Đức tin đặc biệt và sự sụp đổ của chế độ cộng sản
Ở lễ tang nhà lãnh đạo Xô Viết Leonid Brezhnev,
mọi sự được diễn ra trong cuộc diễu binh; không khí buổi lễ thấm đẫm sự lạnh
giá và trống rỗng- những người lính đi đều bước, những nón sắt, những từ ngữ
cộng sản sáo rỗng khoa trương, nhưng không lời cầu nguyện, không thánh ca an ủi
lòng người, không nhắc đến Chúa.
Các nhà lãnh đạo Xô Viết đứng
vào vị trí của họ trên Bức tường Kremlin khi gia đình Brezhnev đi theo sau quan
tài đến nơi an nghỉ cuối cùng. Tôi tình cờ đứng ở chỗ rất tốt để nhìn thấy rõ
bà Brezhnev. Bà bước đến quan tài, nhìn chồng lần cuối cùng và tại đấy-ngay
chính trung tâm lạnh giá, xám xịt của nhà nước toàn trị ấy-bà vạch dấu Thánh
giá trên ngực chồng.
Tôi sững sờ. Qua hành động
đơn giản ấy, Chúa đã phá tan cốt lõi của chế độ cộng sản. Tôi cũng thấy rõ ràng
rằng hàng chục năm trời, ngay cả hàng bao thế kỷ, của ách cai trị hà khắc, thế
tục không bao giờ có thể hủy diệt được đức tin trực giác hiện diện trong lòng
tất cả chúng ta. Và qua hành động ấy tôi chợt nhìn thấy được đức tin cho tương
lai.
Nguồn:
Trích từ bài diễn văn của Phó Tổng Thống Hoa Kỳ George H.W. Bush trong ngày ra
trường của sinh viên ở trường Albion College vào ngày 9 tháng Năm, 1987. Tựa đề
của người dịch
Cynthia Falardeau, "George H.W. Bush's
Words at Commencement Still Relevant", CNN iReport, ngày 28/12/2012.
Bản tiếng Việt:
World Stage to Michigan Oil Fields:
George H.W. Bush’s Words at College Commencement
Still Ring True Today
I will never forget the fall of 1983. On a hot
Indian summer day, my father drove me to attend Albion College in Michigan.
Every important possession I owned was packed into his prized Oldsmobile
station wagon. I had never lived outside of our suburban Dayton, Ohio home.
Filled with fear, I believed I was on a journey of self-discovery.
As we crossed the Michigan state line - I
noticed something very foreign. Fields were full of bobbing steel pumps. Like
Trojan horses, their heads swung up and down. It was as if they were
anticipating the sweet treat of tender grasses. Unlike Greek mythology, they
were not wooden, yet you guessed they were up to something.
My Dad observed my interest. At 18 years of age
- I was seldom quite. In his typical engineer voice he noted, “oil fields.”
“Oil fields?,” I replied with great question. I retorted, “Dad, we’re not in
Texas!” Patiently, in his typical General Motors Institute manner, he recounted
the history of the great oil boom of 1957. “Yes,” I thought to myself, “My Dad
is a walking book of useless information!”
It would be four years later that my Michigan
oil history lesson would eclipse into something special. Who would have
imagined that a native of the “Oil Capital of the USA” would deliver a special
message at my college commencement? I could never have anticipated that the
future 41st President of the United States would speak to me on May 9, 1987!
I will never forget the day I learned that
George H.W. Bush, then the Vice President of the United States, was going address
my graduating class. My boyfriend at the time was a master at practical jokes.
I was always pretty gullible and I kept waiting for a “punch line.” Yet, it
never came, we were all excited about the honor of hosting country’s “second in
command” at our small campus.
The truth was that an Albion Trustee, Robert
Teeter, ‘61, was instrumental in arranging the appearance at our college
commencement. I never knew the man but to this day I feel grateful for his hand
in orchestrating one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Vice President Bush’s speech captured
international attention that day. Bush was accompanied to our campus by
national correspondents from the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, ABC,
and NBC. Not since 1977, when former President Gerald R. Ford, came to campus,
had our college had such world-wide media attention.
Under the scrutiny of tight security, 3,500
parents and family members witnessed our commencement ceremony of 320 seniors.
I must confess that when I attended my 25th
college reunion this fall, we all talked of this great day. I was bothered by
the fact that I could not recall Bush’s specific words. My classmates also
echoed the same reflection. However, we all unwittingly shared what Bush had
imparted. We talked about the values that our parents had given us. We shared
"teachable moments" spent with our children. And, last but not least,
we acknowledged that despite the many years, we were all connected to an
institution that had served us well.
When I arrived home, I dug through my “history
box.” It’s the place where I keep all of the important keepsakes of my life. It
is truly a miracle that the cardboard structure has survived hurricanes and
floods. It holds my first writer’s journal from the first grade to my most
prized essays from college. I guess I could chalk it up to being the daughter
and granddaughter of teachers. However, my husband will just tell you that I am
a packrat!
Anyways, like a crazed idiot, I obsessed about
what were those exact words of George H.W. Bush. Why could I not recall them
like a special poem or prayer?
As I ripped through “the box” I almost wept when
I found the reprint of his speech. And then as I read the words, I realized,
his message had never been very far from me all along:
“You often hear that you can’t teach values. I
don’t buy it. I know those of you associated with Albion don’t buy it either.
And you have ethics programs and even the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public
Service to prove you don’t buy it.”
“Americans are in fairly general agreement as to
what constitutes good character and ethical behavior. It includes such
qualities as decency, fairness, honesty, duty, tolerance, courage,
self-discipline, and respect for the law."
The notes included a story of his ending
remarks. He shared the following story to impart his hope for me and the other
graduates. I wept as I read it. As it conveyed how optimism and faith are
essential. Through every challenge I have faced from my mother dying in my home
- to raising a child with physical and development delays – those two elements
have been my strongholds.
“(At the funeral of Soviet leader Leonid
Brezhnev,) things were run in military precession; a coldness and hollowness
pervaded the ceremony – marching soldiers, steel helmets, Marxist rhetoric, but
no prayers, no comforting hymns, no mention of God. “
“The Soviet leaders took their places on the
Kremlin Wall as the Brezhnev family silently escorted the casket around to its
final resting place. I happened to be in just the right spot to see Mrs.
Brezhnev. She walked up, and took one last look at her husband and there – in
the cold, grey center of that totalitarian state – she traced the sign of the
cross over her husband’s chest.”
“I was stunned. In that simple act, God had
broken through the core of the communist system. And it became clear to me –
decades, even centuries, of harsh, secular rule can never destroy the intuitive
faith that is in us all. And in that I find faith for the future.”
And there I sat on the floor of my laundry room
floor, weeping and giving thanks for those profound words. Perhaps I had not
recalled them all by memory. But somewhere buried deep in my heart, they were
there with me, influencing the life I was leading through faith and optimism.
Thank you George H. W. Bush for having such a
positive impact on my life!
