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| 2010/09/01 17:27:50瀏覽422｜回應1｜推薦0 | |
| 今晚(8/31)歐巴馬總統在白宮橢圓形辦公室面對華盛頓和林肯的肖像，透過電視鏡頭對全民演說。這兩幅肖像由來己久，不是最近幾任總統所裝飾的。 有一百五拾年歷史，前瞻、有深度、至今仍然廣受尊重的大西洋月刊在２００６年選出１００位影響美國歷史的人物。前１２位依序是林肯，華盛頓，傑佛遜，羅斯福，漢彌爾頓，佛蘭克林，馬歇爾(第一位黑人大法官)，金恩(殉道的人權鬥士)，愛迪生，威爾遜，洛克斐勒，格蘭特；其中６位擔任過總統。 以藝文為準繩, 一般認為美國過去歷任總統當中，讓人稱頌的大概只有傑佛遜，林肯，和格蘭特的文筆。《林肯的劍》和幾本研究林肯(包括文筆)的書碰巧在上次總統大選一兩年期間出版。紐約時報的書評專欄作家 Michiko Kakutani 在評論林肯新書時一而再的稱許歐巴馬的文筆。歐巴馬至今寫了兩本書，《Dreams of My Father》 是法學院剛畢業頭３年寫的真摰之書，晚近的《The Audacity of Hope》是有點打選戰的弦外之音。 ２００５年在時代雜誌巧遇當時是參議院一年級歐巴馬寫的短文《What I see in Lincoln’s Eyes》。希望來訪的格友能夠抽空訪問時代雜誌，讀完這篇短文; 以下是頭兩段： Time Magazine Sunday, Jun. 26, 2005 What I See in Lincoln's Eyes By Barack Obama My favorite portrait of Lincoln comes from the end of his life. In it, Lincoln's face is as finely lined as a pressed flower. He appears frail, almost broken; his eyes, averted from the camera's lens, seem to contain a heartbreaking melancholy, as if he sees before him what the nation had so recently endured. It would be a sorrowful picture except for the fact that Lincoln's mouth is turned ever so slightly into a smile. The smile doesn't negate the sorrow. But it alters tragedy into grace. It's as if this rough-faced, aging man has cast his gaze toward eternity and yet still cherishes his memories--of an imperfect world and its fleeting, sometimes terrible beauty. On trying days, the portrait, a reproduction of which hangs in my office, soothes me; it always asks me questions. |
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