of The Netherlands,

最高軍事統帥，

with troops stationed around the world,

擁有駐紮在世界各地駐紮的軍隊，

I'm really honored

令天我真的十分榮幸

to be here today.

來到這裡。

When I look around

我環顧四周

this TEDxAmsterdam venue,

在這會場中

I see a very special audience.

我看到一群很特別的觀眾。

You are the reason

你就是我答應

why I said yes to the invitation

這個邀請

to come here today.

今天來到這裡的原因。

When I look around,

當我環顧一下，

I see people

我看到

who want to make a contribution,

一群想有所貢獻的人。

I see people

我看到

who want to make a better world,

一群想把世界變得更美好的人，

by doing groundbreaking scientific work,

藉著從事開天闢地的科學研究，

by creating impressive works of art,

創作動人的藝術品，

by writing critical articles

寫作批判性的文章

or inspiring books,

或發人深省的書籍，

by starting up sustainable businesses.

或開創可永續經營的生意。

And you all have chosen

你們都選了

your own instruments

自己的工具

to fulfill this mission

去達成讓世界變得更美好

of creating a better world.

的理想。

Some chose the microscope

有人選了顯微鏡

as their instrument.

作為他們的工具。

Others chose dancing or painting

其他人選擇舞蹈或繪畫

or making music like we just heard.

或譜出像我們剛聽到的音樂。

Some chose the pen.

有些人則選擇筆桿。

Others work through the instrument of money.

其他則透過金錢工具。

Ladies and gentlemen,

先生女仕們，

I made a different choice.

我作出了截然不同的選擇。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen --

先生女仕們 --

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

(Applause)

(掌聲)

I share your goals.

我與你們的目標一致。

I share the goals

我與剛才你聽到的講者

of the speakers you heard before.

的目標一致。

I did not choose

我沒有選擇

to take up the pen,

拿起筆桿、

the brush, the camera.

畫筆或攝影機。

I chose this instrument.

我選擇了這種工具。

I chose the gun.

我選擇了槍桿子。

For you, and you heard already,

對你來說，你也聽過，

being so close to this gun

這麼接近這枝槍

may make you feel uneasy.

可能會令你感到不安。

It may even feel scary.

甚至令你感到害怕。

A real gun

一枝真正的槍械

at a few feet's distance.

就在咫尺之遙。

Let us stop for a moment

讓我停下來一會兒

and feel this uneasiness.

去感覺一下這種不安的感覺。

You could even hear it.

你甚至能夠聽得出來。

Let us cherish the fact

讓我們珍惜這個事實

that probably most of you

其實你們大多數

have never been close to a gun.

都從未接近過槍械。

It means

這意味著

The Netherlands is a peaceful country.

荷蘭是一個和平的國家。

The Netherlands is not at war.

荷蘭沒有戰爭。

It means soldiers are not needed

這表示我們不需要軍隊

to patrol our streets.

去巡邏我們的街道。

Guns are not a part of our lives.

槍械並非我們生活的一部份。

In many countries

在很多國家

it is a different story.

那是另一回事。

In many countries

在很多國家

people are confronted with guns.

民眾面對著槍械。

They are oppressed.

他們受到壓迫。

They are intimidated --

他們受到

by warlords,

軍閥、

by terrorists,

恐怖份子、

by criminals.

和罪犯的威嚇。

Weapons can do a lot of harm.

武器可做成很多的傷害。

They are the cause

它們是諸多苦難

of much distress.

的原因。

Why then am I standing before you

那麼為何我拿著這件武器

with this weapon?

站在你面前呢?

Why did I choose the gun

為何我選擇槍械

as my instrument?

作為我的工具呢?

Today I want to tell you why.

今天我想解釋一下。

Today I want to tell you

今天我想靠訴你

why I chose the gun

為何我選擇槍械

to create a better world.

去創造一個更理想的世界。

And I want to tell you

我亦想告訴你

how this gun can help.

這枝槍怎樣幫我達到目的。

My story starts

我的故事

in the city of Nijmegen

在荷蘭東面的

in the east of The Netherlands,

一個城市 --奈梅亨 --

the city where I was born.

我出生的城市開始。

My father

我父親是

was a hardworking baker,

一位勤勞的麵包匠，

but when he had finished work in the bakery,

但當他完成麵包店的工作後，

he often told me and my brother stories.

他經常會為我和兄弟說故事。

And most of the time,

而很多時候

he told me this story I'm going to share with you now.

他都會說我現在與和你分享的這個故事。

The story of what happened

一個在二次世界大戰初

when he was a conscripted soldier

他被荷蘭軍隊

in the Dutch armed forces

徵召入伍

at the beginning of the Second World War.

發生的故事。

The Nazis invaded The Netherlands.

納粹入侵荷蘭。

Their grim plans were evident.

他們冷酷的計劃人盡皆知

They meant to rule

他們要進行

by means of repression.

高壓統治。

Diplomacy had failed to stop the Germans.

外交途徑無法阻止德軍。

Only brute force remained.

我們最後逼不得己

It was our last resort.

訴諸殘忍的武力。

My father was there

我爸爸

to provide it.

正是其中一員。

As the son of a farmer

作為農民的兒子

who knew how to hunt,

他懂得打獵，

my father was an excellent marksman.

我爸爸是位優秀的神槍手。

When he aimed,

當他瞄準目標，

he never missed.

他永不失手。

At this decisive moment in Dutch history

在荷蘭歷史上這關鍵時刻

my father was positioned

我爸爸部署於

on the bank of the river Waal

奈梅亨城附近

near the city of Nijmegen.

的瓦爾河岸邊。

He had a clear shot at the German soldiers

他能毫無障地瞄準

who came to occupy a free country,

來侵佔一個自由自國家，他的袓國，

his country,

我們的袓國，

our country.

的德軍。

He fired. Nothing happened.

他開了槍。沒事發生。

He fired again.

他再開槍。

No German soldier fell to the ground.

並沒有德軍倒下。

My father had been given

我爸爸獲配的

an old gun

是一把舊式槍枝，

that could not even reach

它的射程

the opposite riverbank.

連對面河岸都去不到。

Hitler's troops marched on,

希特拉的軍隊繼續邁進，

and there was nothing my father could do about it.

而我爸爸則無法可施。

Until the day my father died,

直至我爸爸離開人世，

he was frustrated about missing these shots.

他還為此耿耿於懷。

He could have done something.

他應能有些作為。

But with an old gun,

但只得一把舊式的槍枝，

not even the best marksman in the armed forces

連軍隊中最好的神槍手

could have hit the mark.

也無法命中目標。

So this story stayed with me.

這個故事一直存在我心中。

Then in high school,

上高中時，

I was gripped by the stories

我深深受到盟軍故事

of the Allied soldiers --

的感染 --

soldiers who left the safety of their own homes

關於那些離開自己安全的家

and risked their lives

冒上生命危險

to liberate a country and a people

去解放他們並不認識的

that they didn't know.

人民和國家。

They liberated my birth town.

他們解放了我出生的家鄉。

It was then that I decided

就在那一刻我決定

I would take up the gun --

要拿起槍桿子 --

out of respect and gratitude

出自對那些

for those men and women

來解放我們的男士和女士

who came to liberate us --

的尊敬和感激 --

from the awareness

了解到

that sometimes only the gun

有時只有槍械

can stand

才能分隔開

between good and evil.

善和惡。

And that is why

這就是我拿起槍桿子

I took up the gun --

的原因 --

not to shoot,

並非要去射擊，

not to kill,

並非要去殺戳，

not to destroy,

並非要去破壞，

but to stop those who would do evil,

而是要去阻止做壞事的人，

to protect the vulnerable,

去保護弱小，

to defend democratic values,

去捍衛民主價值，

to stand up for the freedom we have

去維護我們所擁有

to talk here today

今天在阿姆斯特丹

in Amsterdam

這裡討論

about how we can make the world a better place.

如何令世界變得更美好的自由。

Ladies and gentlemen,

先生、女士門，

I do not stand here today

我今天站在這裡並不是要

to tell you about the glory of weapons.

告訴你武器的光輝。

I do not like guns.

我並不喜歡槍械。

And once you have been under fire yourself,

當你曾經受襲，

it brings home even more clearly

你會更明瞭

that a gun is not some macho instrument

槍械並非某些值得吹噓

to brag about.

具男子氣概的工具。

I stand here today

我今天站在這裡

to tell you about the use of the gun

跟你談論利用槍械

as an instrument of peace and stability.

作為維持和平穩定的工具。

The gun may be one of the most important instruments

槍械可能是我們在這世界上所擁有的

of peace and stability

維持和平穩定的

that we have in this world.

最重要工具之一。

Now this may sound contradictory to you.

現在這聽起來好像是矛盾的。

But not only have I seen with my own eyes

但在作為荷蘭國防部長

during my deployments in Lebanon,

派駐黎巴嫩

Sarajevo and [unclear] national

薩拉熱窩和其他國家時

as The Netherlands' chief of defense,

我就親眼目睹，

this is also supported

這亦得到充份和確實旳

by cold, hard statistics.

統計數字的支持。

Violence has declined dramatically

暴力在過去五百年

over the last 500 years.

顯著減少了。

Despite the pictures

儘管每日在新聞上

we are shown daily in the news,

我們看到的照片，

wars between developed countries

已開發國家間的戰事

are no longer commonplace.

並不常見。

The murder rate in Europe

自中世紀以來

has dropped by a factor of 30

歐洲的謀殺率

since the Middle Ages.

跌至過去的三十分之一。

And occurrences of civil war and repression

內戰和壓迫的出現

have declined since the end of the Cold War.

在冷戰結束後亦減少了。

Statistics show

統計數字顯示

that we are living

我們正活在

in a relatively peaceful era.

一個相對和平的時期。

Why?

什麼原因呢?

Why has violence decreased?

為何暴力減少了呢?

Has the human mind changed?

是否人類的思維改變了呢?

Well we were talking on the human mind this morning.

我們早上談論過人類思維。

Did we simply lose our beastly impulses

是否我們簡單的失去了

for revenge,

報復，

for violent rituals,

暴力儀式，

for pure rage?

統粹憤怒的獸性衝動?

Or is there something else?

或者還有其他東西呢?

In his latest book,

在他的新書裡，

Harvard professor Steven Pinker --

哈彿大學教授 Steve Pinker --

and many other thinkers before him --

以及很多在他之前的思想家 --

concludes that one of the main drivers

總結出現較少武力社會

behind less violent societies

背後的一個主要驅動力

is the spread of the constitutional state

是憲法國家的流行

and the introduction on a large scale

以及大規模引入

of the state monopoly

國家對合法使用武力

on the legitimized use of violence --

的壟斷 --

legitimized by a democratically elected government,

由民選政府，

legitimized by checks and balances

存有制衡，

and an independent judicial system.

和獨立司法制度去決定是否合法。

In other words, a state monopoly

換句話說，國家壟斷

that has the use of violence

令使用武力

well under control.

受到充份的控制。

Such a state monopoly on violence,

這種國家對武力的壟斷，

first of all, serves

首先，成了

as a reassurance.

一顆定心丸。

It removes the incentive

消除了社會上

for an arms race

潛在不友善團體之間

between potentially hostile groups

軍事競賽

in our societies.

的誘因。

Secondly, the presence of penalties

其次，使用武力得到的懲罰

that outweigh the benefits of using violence

遠超武力的好處

tips the balance even further.

令平衡更傾向一邊。

Abstaining from violence

放棄武力

becomes more profitable

較發動戰爭

than starting a war.

變得更為有利。

Now nonviolence starts to work

現在，非武力開始

like a flywheel.

如飛輪運作。

It enhances peace even further.

進一步促進和平。

Where there is no conflict,

沒有衝突

trade flourishes.

貿易蓬勃發展。

And trade is another important incentive

貿易又是另一個

against violence.

減少武力的誘因。

With trade, there's mutual interdependency

貿易帶來互相依賴

and mutual gain between parties.

和互利互惠。

And when there is mutual gain,

當出現互利的情況，

both sides stand to lose more

雙方開戰

than they would gain

帶來的損失

if they started a war.

會高於得到的好處。

War is simply

戰爭簡單來說

no longer the best option,

不再是最佳選擇，

and that is why violence has decreased.

武力因而減少。

This, ladies and gentlemen,

先生，女仕們，這

is the rationale behind the existence

就是我的軍隊

of my armed forces.

存在的理由。

The armed forces

軍隊

implement the state monopoly on violence.

對武力進行國家壟斷。

We do this in a legitimized way

我們合法地執行

only after our democracy has asked us

只應民主的要求

to do so.

去做。

It is this legitimate,

就是這個合法的

controlled use of the gun

受控制下使用槍械

that has contributed greatly

對減低全球戰爭、

to the statistics of war,

衝突和武力

conflict and violence

的統計數字

around the globe.

帶來重大的貢獻。

It is this participation in peacekeeping missions

就是這些參與維持和平的任務

that has led to the resolution

得以解決

of many civil wars.

很多內戰。

My soldiers use the gun

我的戰士使用槍械

as an instrument of peace.

作為和平的工具。

And this is exactly why failed states

這亦正是非正常運作國家

are so dangerous.

為何會是那麼危險。

Failed states

非正常運作國家

have no legitimized, democratically controlled use of force.

在使用軍事力量上沒有合法和民主的控制。

Failed states do not know of the gun

非正常運作的國家不知道槍械

as an instrument of peace and stability.

是和平穩定的工具。

That is why failed states

這是為何非正常運作的國家

can drag down a whole region

可令整個地區

into chaos and conflict.

陷入混亂和衝突中。

That is why spreading the concept

這是宣揚

of the constitutional state