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Once upon a time, Americans settled around the television to enjoy a white Christmas together. Nowadays, it seems, they are too entrenched on opposite sides of the “war on Christmas”, or commoditising it to oblivion, to remember Bing Crosby’s crooning. To say the US is a civilisation divided may strike some as an overstatement.
曾几何时，美国人围坐在电视机前，一起享受白色圣诞节。而今，他们似乎太过沉迷于充当“向圣诞节开战”的攻防双方、或者任由圣诞节被商业化淹没，以至于无心享受宾克罗斯比(Bing Crosby)的低声吟唱。对有些人而言，称美国是一个分裂的文明可能有些夸张。
For the most part, the country still speaks one language. Black and white, straight and gay, Jewish and Muslim all flock to the latest Star Wars movie. Interest in the Oscars and the Super Bowl obliterates sociological distinction. So too does fear of economic insecurity. These things unite most Americans.
基本上，这个国家仍说着同一种语言。无论是黑人或是白人、异性恋者或是同性恋者、犹太人或是穆斯林，大家都涌向影院观看最新的《星球大战》(Star Wars)。对奥斯卡奖、超级碗(Super Bowl)的兴趣抹平了人们的社会差异。对经济上缺乏保障的恐惧也是如此。这些事将大多数美国人团结起来。
Yet the things that divide the country are growing. If you listen to the Republican presidential debate, one message overrides all. Conservatives do not just disagree with President Barack Obama — they hate him profoundly. When asked if they would back a Donald Trump nomination, even the most moderate Republican says anyone would be better than this “feckless, weakling” president, to quote Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor.
然而，导致美国分裂的事也在日益增多。听听共和党总统候选人之间的辩论，一句话就可以涵盖所有内容。保守派人士不仅不赞同巴拉克攠巴马(Barack Obama)总统，还对他恨之入骨。当被问及是否会支持提名唐纳德礠朗普(Donald Trump)为共和党候选人时，甚至最温和的共和党人都会说，任何人都强过这个“软弱无能的”总统——用新泽西州长克里斯克里斯蒂(Chris Christie)的话说。
Likewise, if you ask a liberal about today’s Republicans, it does not take long before the word “stupid” is used. People who support Mr Trump are idiots. People who oppose him must be snobs. The two sides neither speak to each other, nor obtain their “information” from the same outlets. Facts are what you feel comfortable believing. No one in your social group is likely to challenge you.
同样，当你问一名自由派人士对当今共和党人的看法时，他们嘴里不一会儿就会冒出“愚蠢”一词。支持特朗普的人都是白痴。反对特朗普的人肯定是势利小人。双方阵营从不对话，也不从相同的渠道获取“信息”。事实就是你觉得可以相信的事情。在你所属的社会群体内部，没人会挑战你。
Is the idea of America as a republic of shared values under threat? It is tempting to say no. The country has gone through philosophical clashes before and emerged stronger. It was born in the heat of one. The dispute between Thomas Jefferson, the poet of the American Revolution, and Alexander Hamilton, its chief federalist, predates the republic. It lives on in the form of conservatives who favour states’ rights and liberals who prefer a bigger role for federal government.
美国作为一个拥有共同价值观的共和国的理念受到威胁了吗？人们很容易说：没有。历史上的美国经历过理念之争，之后变得愈发强大。当年美国就是在一场白热化的理念之争中诞生的。美国革命的奠基人托马斯瀠遧逊(Thomas Jefferson)与联邦党创始人亚历山大汉密尔顿(Alexander Hamilton)之间的分歧在美国独立之前就存在了。如今它依然存在于支持各州权利的保守派阵营与偏向扩大联邦政府权限的自由派阵营之间。
History began in 1776 and itself within the same reference points. That argument will be on display again in 2016 between Hillary Clinton and whichever Republican is nominated. According to this view, it is wise to be complacent. However cacophonous the noise, it will be drowned out by history’s drumbeat to an ever-closer union.
历史始于1776年，如今在相同的参照标准下重新上演——这种争论将在2016年希拉里克林顿(Hillary Clinton)与最终获得提名的共和党总统候选人之间重现。按照这种看法，自满是明智的。无论杂音有多么刺耳，都会被迈向更紧密联盟的历史鼓声淹没。
And yet. It is hard to listen to today’s poisonous exchanges and imagine them petering out any time soon. Mr Trump cannot be uninvented. The last Republican debate sounded more like the launch of the Tenth Crusade than a question of which candidate had the best ideas to stabilise the Middle East.
然而，听一听如今这些恶毒的相互攻击、并想象它们会在短时间内逐渐消停是很难的。特朗普的影响是不可逆转的。共和党最近的一场辩论听起来更像是要发动一场十字军东征，而非哪个候选人有最好的办法使中东实现稳定。
Reconquering the Christian holy sites from Islam was not the sole aim of the crusades. The papacy’s other motive was to consolidate Rome’s hold over Europe. It worked. Crusaders slaughtered almost as many Jews and heretics en route to the Mediterranean as they did Saracens. By the same token, America’s debate over how to uproot Islamist terrorism is as much about defeating political enemies at home as it is coping with ground realities in the Middle East.
从伊斯兰世界夺回基督教圣地并非十字军东征的唯一目的。教皇的另一动机是要巩固罗马对欧洲的控制。这一策略成功了。在向地中海进军途中，十字军屠杀的犹太人和异教徒的数量几乎与他们屠杀的伊斯兰教徒一样多。同理，美国对于如何根除伊斯兰恐怖主义的辩论不仅关乎应对中东的现实，还关乎击败国内敌手。
For evidence, look at Republican candidates’ solutions for Syria. Leave aside their vows to “destroy”, “carpet bomb” or “obliterate” Isis. There is little practical difference what most hawkish Republicans want to do and what the Obama administration is doing. Almost no one wants to send US troops.
至于证据，不妨看看共和党候选人为叙利亚提出的解决方案。撇开他们誓言要“消灭”、“地毯式轰炸”或“清除”伊斯兰国(ISIS)，大多数鹰派共和党人想做的与奥巴马政府正在做的没有多少实际差别。几乎没人希望派遣美国地面部队。
The debate has less to do with Syria than with Mr Obama, the most un-American president in history, according to his revilers. Whoever replaces him, even the cavalier Mr Trump, would take America back and make it great again. Aside from a little more bombing here, and a few more special forces there, it would bring about little change of policy in Syria.
相比叙利亚，这场辩论在更大程度上关乎奥巴马——反对者称他是史上最欠缺美国含量的总统。（反对奥巴马的人认为，）不论谁接替奥巴马（即使是傲慢的特朗普），都将重振美国，使其再度伟大。但实际上，除了多进行一些轰炸，多出动一些特种部队，美国的叙利亚政策不会发生太大变化。
Alleging weakness on terrorism is just another rock to throw in the battle for America’s soul. In their hearts, liberals think they have already won that battle. Much like in Star Wars, the forces of demography are with them. By the early 2040s, the US will be a majority-minority nation. With each election, whites dwindle as a share of the electorate. A liberal intellectual recently told me it will be a “mathematical impossibility” for a Republican to win the White House.
宣称对方在打击恐怖主义的问题上软弱，只是又一块扔进争夺美国人心之战的石头。自由派人士在心中暗自认为，自己已赢得了这场斗争。很像在电影《星球大战》中，美国人口结构的发展方向有利于他们。到本世纪40年代初，美国将成为一个少数族裔占多数的国家。每次大选，白人选民的比例都会缩小。一名自由派知识分子最近对我说，共和党入主白宫将是一件“在数学上不可能”的事情。
Such certainty brings impatience, even contempt, for those who disagree. It also reinforces the cultural divide. Liberals believe Tea Party conservatism is implicitly racist — and, with Mr Trump’s input, explicitly so. Yet, by assuming the loyalty of non-white Americans, liberals are guilty of racial stereotyping. By the same token, little effort is made to understand why so many white middle-class Americans have drifted away from them.
这样的确定性带来了对那些持不同意见者的不耐烦，甚至是蔑视。它还加剧了文化隔阂。自由派人士认为，茶党保守主义是一种隐蔽的种族主义，而特朗普的加入使其变成公开的种族主义。然而，通过假设非白人美国人的忠诚，自由派人士同样抱有种族成见。同理，没几个自由派人士努力去理解为什么那么多美国白人中产阶级与他们渐行渐远。
Mr Obama has never been forgiven for saying poor white Americans are suffering from Marxian false consciousness: “They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them.” He has wisely never repeated that sentiment. But in the age of Trump, it has become a liberal article of faith. Blue-collar Americans are either too dumb to know they are voting against their economic interests, or else knowingly prejudiced. Such are the markers of a nation that talks past itself.
奥巴马曾说，贫穷的美国白人正遭受马克思主义错误意识之害：“他们变得满腹怨恨，寄望于用枪支、宗教或者厌恶来对待与他们不一样的人。”他的此番言论从未被原谅。他明智地再也没有重复这种看法。但在特朗普时代，这已变成自由派的一个信条。蓝领美国人要么笨得不知道自己在投票损害自己的经济利益，要么故意保持偏见。这些都是一个民族在自说自话的标志。
Which brings us back to Star Wars. Few things are more fun than watching the forces of darkness lose. That much unites liberal and conservative Americans. But during this season of goodwill, it would be wise to avoid probing that analogy any further. The force is awake and ready. Let us leave it at that.
这些让我们回到《星球大战》。没有什么能比看到黑暗势力落败更有趣。这一点能够团结美国的自由派和保守派。但在新旧交接之际，避免进一步做这种类比是明智的。力量已经苏醒，而且已经准备好。让我们到此为止。
