美国，干点正事儿吧

Could you ever have imagined, with only days until the next American president’s inauguration, all that’s been talked about is impeaching the current one or forcing him out of office?

你能想象么？距下一任美国总统就职就剩几天时间了，而人们一直念叨的却是弹劾现任总统，或是把他赶下台。

We knew that something was off with the U.S., but perhaps not this far off. What transpired over the past week – the Capitol Riot, the talk of using the 25th amendment, the impeachment at the twilight of a presidency – is unheard of. 

我们已经知道美国有些不对劲，但可能没想到会这么离谱。过去一周发生的事情：国会暴动，讨论援引第25条修正案，弹劾即将离任的总统……这些全都闻所未闻。

So what went wrong? Nationalism? Inequality? Partisanship? Or just that Donald Trump is an outlier?

那么到底哪里出了问题呢？民族主义？不平等？党派之争？还是说只有唐纳德·特朗普本人是个异数？

When he won the presidency in 2016, many attributed his win to breaking identity politics. Hillary Clinton focused on building a coalition of different groups of people, Trump went with economic nationalism that resonated with all groups. He projected an image that he was the fix to all problems, and that under him gridlock in Washington would end and he would force change.

2016年特朗普赢得大选时，很多人认为他的获胜原因是打破了身份政治。当时，希拉里·克林顿的重点是建立一个由各类不同人群结成的同盟，而特朗普则利用了在各类人群中均能引起共鸣的经济民族主义。他给自己塑造的人设是一切问题的解决者、华盛顿政治僵局的终结者和变革的推动者。

Now consider this. America has more COVID-19 infections and deaths than any other country. There are more than 22 million Americans infected. Close to 380,000 have died. Four million Americans have been out of work for at least six months.

再来看看这组数据。美国新冠肺炎的感染和死亡人数全球居首。超过2200万美国人感染，近38万人死亡。400万美国人失业至少6个月。

And what have Trump and other leaders been doing? One side basically instigated an insurrection and the other is trying to hold it accountable, but doesn’t wanna go too far too soon, worried about hindering the incoming administration’s agenda. 

那么特朗普和其他官员一直以来都在做什么呢？一方煽动了一场暴乱，另一方试图问责，但又畏首畏尾 ，担心影响到下一届政府的议程。

Some are brooding. They’ve bet on the wrong horse for four years and are scared that their 2024 presidential dreams are toast. And of course, a selected few are still poking China as if the U.S. doesn’t have enough problems already. 

有些人闷闷不乐。他们四年来押错了宝，现在开始担心自己参加2024年大选的算盘落空。当然，个别几个还在挑衅中国，就好像美国自己的问题还不够多一样。

They all think they are doing something important - saving the institutions, saving democracy, saving the country. But in fact, they saved anything but their citizens.

他们都认为自己所做的事意义非凡——拯救体制、拯救民主、拯救国家。但事实上，他们连自己的公民都没能拯救。

This sickness, that government stops tending to their citizens, has been going on for decades. You see the pictures. Roads are potholed, bridges have cracks in them, infrastructure that was built a century ago looks no different today than it did then. 

这种政府置人民于不顾的病态在美国已经持续了数十年。大家看看这些照片。道路坑坑洼洼，桥梁屡现裂缝，一个世纪前建成的基础设施今天看上去仍保持着原样。

Almost every recent president promised to reverse this decay. Almost every session of Congress did. Trump did. And nothing happened.

近代历史上，几乎每位总统都承诺改变这种陈腐面貌。几乎每届国会都做过这样的承诺，特朗普同样如此。但一切还是老样子。

And even for issues that politicians tried to tackle, people were unhappy. Barack Obama jammed through a healthcare bill that half the country hated because they think he didn’t respect their choices. Race relations are getting worse. Socio-economic status is hardening. The wealthiest people in America grow richer faster than the rest of the population.

即便政客们尝试解决问题，民众也不满意。奥巴马通过了一项医疗法案，却有半数美国人不买账，因为他们认为自己的选择没有得到尊重。种族关系日益恶化，社会经济地位愈发固化，最富美国人的财富增长率超过其他所有人。

Governments have to take care of everyone. Americans have warned their politicians, with Occupy Wall Street, the growing extreme political positions, hatred towards compromise, disappointments in the bureaucracy. Donald Trump is the product of this. Many believed that he would be different, and yet they got a politician who only looked to his own interest.

各国政府都必须对全体人民负责。美国民众已经给政客们敲过了警钟，他们占领华尔街，所持政治立场越来越极端，他们厌恶妥协，对官僚机构充满失望。唐纳德·特朗普正是这类情绪催生的产物。许多人认为他与众不同，但事实上他不过是个只顾一己私利的政客。

When politicians grow aloof, people get angry at the system. You can wage as many wars and blame other countries for your problems as much as you want. It won’t make a difference. Politics and governance are twins. You can’t have one but not the other. Politics has grown prominent; governance is the casualty.

当政客变得冷漠时，人们会把怒气指向体制。你大可随心所欲地发动战争并将自己的问题归咎他国，但这改变不了什么。政治和治理是双生花，你不可能只选其一。政治的影响过大时，治理就会被牺牲。

The world needs America, I can’t deny it. So for the sake of yourself and everyone, look inside and start to really put your people first.

世界需要美国，我不否认这一点。所以为了你自己也为了别人，请自我反省并真正地把人民放在首位吧。

In other words, mind your own business. 

换句话说，干点正事儿吧。

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