Muhammad Ali Shook up the World 穆罕默德·阿里震撼了世界

杨雪

6月4日，穆罕默德·阿里去世后，美国总统奥巴马和第一夫人米歇尔发表了一篇感人至深的悼词，纪念这位伟大而经历复杂的拳王。“他震撼了世界，世界因他而变得更好。安息吧，拳王。”——奥巴马总统（@POTUS1）

Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Period. If you just asked him， hed tell you. Hed tell you he was the double greatest； that hed “handcuffed2 lightning， thrown thunder into jail.”

But what made The Champ the greatest—what truly separated him from everyone else—is that everyone else would tell you pretty much the same thing.

Like everyone else on the planet， Michelle and I mourn his passing. But were also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him， if just for a while； for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time.

In my private study， just off the Oval Office， I keep a pair of his gloves on display， just under that iconic photograph of him—the young champ， just 22 years old， roaring like a lion over a fallen Sonny Liston3. I was too young when it was taken to understand who he was—still Cassius Clay， already an Olympic Gold Medal winner， yet to set out on a spiritual journey that would lead him to his Muslim faith， exile him at the peak of his power， and set the stage for his return to greatness with a name as familiar to the downtrodden in the slums of Southeast Asia and the villages of Africa as it was to cheering crowds in Madison Square Garden.4

“I am America，” he once declared. “I am the part you wont recognize. But get used to me—black， confident， cocky5； my name， not yours； my religion， not yours； my goals， my own. Get used to me.”

Thats the Ali I came to know as I came of age—not just as skilled a poet on the mic as he was a fighter in the ring，6 but a man who fought for what was right. A man who fought for us. He stood with King and Mandela；7 stood up when it was hard； spoke out when others wouldnt. His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. It would earn him enemies on the left and the right， make him reviled8， and nearly send him to jail. But Ali stood his ground. And his victory helped us get used to the America we recognize today.

He wasnt perfect， of course. For all his magic in the ring， he could be careless with his words， and full of contradictions as his faith evolved. But his wonderful， infectious， even innocent spirit ultimately won him more fans than foes—maybe because in him， we hoped to see something of ourselves. Later， as his physical powers ebbed， he became an even more powerful force for peace and reconciliation around the world.9 We saw a man who said he was so mean hed make medicine sick reveal a soft spot， visiting children with illness and disability around the world， telling them they， too， could become the greatest. We watched a hero light a torch， and fight his greatest fight of all on the world stage once again； a battle against the disease that ravaged10 his body， but couldnt take the spark from his eyes.

Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it. We are all better for it. Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family， and we pray that the greatest fighter of them all finally rests in peace.

穆罕默德·阿里是最伟大的。句号。你问他，他一定会这么说。他会告诉你他是最最伟大的，他能“铐住闪电，禁锢雷鸣”。

他之所以伟大，之所以不同于其他人，是因为其他所有人都认可了他的伟大。

同所有人一样，我和米歇尔哀悼他的离去。但同时我们也感谢上帝，让我们与他相识，哪怕只是短暂一刻；我们多么幸运，让他降临在我们的时代。

在我自己的书房，紧挨着总统办公室，我收藏了一双他的手套，就摆在他那幅经典的照片下面。照片里，22岁的年轻冠军，雄狮一般冲着倒地的索尼·利斯顿怒吼。我那时还小，未能理解他的志向——那时他还叫卡修斯·克莱，已经是奥运会金牌得主，却踏上灵魂的征程，皈依了伊斯兰教。他从荣耀之巅跌落，后来以另一个名字回归伟大，这是一个在东南亚的底层贫民窟和非洲村落里众所周知的名字，也是一个响彻麦迪逊广场花园的名字。

“我就是美国，”他宣称，“我是你们不愿承认的那部分美国。但，接纳我——黑皮肤、自信、狂妄；接纳我的名字，接纳我的信仰，接纳我的追求。接纳我。”

这是我成年后认识的阿里——拳击场上的他，不仅诗律娴熟，拳技精湛，更是在为正义而战，为我们而战。他和马丁·路德·金与曼德拉一样；在艰难困苦时屹立不倒；在众人缄默时勇敢发声。拳击场外，他的斗争会让他失去荣誉和地位，会让他左右两派树敌，遭人唾骂，甚至险些锒铛入狱。但阿里没有屈服，他的胜利让我们接纳了今天这个美国。

当然，他并不完美。尽管拳击场上一再创造神话，他说话也会口无遮拦，信仰上也曾前后矛盾。但他高尚、热情、甚至纯真的灵魂最终为他赢得了更多的同道而非敌人——也许是因为我们希望从他身上，看到一些自己的影子。后来，他的体力渐渐不如从前，便更投身于为世界和平所做的斗争中去。我们看到，这位自称刻薄得无药可救的人内心的柔软，他在世界各地探望患病和残疾的儿童时，告诉他们，他们也可以成为最伟大的人。我们看到，这位英雄举着火炬，又一次登上世界的舞台，与自身的疾病作最伟大的斗争；病痛可以摧毁他的身体，却不能磨灭他眼里的光芒。

穆罕默德·阿里震撼了世界。世界因此而变得更好。我们都因此而变得更好。我和米歇尔向他的家人致以最深挚的哀悼，愿这位世上最伟大的斗士安息。

1. POTUS： President of the United States of America的缩写，即美利坚合众国总统。@POTUS为其推特（twitter）账号。

2. handcuff： 此处为动词，用手铐铐住。

3. Sonny Liston： 索尼·利斯顿（1932—1970），20世纪六七十年代称霸重量级拳坛的美国黑人拳手。

4. downtrodden： 被（有权势者）践踏的，受压迫的；slum： （城市中的）贫民窟，贫民区；Madison Square Garden： 麦迪逊广场花园，位于全美最大的火车站之一的宾夕法尼亚车站上方，许多球类赛事和摇滚音乐会都在这里举行。

5. cocky： 过分自信的，自以为是的。

6. 每场比赛之前，阿里都要写一首打油诗给对手，一是放松自己，二是激怒对手。甚至有人说，他的那些打油诗是说唱音乐的鼻祖。

7. King： Martin Luther King，马丁·路德·金（1929—1968），美国黑人民权运动领袖，发表过著名的《我有一个梦想》演说；Mandela： 曼德拉（1918—2013），南非首位黑人总统，曾在领导反种族隔离运动时入狱27年。

8. revile： 辱骂，斥责。

9. ebb： 减少，衰退；reconciliation： 和解。

10. ravage： 毁坏，严重损坏。