傳奇拳王穆罕默德．阿里（Muhammad Ali）四日病逝。阿里曾三次奪得重量級拳王稱號，在他驚人的速度與力量之外，他人生傳奇還包括反越戰與信仰伊斯蘭教，兩者使他成為當代爭議人物；反越戰更造成他在運動員最精華的25歲到28歲，拳擊生涯被迫中斷，差點還要入獄服刑。但他反越戰的原因，是他對個人信仰的實踐，對種族平等、自由義無反顧的追求。
傳奇拳王阿里不僅稱霸拳壇，且其堅定反戰立場與美國政府正面對決，最終連老大哥也服膺其下。（圖／Getty）
Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville* are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I'm not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn't have to draft me, I'd join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I'll go to jail, so what? We've been in jail for 400 years.
當住在路易斯維爾*的黑鬼們活得像狗一樣，連基本人權都沒有，他們憑什麼要我穿上軍服，飛到離家萬英里外，往棕皮膚的越南人身上丟炸彈與子彈？不，我不要飛到離家萬英里外，對另一個可憐的民族殺人放火，只為了讓那群奴役黑人的白種人繼續壓迫世上其他深色人種。我族人真正的敵人在這裡，我如果去奴役這些為了自己的正義、自由與平等奮戰的人，這將褻瀆我的信仰、我的族人或我自己。如果我認為這場戰爭將為2200萬人民帶來自由與平等，他們毋須徵召，我明天就自請入伍。為了捍衛我的信仰，我沒什麼不能失去的。所以，我得去坐牢，但那又怎樣？我們早就已經被監禁400年了。
*美國肯塔基州一座工業城，阿里故鄉。
看懂關鍵字
disgrace/ dɪsˋgres /(a.) 汙辱、褻瀆
例句：
Cheating will disgrace you.
作弊將汙辱你自己。
enslave/ ɪnˋslev /(v.) 奴役
例句：
We are all enslaved by the pursuit of money.
我們都為錢所奴役了。
draft/ dræft /(v.) 徵兵、起草設計
例句：
Being drafted into military service is her dream.
能入伍當兵是她的夢想。
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