PBS高端访谈:愤怒时想想这些画面（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: Few days go by anymore without a highly publicized Twitter fight between politicians, media figures, or celebrities, or some sort of confrontation that spills into the public conversation, prompting more of us to wonder if it`s possible to take the temperature down? Well, tonight, author Lauren Groff shares her humble opinion on how to act with imagination in this age of division.

LAUREN GROFF: Not long ago, I was out in the prairie where I jog every day when a man rode up on a bicycle and started critiquing my running form. I had not solicited his advice. I don't enjoy mansplaining even when I haven't already run five miles. I asked him to go away repeatedly, but when he persisted, I gave him a verbal hiding that I'm sure he has yet to recover from. Something in me at that moment just snapped, I felt two feet taller and as vast as the prairie itself. If you've ever had a moment of road rage, or acted impulsively to fend off a pickpocket or bully, you know the feeling. The constraints of selfhood fall away and you feel as though you could breathe fire. The truth is, all humans have the capacity to snap. Neurologists tell us that deep in the brain, beneath the center of consciousness in the cerebral cortex, there's a cluster of neurons that causes sudden aggression in lab animals when stimulated with an electrode. It's a healthy automatic function for self-preservation, the cause of the fight in fight or flight. But just because it's natural to snap in moments of tension doesn't mean that we have to do so when we're not being physically threatened. Our age is an extraordinarily polarized one. It can seem as though we are all yelling all the time. When we enter into rage, we enter a space that turns people into others who do not deserve the same respect or courtesy that we expect extended to us. In rage, we can refer to human beings as animals, a way to psychically distance us from them enough to deny them basic human rights. After I raged at the man on the bike that morning, I ran home feeling nauseated. He was elderly and seemed a little lonely. By the time I came in the door, I had imagined an entire life for the man, down to the kinds of mugs he drank his coffee out of and the cat he owned. I wished I could reverse time to react differently; instead of yelling, explaining calmly why what he was doing was unwelcome. Empathy is an act of radical imagination. Through empathy, we can understand the full scope of the humanity of those whose actions or ideas offend us. We acquire empathy through imagining ourselves into the lives of strangers, through narrative, the books and films and television shows that don't reinforce our knowledge of the world, but rather challenge what we already know. Empathy is a muscle that is stronger than our neurological reflexes. If we exercise it every single day, it will be so strong that it can override reflexive anger. In this world, kindness must prevail. So, let's give our empathy rigorous daily workouts, time spent imagining the lives and hearts of others until we have become better than our basest impulses.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Lauren Groff on the NEWSHOUR online right now, the HPV vaccine can prevent illness and death from cervical cancer, and a new study finds that promoting its use does not lead to more risky sexual behavior by teens. You can read more on our website, PBS.org/NewsHour.

朱蒂·伍德瑞夫：几天过去了，政治家、媒体人士、名人并没有对Twitter斗争进行高度宣传，公众对其中一些对抗观点发出了讨论，这使我们更多的人怀疑，这种温度有没有可能降下来？今晚，作家劳伦·格罗夫在《管见所及》栏目分享了她如何在这个分裂的时代放飞想象。

劳伦·格罗夫：不久前，我来到了那片草原，就是每天我慢跑的地方，这时一个骑着自行车的男人，开始批评我的跑步方式。而我并没有向他征求意见。我不喜欢有男人来说教，我连五英里都还没跑呢。我反复让他离开，但他坚持不走，我给了他一个口头警告，我确信他到现在都缓不过来。那一刻，我身上有东西爆裂了，我觉得自己高了两英尺，像草原一样辽阔。如果你曾经在马路上有过愤怒的经历，或者采用冲动行为来抵挡扒手或恶霸，你就会知道这种感觉。自我的局限消失了，你就好像觉得自己能够在火中呼吸。事实是，所有人都有能力攫取。神经科医生告诉我们，在动物实验中，在大脑深处，在大脑皮层的意识中心之下，有一群神经元，当用电极刺激时，会引发突然的攻击。这是一种健康的自动保护功能，是面对战斗还是逃跑时，选择战斗的原因。但是，这并不意味着，当我们没有遭受身体威胁时，紧张时刻突然出现，我们也必须这样做。我们的年龄是一个非常极端的年龄。看起来好像我们无时无刻不在大喊大叫。当我们愤怒时，我们会进入一个空间，这个空间将人们变成另外一个样子，这个样子不会如我们所期望，得到同样的尊重或礼待。在愤怒中，我们可以将人类称为动物，这是一种让我们远离他们的方式，足以剥夺他们的基本人权。那天早上我对那个骑着自行车的男人大发脾气后，我跑回家感到恶心。他老了，看起来有点孤单。当我走进门时，我想到了这个男人的整个生命，一直延伸到他喝咖啡的杯子以及他的猫。我希望我可以重回那个时刻，那样我会做出不同的反应；我不会大喊大叫，冷静地解释为什么他在做的事情，不受欢迎。移情是一种激进的想象行为。通过移情，我们可以理解那些冒犯我们的人的全部行为或想法。我们通过想象自己进入陌生人的生活，通过叙事，书籍，电影和电视节目，不会增强我们对世界的认识，从而获得同理心，而会对我们的已知发起挑战。移情是一块强于我们神经反射的肌肉。如果我们每天锻炼它，它会变得强大，以至于可以克服反射性的愤怒。在这个世界上，仁慈必须占上风。所以，让我们给予移情严格的日常锻炼 - 花时间想象别人的生命和心灵，直到我们不再局限于最基本的冲动。

朱蒂·伍德瑞夫：劳伦·格罗夫现在，在NEWSHOUR网站上，正在讲述HPV疫苗可以预防宫颈癌的患病及死亡，一项新的研究发现，推广该疫苗的使用并不会让青少年实施更多危险的性行为。您可以在我们的网站上阅读更多信息，PBS.org/NewsHour。