to zbog nafte; vi to znate, svi to znaju. Ljudi ovdje u Sjedinjem Državama znaju da je to zbog nafte. To je zato što netko drugi ima planove s vašim izvorom. To je vaš izvor, ne nečiji tuđi. To je vaša zemlja, vaš izvor. Netko drugi ima planove s njim. I znate li zašto imaju planove? Znate li zašto su tako usredotočeni na njega? Zato što njihov ekonomski sustav u potpunosti ovisi o toj nafti -- stranoj nafti, nafti iz dijelova svijeta koje oni ne posjeduju.
And what else do you think about these people? The Americans, they're rich. Come on, they live in big houses, they have big cars. They all have blond hair, blue eyes. They're happy. You think that. It's not true, of course, but that's the media impression. And that's what you get. And they have big cities, and the cities are all dependent on oil. And back home, what do you see? Poverty, despair, struggle. Look, you don't live in a wealthy country. I mean -- this is Iraq. This is what you see. You see people struggling to get by. It's not easy; you see a lot of poverty. And you feel something about this. These people have designs for your resource, and this is what you see?
I što još mislite o ovim ljudima? Amerikanci, oni su bogataši. Ma dajte, pa žive u velikim kućama, imaju velike aute, svi imaju plavu kosu, plave oči, sretni su. To mislite. Naravno, to nije istina, ali to je dojam koji daju mediji, i to je ono što dobijete. I imaju ogromne gradove, a svi ti gradovi ovise o nafti. Natrag kod kuće, što vidite? Siromaštvo, očaj, borbu. Gledajte, vi ne živite u bogatoj zemlji. Ovo je Irak. Ovo je to što vidite. Vidite ljude kako se bore preživjeti. Mislim, nije lako; vidite mnogo siromaštva. I osjećate nešto zbog toga. Ovi ljudi imaju planove s vašim izvorom, i ovo je ono što vi vidite?
Something else you see that you talk about -- Americans don't talk about this, but you do -- there's this thing, this militarization of the world, and it's centered right in the United States. And the United States is responsible for almost one half of the world's military spending. Four percent of the world's population! And you feel it; you see it every day. It's part of your life. And you talk about it with your friends. You read about it. And back when Saddam Hussein was in power, the Americans didn't care about his crimes. When he was gassing the Kurds and gassing Iran, they didn't care about it. When oil was at stake, somehow, suddenly, things mattered. And what you see, something else: the United States, the hub of democracy around the world -- they don't seem to really be supporting democratic countries all around the world. There are a lot of countries, oil-producing countries, that aren't very democratic, but supported by the United States. That's odd.
Još nešto što vidite i o čemu razgovarate -- Amerikanci ne razgovaraju o tome, ali vi da. Postoji ta militarizacija svijeta, i centrirana je upravo u Sjedinjenim Državama. Sjedinjene Države su odgovorne za gotovo polovicu svjetskih vojnih troškova -- četiri posto svjetske populacije. I vi to osjećate, vidite, svaki dan. To je dio vašeg života. I razgovarate o tome sa svojim prijateljima. Čitate o tome. I još dok je Saddam Hussein bio na vlasti, Amerikance nije bilo briga o njegovim zločinima. Kad je ubijao Kurde plinom, i Iran, Amerikance nije bilo briga. Kad je nafta bila u pitanju, odjednom su te stvari postale bitne. I još nešto što vidite, Sjedinjene Države, žarište demokracije diljem svijeta, čini se da oni ne podupiru baš demokratske zemlje diljem svijeta. Postoji mnogo zemalja, zemalja koje proizvode naftu, koje nisu baš demokratske, ali ih Sjedinjene Države podupiru. To je čudno.
Oh -- these incursions, these two wars, the 10 years of sanctions, the eight years of occupation, the insurgency that's been unleashed on your people, the tens of thousands, the hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths? All because of oil. You can't help but think that. You talk about it. It's in the forefront of your mind, always. You say, "How is that possible?" And this man, he's everyman -- your grandfather, your uncle, your father, your son, your neighbor, your professor, your student. Once a life of happiness and joy and suddenly, pain and sorrow. Everyone in your country has been touched by the violence, the bloodshed, the pain, the horror -- everybody. Not a single person in your country has not been touched.
Ovi upadi, ova dva rata, deset godina sankcija, osam godina okupacije, pobunjeništvo koje se shrvalo na vaše ljude, stotine tisuća smrti civila, sve zbog nafte. Ne možete si pomoći da ne razmišljate o tome. Razgovarate o tome. To vam je stalno pred očima. Kažete: "Kako je to moguće?" I taj čovjek, on je svaki čovjek -- vaš djed, vaš stric, vaš otac, vaš sin, vaš susjed, vaš profesor, vaš učenik. Nekad život sreće i veselja, a odjednom se pretvorio u život boli i tuge. Svatko u vašoj zemlji je okusio nasilje na vlastitoj koži, krvoproliće, bol, horor, svatko. Nijedna osoba u vašoj zemlji nije to izbjegla.
But there's something else. There's something else about these people, these Americans who are there. There's something else about them that you see that they don't see themselves. And what do you see? They're Christians! They're Christians. They worship the Christian God, they have crosses, they carry Bibles. Their Bibles have a little insignia that says "US Army" on them. And their leaders, their leaders: before they send their sons and daughters off to war in your country -- and you know the reason -- before they send them off, they go to a Christian church, and they pray to their Christian God, and they ask for protection and guidance from that god. Why? Well, obviously, when people die in the war, they are Muslims, they are Iraqis -- they're not Americans. You don't want Americans to die -- "Protect Our Troops." And you feel something about that -- of course you do. And they do wonderful things. You read about it, you hear about it. They're there to build schools and help people. That's what they want to do. They do wonderful things, but they also do the bad things, and you can't tell the difference.
Ali tu je još nešto. Još nešto o ovim ljudima, tim Amerikancima koji su tu. Ima još nešto o njima što vi vidite -- ali oni ne. Što je to što vidite? Oni su kršćani. Oni su kršćani. Štuju kršćanskog Boga, imaju križeve, nose Bibliju. Njihove Biblije imaju mali znak koji kaže "Vojska SAD-a." A njihovi vođe, njihovi vođe, prije nego pošalju svoje sinove i kćeri u rat u vašu zemlju -- i vi znate razlog tome -- prije nego ih pošalju, odu u kršćansku crkvu, i mole se svom kršćanskom Bogu, i traže zaštitu i vodstvo od tog Boga. Zašto? Jer, očito, kad ljudi umru u ratu, oni su muslimani, oni su Iračani -- oni nisu Amerikanci. Ne želite da Amerikanci umru. Oni štite naše odrede. I osjećate nešto u vezi toga -- naravno da osjećate. Oni čine divne stvari. Vi čitate o tome, čujete o tome. Oni su tu da izgrade škole i pomognu ljudima, i to žele činiti. Čine divne stvari, ali isto tako čine i loše stvari, a vi ne možete vidjeti razliku. I tu je taj tip, tip poput poručnika generala Williama Boykina.
And this guy, you get a guy like Lt. Gen. William Boykin. Here's a guy who says that your god is a false god. Your god's an idol; his god is the true god. The solution to the problem in the Middle East, according to him, is to convert you all to Christianity -- just get rid of your religion. And you know that. Americans don't read about this guy. They don't know anything about him, but you do. You pass it around. You pass his words around. I mean, this is serious. You're afraid. He was one of the leading commanders in the second invasion of Iraq. And you're thinking, "My God, if this guy is saying that, then all the soldiers must be saying that." And this word here -- George Bush called this war a crusade. Man, the Americans, they're just like, "Ah, crusade. Whatever. I don't know what that means." You know what it means -- it's a holy war against Muslims. Look, invade, subdue them, take their resources. If they won't submit, kill them. That's what this is about. And you're thinking, "My God, these Christians are coming to kill us." This is frightening. You feel frightened. Of course you feel frightened.
Mislim, taj tip kaže da je vaš bog krivi bog. Vaš bog je idol, njegov bog je pravi Bog. Rješenje problema na Bliskom Istoku, prema njemu, je da svi prijeđete na kršćanstvo -- samo odbacite svoju religiju. Vi to znate. Amerikanci ne čitaju o ovom tipu. O njemu ne znaju ništa, ali vi znate. Širite to uokolo. Prepričavate njegove riječi. Mislim, ovo je ozbiljno. On je bio jedan od glavnih zapovjednika u drugoj invaziji na Irak. I mislite: "Bože, ako ovaj tip to govori, onda sigurno svi vojnici to govore." I ta riječ, George Bush je nazvao ovaj rat križarskim. Čovječe, Amerikanci, oni misle: "Aha, križarski rat. Svejedno. Nemam pojma". Znate što to znači. To je sveti rat protiv muslimana. Promotrite, napadnite, pokorite ih, uzmite im izvore. Ako se ne žele podčiniti, ubijte ih. O tome se radi. I mislite si: "Moj Bože, ovi kršćani su nas došli ubiti." Ovo je zastrašujuće. Prestrašeni ste. Naravno da ste prestrašeni.
And this man, Terry Jones: I mean here's a guy who wants to burn Qurans, right? And the Americans: "Ah, he's a knucklehead. He's a former hotel manager; he's got three dozen members of his church ..." They laugh him off. You don't laugh him off, because in the context of everything else, all the pieces fit. Of course this is how Americans think. So people all over the Middle East, not just in your country, are protesting. "He wants to burn Qurans, our holy book. These Christians -- who are these Christians? They're so evil, they're so mean -- this is what they're about?" This is what you're thinking as an Arab Muslim, as an Iraqi. Of course you're going to think this.
I ovaj čovjek, Terry Jones, taj čovjek želi spaliti Kurane. A Amerikanci misle: "Ma, to je idiot. On je bivši upravitelj hotela, ima 40-ak članova u svojoj Crkvi." Smiju mu se. Vi mu se ne smijete. Ne smijete se jer u kontekstu svega, svi se dijelovi slažu. Mislim, naravno da Amerikanci tako to shvaćaju, tako da ljudi svugdje na Bliskom Istoku, ne samo u vašoj zemlji, protestiraju. "On želi spaliti Kuran, našu svetu knjigu. Ovi kršćani, tko su oni? Tako su zli, i pokvareni -- u tome im je bit." Ovako razmišljate kao Arap i musliman, kao Iračanin. Naravno da tako razmišljate.
And then your cousin says, "Hey coz, check out this website. You've got to see this -- Bible Boot Camp. These Christians are nuts! They're training their little kids to be soldiers for Jesus. They take little kids and run them through these things till they teach them how to say, 'Sir! Yes, sir!' and things like 'grenade toss' and 'weapons care and maintenance.' And go to the website -- it says 'US Army' right on it. I mean, these Christians, they're nuts. How can they do this to their little kids?" And you're reading this website. And of course, Christians in the United States, or anybody, says, "This is some little church in the middle of nowhere." You don't know that. For you, this is like, all Christians. It's all over the Web: "Bible Boot Camp." And look at this. They even teach their kids -- they train them in the same way the US Marines train. Isn't that interesting. And it scares you, and it frightens you.
I onda vaš rođak kaže: "Ej, pogledaj ovu stranicu. Moraš ovo vidjeti -- biblijski vojni kamp. Ovi kršćani su luđaci. Treniraju svoju djecu da budu Isusovi vojnici. Uzmu tu svoju malu djecu, i uvježbavaju ih dok ih ne nauče kako reći: "Da, gospodine, da!" i kako bacati granate i voditi brigu o oružju. I vi odete na tu stranicu. Na samom vrhu kaže "Vojska SAD-a." Mislim, ovi kršćani, oni su luđaci. Kako to mogu raditi vlastitoj djeci? I čitate tu stranicu. Naravno, kršćani u Sjedinjenim Državama, a i drugi, kažu: "Ma, to je neka mala crkvica bogu iza nogu." Vi to ne znate. Za vas, takvi su svi kršćani. Taj biblijski vojni kamp je po cijelom Internetu. I pogledajte, čak uče svoju djecu -- treniraju ih na isti način kao i američke marince. Kako zanimljivo. I to vas plaši, prestravljuje.
So these guys, you see them. You see, I, Sam Richards -- I know who these guys are. They're my students, my friends; I know what they're thinking. You don't know. When you see them, they're something else. They're something else. That's what they are to you. We don't see it that way in the United States, but you see it that way. So here. Of course, you've got it wrong. You're generalizing. It's wrong. You don't understand the Americans. It's not a Christian invasion. We're not just there for oil; we're there for lots of reasons. You have it wrong. You've missed it. And of course, most of you don't support the insurgency; you don't support killing Americans; you don't support the terrorists. Of course you don't. Very few people do. But -- some of you do. And this is a perspective. OK. So now, here's what we're going to do.
Tako da ovi tipovi, vidite ih. Vidite, ja, Sam Richards, znam tko su ti tipovi. To su moji učenici, moji prijatelji. Znam što misle: "Ti ne znaš." Kad ih vidite, oni su nešto drugo, netko drugi. To su vama. Mi to ne vidimo tako u Sjedinjenim Državama, ali vi to vidite na taj način. Eto. Naravno, krivo si shvatio. Generaliziraš. To je pogrešno. Ne razumiješ Amerikance. To nije kršćanska invazija. Nismo tamo samo zbog nafte, tamo smo zbog mnogo razloga. Krivo si shvatio. Promašio si. Naravno, većina vas ne podupire pobunjeništvo, ne podupirete ubijanje Amerikanaca; ne podupirete teroriste. Naravno da ne podupirete. Jako malo ljudi to čini. Ali neki od vas to čine. I to je pogled. U redu, dakle, sad ćemo ovako.
Step outside of your shoes that you're in right now, and step back into your normal shoes. So everyone's back in the room. OK? Now here comes the radical experiment. So we're all back home. This photo: this woman -- man, I feel her. I feel her. She's my sister, my wife, my cousin, my neighbor. She's anybody to me. These guys standing there, everybody in the photo -- I feel this photo, man. So here's what I want you to do.
Zaboravite tu situaciju, ovu u kojoj upravo jeste, i vratite se u svoju normalnu. U redu, sad smo svi natrag. Sad idemo na radikalan eksperiment. Dakle, svi smo natrag. Ova fotografija, ova žena, čovječe, znam kako joj je. Znam kako joj je. Ona je moja sestra, moja žena, moja rođakinja, moja susjeda. Ona mi je bilo tko. Ovi tipovi koji stoje tu, svi na fotografiji. Čovječe, znam kako im je na ovoj fotografiji. Dakle, ovo želim od vas.
Let's go back to my first example, of the Chinese. I want you to go there. It's all about coal, and the Chinese are here in the United States. What I want you to do is picture her as a Chinese woman receiving a Chinese flag because her loved one has died in America in the coal uprising. And the soldiers are Chinese, and everybody else is Chinese. As an American, how do you feel about this picture? What do you think about that scene?
Vratimo se na prvi primjer, Kineze. Želim da odete tamo. Dakle, sve je zbog ugljena, i Kinezi su tu u Sjedinjenim Državama. I ono što želim od vas je da je zamislite kao Kineskinju koja prima kinesku zastavu zato što je netko koga je voljela umro u Americi u pobuni zbog ugljena. Vojnici su Kinezi, i svi ostali su Kinezi. Kao Amerikanac, kako biste se osjećali zbog ove fotografije? Što mislite o ovoj sceni?
OK, try this. Bring it back. This is the scene here. It's an American, American soldiers, American woman who lost her loved one in the Middle East, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Now, put yourself in the shoes, go back to the shoes of an Arab Muslim living in Iraq. What are you feeling and thinking about this photo, about this woman?
U redu, pokušajte ovo. Prisjetite se. Ovo je ta scena. To je Amerikanac, američki vojnik, američka žena koja je izgubila nekog koga je voljela na Bliskom Istoku -- u Iraku ili Afganistanu. Sad, stavite se u situaciju, stavite se u situaciju Arapa muslimana koji živi u Iraku. Što osjećate i o čemu razmišljate u vezi ove fotografije, u vezi ove žene?
OK, now follow me on this, because I'm taking a big risk here. And so I'm going to invite you to take a risk with me. These gentlemen here, they're insurgents. They were caught by the American soldiers, trying to kill Americans. And maybe they succeeded. Maybe they succeeded. Put yourself in the shoes of the Americans who caught them. Can you feel the rage? Can you feel that you just want to take these guys and wring their necks? Can you go there? It shouldn't be that difficult. You just -- oh, man. Now, put yourself in their shoes. Are they brutal killers or patriotic defenders? Which one? Can you feel their anger, their fear, their rage at what has happened in their country? Can you imagine that maybe one of them, in the morning, bent down to their child and hugged their child and said, "Dear, I'll be back later. I'm going out to defend your freedom, your lives. I'm going out to look out for us, the future of our country." Can you imagine that? Can you imagine saying that? Can you go there? What do you think they're feeling? You see, that's empathy. It's also understanding.
U redu. Sad me pratite, zato što sad jako riskiram. Pozivam vas da riskirate sa mnom. Ova gospoda, to su pobunjenici. Uhvatili su ih američki vojnici dok su pokušavali ubiti Amerikance. Možda su i uspjeli. Možda su uspjeli. Stavite se u situaciju Amerikanaca koji su ih uhvatili. Možete li osjetiti bijes? Možete li osjetiti kako samo želite uzeti ove tipove i zavrnuti im vratom? Možete li to? Ne bi trebalo biti tako teško. Samo -- o, čovječe. Sad, stavite se u njihovu situaciju. Jesu li oni brutalni ubojice ili branitelji domovine? Što su? Možete li osjetiti njihovu ljutnju, njihov strah, njihov bijes, zbog svega što se dogodilo u njihovoj zemlji? Možete li zamisliti da se možda jedan od njih to jutro sagnuo da zagrli svoje dijete i rekao: "Milo, vratit ću se kasnije. Idem braniti tvoju slobodu, tvoj život. Idem se pobrinuti za nas, za budućnost naše zemlje." Možete li zamisliti to? Možete li zamisliti kako to govorite? Možete li? Što mislite da oni osjećaju? Vidite, to je empatija. To je također i razumijevanje.
[understand]
Sad biste mogli pitati:
Now, you might ask, "OK, Sam, so why do you do this sort of thing? Why would you use this example of all examples?" And I say, because. You're allowed to hate these people. You're allowed to just hate them with every fiber of your being. And if I can get you to step into their shoes and walk an inch -- one tiny inch -- then imagine the kind of sociological analysis that you can do in all other aspects of your life. You can walk a mile when it comes to understanding why that person's driving 40 miles per hour in the passing lane; or your teenage son; or your neighbor who annoys you by cutting his lawn on Sunday mornings. Whatever it is, you can go so far. And this is what I tell my students: step outside of your tiny, little world. Step inside of the tiny, little world of somebody else. And then do it again and do it again and do it again. And suddenly, all these tiny, little worlds, they come together in this complex web. And they build a big, complex world. And suddenly, without realizing it, you're seeing the world differently. Everything has changed. Everything in your life has changed. And that's, of course, what this is about.
"U redu, Sam, zašto činiš nešto ovakvo? Zašto bi od svih primjera uzeo ovaj?" A ja kažem: zato ... zato. Dopušteno vam je mrziti ove ljude. Dopušteno vam je samo mrziti ih svakom stanicom svoga bića. I ako vas mogu natjerati da se stavite u njihovu situaciju makar na trenutak, makar jedan mali trenutak, zamislite vrstu sociološke analize koju biste mogli napraviti u svim drugim aspektima svog života. Mogli biste suosjećati kad bi trebalo razumjeti zašto ona osoba vozi 65 km/h u traci za pretjecanje, ili vašeg sina, tinejdžera, ili susjeda koji vas nervira zato što kosi travnjak nedjeljom ujutro. Štogod bilo, možete tako puno. I to kažem svojim učenicima: izađite iz svog malenog, skučenog svijeta. Uđite u maleni skučeni svijet nekoga drugoga. I onda to ponovite opet i opet i opet. I odjednom, svi ovi maleni skučeni svjetovi se spoje u složenu mrežu. Izgrade veliki složeni svijet. I odjednom, bez da to uopće primijetite, drukčije gledate svijet. Sve se promijenilo. Sve u vašem životu se promijenilo. Naravno, o tome se radi.
Attend to other lives, other visions. Listen to other people, enlighten ourselves. I'm not saying that I support the terrorists in Iraq. But as a sociologist, what I am saying is: I understand. And now perhaps -- perhaps -- you do, too.
Uzmite k srcu druge živote, druge poglede. Slušajte druge ljude, prosvijetlite sami sebe. Ne kažem da podupirem teroriste u Iraku, ali kao sociolog pokušavam reći da razumijem. A možda sada -- možda -- i vi razumijete.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)