The Newsroom - Opening Scene

2015-09-26 Bangkok /persistence/2015/09/26/the-newsroom-s1.html persistence

https://youtu.be/1zqOYBabXmA

Jennifer Johnson: Can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?

Sharon: Diversity and opportunity.

Moderator: Lewis?

Lewis: Freedom and freedom… so let’s keep it that way.

Moderator: Will?

Will McAvoy: The New York Jets.

Moderator: No, I’m going to hold you to an answer on that. What makes America the greatest country in the world?

Will McAvoy: Well, Lewis and Sharon said it. Diversity and opportunity and freedom and freedom.

Moderator: I’m not letting you go back to the airport without answering the question.

Will McAvoy: Well, our Constitution is a masterpiece. James Madison was a genius. The Declaration of Independence is, for me, the single greatest piece of American writing…

[Professor keeps staring]

Will McAvoy: You don’t look satisfied.

Moderator: One’s a set of laws and the other’s a declaration of war. I want a human moment from you… what about the people? Why is America…

Will McAvoy: It’s not the greatest country in the world, professor. That’s my answer.

Moderator: You’re saying…

Will McAvoy: Yes.

Moderator: Let’s talk about…

Will McAvoy: Fine.

[Turns to Sharon]

Will McAvoy: Sharon, the NEA is a loser. Yeah, it accounts for a penny out of our paycheck, but he

[gestures to Lewis]

Will McAvoy: gets to hit you with it anytime he wants. It doesn’t cost money, it costs votes. It costs airtime and column inches. You know why people don’t like liberals? Cause they lose. If liberals are so fucking smart, how come they lose so god damn always?

报业协会是个窝囊废，没错，她花得都是纳税人的钱，却反过来攻击你。这不花钱，花得是票数。花点广播时间和专栏长度。你知道为什么人们不喜欢自由职业者吗？因为他们是窝囊废。如果他们有那么聪明，又怎么会他妈的一次都没赢过？

Sharon: Hey!

Will McAvoy: [Turns to Louis] And with a straight face, you’re gonna tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome that we’re the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The UK. France. Italy. Germany. Spain. Australia… Belgium! has freedom… 207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of ‘em have freedom.

你还能面不改色地跟学生说，美国是如此的了不起，如此的星光璀璨。美国是世界上唯一拥有自由的国家吗？加拿大有自由，日本有自由，英国、法国、意大利、德国、西班牙、澳洲、连比利时也有自由！世界上有 207 个主权国家，大概有 180 个是有自由的。

Moderator: Alright…

Will McAvoy: [Looks at Jenny] And, yeah, you… sorority girl. Just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day, there are some things you should know. One of them is: There is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest country in the world. We’re 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, number 4 in labor force and number 4 in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real and defense spending - where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies. Now, none of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student, but you, nonetheless, are without a doubt a member of the worst period generation period ever period, so when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don’t know what the FUCK you’re talking about!… Yosemite?

还有你，联谊会女生。以免你以后不小心乱入投票站，我觉得有些事你是要知道的。其中一件就是完全没有数据来支持你这种美国是世界上最伟大的国家的说法。读写能力我们排第 7，数学第 27，科学排第 22，人均寿命第 49，婴儿死亡率排 178，家庭收入中值排第 3，劳动力排第 4，出口额排第 4。只有三项排名我们是排榜首的，监狱人员所占总人口比重，信教人数和国防支出，这项支出比后面 26 个国家的总和还多，其中 25 国是北约成员国。当然，这都不是你这个 20 岁大学生的错，但你却毋庸置疑生活在这个史上最糟糕最悲剧的年代。所以你问我是什么造就了这个最伟大的国度，我真不懂你他妈在放什么狗屁。你只会逛公园吗？

[Stunned silence]

Will McAvoy: … It sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws - for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not on poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were and we never beat our chest. We built great, big things, made ungodly technological advanced, explored the universe, cured diseases and we cultivated the world’s greatest artists AND the world’s greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men. We aspired to intelligence, we didn’t belittle it. It didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election and we didn’t scare so easy. We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed… by great men, men who were revered. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.

我们过去的确辉煌过。我们会为正义而拼，为道德而战。因合乎道德而立良法，因违背道德而废恶法。我们为穷人而战，而并非讨伐穷人。甘愿牺牲，关心邻里。勤劳踏实而不是空口说大话。我们有过伟大的发明，有过逆天的科学创造。探索太空，治愈疾病。还出过世界上最出色的艺术家，有过世界上最棒的经济体制。

可上九天揽月，虽是一介凡人。追求知识，不轻视，知识不会让我们觉得低人一等。不会以上届选举的投票选择来给自己定性左右派。我们也…我们也不会轻易畏惧。以前之所以能做到这些，是因为我们遥遥领先，因为受人尊敬的伟大人物。解决问题的第一步，是要认清症结所在。美国再也不是世界上最伟大的国家了。

Will McAvoy: [to moderator] Enough?

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Newsroom_(U.S._TV_series)