風鈴さんの おぼえた日記 - 2018年5月19日(土)

Your life experiences are valuable to the discussion　Saturday, May 19
あなたの人生経験がこの議論にとても大切である

It seems the world's eyes are on North Korea. Views vary, from, "Perhaps this will lead to peace," to "Nope, we've been back-stabbed so many times before." But for now, I'd like to set aside these well-worn political debates.
●views vary　様々な意見がある　●back-stabbed　裏切られる　
●for now　今のところは　●well-worn　月並みの
世界の目が北朝鮮に注がれているようだ。「このまま平和に向かうのでは」「いや、これまで何度も裏切られてきた」とさまざまな意見があるが、ここではむずかしい政治の話はちょっと横においておきたい。

On the night of the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, I called my elderly mother on the phone. And here is what she said to me: "That man lost his father when he was young and doesn't know how to conduct himself. Maybe he's tried too hard to look tough. And in the meantime a lot of people have come to dislike him, so I think he's become more obstinate. But today, he met an older president like his father, and got some friendly suggestions. Perhaps that's the first time he's been able to relax."
●obstinate　頑固な
北朝鮮の金正恩氏が韓国の文在寅大統領と会談した夜、離れて暮らす高齢の母親に電話をかけると、こんなことを言い出した。「あの人も若いうちにお父さんが亡くなって、どうやって振る舞ってよいかわからず、無理して強がってたんじゃないの。そのうちいろいろな人に嫌われて、ますます意地になってたと思う。でも今日、お父さんのような年齢の大統領に会ってやさしく助言してもらえて、初めてほっとできたんじゃないのかな」

I smiled wryly as my mother talked about the leader of North Korea as though he was just some young man she happened to know. But later, I told this story to a number of female acquaintances. And when I did, instead of laughing, they said something like, "I thought exactly the same thing. My son was so stubborn when he was young, too." Or, "I remembered my late husband talking with my son, and it brought tears to my eyes." It seemed they felt quite strongly the way my mother did. All the women who made these kinds of comments were older than me and had raised kids. It seems they saw that historic Moon-Kim meeting as a kind of father-son moment.
●smile wryly　苦笑する　●acquaintance　知り合い　●stubborn　頑固な
「北朝鮮のリーダーのことを、まるで知り合いの青年のように語ってる」と私はちょっとあきれて苦笑し、そのあと何人かの知り合いの女性にこの話をした。すると彼女たちは笑うどころか、「そう、私もまったく同じこと思った。ウチの息子も若いときは意地っ張りだったから」「亡くなった夫と子どもたちが語り合ってたことを思い出して涙が出た」など、私の母親のたわいもない感想に強く同意したのだ。彼女たちはいずれも私より年上で子育て経験がある。あの歴史的な首脳会談にふと“父子”のイメージを見たのだろう。

Of course I am not saying that their reading of the situation is entirely correct. But I did think that these women who looked at what was going on, compared it to their own life experiences and then expressed a frank opinion about it were strong. Also, it reminded me that sometimes intuitive, emotional impressions of things are more on the mark than what is sometimes called "manly" objective analysis.
●intuitive　直観的　●on the mark　（予想、判断が）当たる
もちろん、その見方がすべて正しいと言うつもりはない。ただ、そうやって自分の経験に照らし合わせ、素直に「こう思う」と言える女性は強いな、と思った。そして、時としていわゆる男性的といわれる客観的な分析より、直感的、情緒的な読みのほうが当たっていることもある。

On issues as varied as the waiting list for child care places to peace, there are now far more chances for women to express their views, at gatherings or on the internet. Among women speaking out are those who say, "I haven't had much interest in social issues until now and I'm not well read on the topic, but there is something I'd like to say based on this experience I've had." There is weight to those words, and I often find myself thinking, "Wow, that's right" when I hear what's on their mind.
保育園の待機児童の問題や平和の問題などでも、女性がネットや集会などで発言する機会が増えた。中に「これまで社会のことにあまり関心がなく勉強もしていないけれど、私の経験からこれだけは言わせてほしい」という女性がいる。その言葉は重みがあり、「なるほど」と納得させられることが多い。

It must be said that this intuition certainly isn't limited to women. Men, too, can and should speak on topics that aren't necessarily their professional specialties. However, this shouldn't merely be discussion for discussion's sake, but words and ideas rooted in frank impressions and personal experiences.
もっとも、この直観は女性に限ったことではないと言わなければなりません。男性だって自分の専門分野でないことも、どんどん発言すればよいのだ。ただ、その場合は議論のための議論ではなく、自分の経験や率直な印象などに根づいた言葉がよいだろう。

"I don't understand difficult things, but this is what I think." If everyone could talk about their thoughts and feelings this way, I think it would reduce stress and also enliven our society. (By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
●enliven　活気を付ける
「むずかしいことはわかりません。でも、私はこう思います」。そうやって誰もが自分の考えや思いを口にできたら、ストレスも減り、社会も活気づくのではないかと思うのだ。（香山リカ　精神科医）