(2016) American Duty (美国的义务)

Forgive me for being even less coherent than usual today. I write this with a bit of emotion, since this long election is finally coming to a close at last.

(注:心情有点复杂,所以我感觉我表达能力差了很多。因此还是请原谅了)

Let me start today by bringing out something from the Wall Street Journal.

今天我想给大家看看华尔街时报的一个东西。

Red feed, blue feed.

Take a look at how different the two worlds are, and you will soon understand why this is important. In less than two weeks, one of these two will be president, and the world will change because of it.

左派社会媒体,右派社会媒体。看看吧。看看这已经分裂成了两个世界的美国,你也许会明白,这为什么重要了。两星期内,这其中一位会成为美国总统,而世界也会因此而改变。

Those of you who are long-term readers of our work should know more than well about where I stand on things. After all, this 2016 series started out as a one-time joke, but quickly blossomed into something much more. In these posts and in this little space I’ve documented my journey, and yes, as you know, I’ve made up my mind long ago. I will vote. You can see my choice here, how I’ve came to it, and this hasn’t changed one bit.

我们的老读者们,你知道我的看法吧?毕竟最开始我们搞这2016系列只是为了好玩而已。然而你们自己也能看到,她变了。变成了更重要的东西。我在这些帖子里记录了我的途以及我的故事,而你也知道早就好决定了。我的选择是这里。你可以理解我为什么要这么选。并且,你应该知道,我丝毫没有改变自己的念头

As always, I am not trying to convince you to vote for one or the other. That is your right, and that is always your right. What I am trying to do here is just to articulate my own feelings and thoughts, and to document my journey.

我的目的并不是要说服你来投他或者她。那是你的权利,并且这一直是你的权利。然而我只是想说自己的感受,以及记录自己的路途而已。

Personally, this election has galvanized me in a way I didn’t think would be possible. It gave me impetus and drive to be better than who I am today, and it put to rest my own insecurities about the fate of this country. If I am wrong and America is great already, then it’s up to me to do my best to be worthy of it. If I am right and America is not great, or it has never been great, well, then, it’s never too late to start now, right?

从个人角度来讲,这次大选给了我大大的鼓励。给了我让我做的更好的动力,并且很好的给我对国家未来的担心做了安慰。如果我错了,美国已经伟大了,那我应该尽力而行,因为这样才配得上这个国家。但如果我是对的,美国不伟大了,或者曾经都没有伟大过,那这样的话,咱现在开始,难道不好吗?

Hey, listen. I vote not because I believe that victory or defeat is imminent. I vote because it is the right thing to do. I vote because whatever direction this country may head towards, I want to be a part of it. I want to take personal responsibility for the fate of this country, and should my candidate turn out to be a poor president, then that’s my fault too, and I’ll proudly bear the price of failure alongside the rest of us.

嘿,你知道吗?我投票并不因为我认为我会赢或者输,而是因为这是对的。我投票是因为我想为这国家负责。我想为这个国家的未来尽力。如果我投的那家伙是个垃圾的话,那,这也是我愿意承担的责任,因为我也有一份。

Look at this very series. I was on the other side. Then like many others I tried not to take sides. I gave the benefit of the doubt. I tried to look the other way. I did my best to willfully ignore all that has happened, and in the end, I can’t do it anymore.

看看这套系列吧。我曾经是在另外那边的。然后我试图逃避过。我考虑过。我冷理…(S1各位抱歉中文还没学好。我记得有个三个字的词,冷,理智,什么的,啊啊啊中文好难)。我甚至曾经试图过无视这些所有事情。然而到现在?我不能无视了。

I cannot and will not overlook the extent of which corruption of all forms has strangled this country. The media’s blackout and one-sided coverage, the complete betrayal of our own people by our intellectual class, the artificial creation of realities for only things that suits our own worldviews, and to say nothing of the illicit and immoral practices of Clinton and much of our government.

我不会,也不想无视我们国家目前的腐败。媒体的黑手以及一边倒,我们知识分子对人民的背叛,我们为了精神麻醉而自己创造的”安全地带”,以及克林顿和我们政府的非法,无道德的行为。这些东西我再也不能无视了。

I can offer platitudes and hang-wringing about how flawed Trump is. Yet at this point, what difference does it make? To me, he’s the only one that wants to make America great for all Americans. His message resonates with me, and I see it as a call to action. Like my profession of choice, he doesn’t mince words. He sees problems like we doctors (okay, I’m not one yet, but I’ll get my letters soon!) would, and he offers a solution because it is necessary. It isn’t easy. It isn’t nice. It’s not even guaranteed to work.

我可以抱怨特朗普。我可以说他多么烂。但现在,What difference does it make? 他是唯一一个想让美国为所有人而更伟大起来。我对他的话语打动,而我个人认为这是一个启动的开始。如同我现实生活的职业一样,这家伙不会说瞎话。他可以如同医生一样看问题,给出答案,因为这些答案是必须的。这些答案不简单,也不顺耳。甚至可以说这些答案并不一定会成功。

But at this point, what have we got to lose?

但我们怕什么呢?我们有什么可输的?

Take a look at who’s opposing him. Party elites from both the left and the right, telling me that the support of this particular candidate is “unAmerican.” The “fact-checking” media that wants to do my thinking for me because they’re afraid I might reach the “wrong” conclusions.  The professors and intellectual elites at my university who openly and contemptuously dismiss any opposing viewpoints, claiming it is all in the name of “furthering our education and protecting our intellectual atmosphere.”

看看反对他的人是什么吧。两党的精锐人士,告诉我,支持他就是反美国。那些“揭秘”或者“核实”的媒体告诉我,不用思想,我怕你想错了所以我们来替你想吧。那些我大学内的教授们脸上挂着一副不屑的表情告诉任何人,你们别多想了,也不用表达了。我们大学为了保护我们的精英智者环境,根本不需要讨论这些。

They’re all wrong. No matter how heinous the idea might be, there is nothing wrong with other people holding different opinions than you. That is what intellectual diversity is. You change hearts and change minds by presenting a good alternative and answering their contentions vigorously, rather than trying to silencing or cowing the other side into silence.

他们都错了。不管一个观点多么糟糕,别人有不同的观点没什么不好的。这才是所谓的多元化啊。你如果想说服别人的话,你应当去证明给他们你的观点,而不是直接吓唬他们或者让他们闭嘴。

Do you understand where I’m coming from?

你能理解我的意思吗?

There will be plenty of opportunities to talk shop and discuss issues, and I welcome your inquires as usual. But this is not the time nor the place for it.

Let me finish up by quoting Mark Twain. I thought it was from Captain America, but as it turned out? I was mistaken. 🙂

For in a republic, who is “the Country”? Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant–merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. Who, then, is “the Country”? Is it the newspaper? is it the pulpit? is it the school superintendent? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it; they have not command, they have only their little share in the command. They are but one in the thousand; it is in the thousand that command is lodged; they must determine what is right and what is wrong; they must decide who is a patriot and who isn’t.

Who are the thousand–that is to say, who are “the Country”? In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country; in a republic it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catch-phrases of politicians. Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man.

To decide it against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country–hold up your head! You have nothing to be ashamed of.

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