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I have to confess that in the 42 years I spent on this
我必須承認，在母親陪伴我的42年時光中
planet with my mom I had never once thought of
我從來沒見過母親吃過一張薄餅
my mom as a pancake eater. Over the years I am sure
在這42年的歲月中，我吃下的
I have eaten hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of
薄餅足有幾百個，都是母親
pancakes that mom fixed me but I can't honestly ever
親手做的，但是我從來都不記得
recall watching my mom eat a pancake. I mean that's
曾經看見母親吃過一張薄餅
how it's supposed to be; moms make pancakes and
似乎人們已經習以為常: 母親做薄餅
the kids eat the pancakes. I'm also sure that mom
孩子吃薄餅，我敢肯定
never taught me how to eat pancakes the way she
母親從未像教我系鞋帶，教我開車
taught me to tie my shoes or the way she taught me
或者教我如何給妻子選禮物一樣
how to drive a car or how to pick out presents for my
教過我如何吃薄餅
wife. Still, each and every time I eat pancakes I have
但是每次吃薄餅的時候
to perform this operation on the pancakes and the
我都會采用這種方式
only way I can explain this is because I can't help
我只能將這解釋成
behaving like my mother's son.
因為我是母親的兒子
In much the same way we can say that a nation often
同理，我們也可以說，一個國家的
behaves the way it does because it can't help factors
行為方式也是深受其
such as its own ancestry, geographical location and
歷史淵源和地理位置所影響的
history. The colonists that founded the United States
來到新大陸建立美利堅合眾國的
of America were mostly descended from white
先驅們大多具有盎格魯撒克遜
Anglo Saxon Protestants. These ancestors had come
新教傳統，這些先驅們由于各種原因
to the different colonies for various reasons
來到不同的殖民地
but almost always of their own free will.
但是大多是出于自己的意愿
Some of them, granted, did come as indentured servants
毫無疑問，其中一些是契約仆役
some of them had been brought against their will from
還有一些是被迫從非洲
Africa to serve as human slaves. Some of the first
作為奴隸販運過來的，最早的美國人
American's ancestors had in fact lived in
也就是印第安人，實際上已經在
North America for centuries; the Indians.
北美的土地上生活了幾個世紀了
From the early 1800's on people from around
十九世紀以來，人們從全球各地
the world poured into the United States to become
涌向美國，爭相成為美國公民
Americans, throwing their stock into the great
將資金投入到美國這個
American melting pot. We live today in an American
大熔爐中，盡管今天的美國
which rightly celebrates and nurtures its diversity.
尊重并倡導多樣化
But we can't help the fact that our nation was founded
但無可否認，我們的國家最初是由
by a very un-diverse group of Anglo Saxon males
單一的盎格魯撒克遜男性創建的
who had very specific ideas. Some of these ideas
他們的觀點也相當單一
were pretty awful ideas. The tolerance of human
其中一些甚至十分落后，比如
slavery was awful, the absence of women's rights;
實行奴隸制，性別歧視
stupid. The belief that blacks and Indians weren't
他們不將黑人和印第安人當作
human; that's just repulsive, and we're still fighting
人類看待，那真是令人惡心，我們今天依然在與
the consequences of these wrongs today but by far
這些錯誤思想的結果做斗爭
the greater part of our founders ideas
但是至今為止，這些國家締造者們的
were miraculously constructive.
思想中有很大一部分依舊十分具有建設性
We're wonderfully valid. America is the first great
我們很成功，在政府的構建方面
experiment in government that actually worked as
美國是第一個實現初衷與結果相一致的國家
it was designed. The United States did not always
美國的版圖并不是一開始就橫跨東西海岸
extend from sea to shining sea. As originally founded
建國時，國境線向西
America's western boundary was actually the
只延伸到密西西比河，北邊是加拿大
Mississippi River. Canada was to the north,
南邊是西屬佛羅里達
Spanish Florida to the south and the Atlantic Ocean
而東邊則是大西洋
to the east. Unsurprisingly for a nation of immigrants
美國人民從來不知疲倦，這對于一個
the American people were restless. Even before the
移民國家來說并不奇怪
American Revolution colonists looking for new land
早在獨立戰爭之前，殖民者們為了尋找新的
defied British laws and settled on the west side of
土地，就已經在違反英國法律的情況下
the Allegany Mountains. Sometimes America extended
在阿勒格尼山地區定居，有時美國通過
its boundaries by purchase, sometimes via diplomacy,
購買土地擴展領土，有時通過外交手段獲得
sometimes through the use of raw force.
而還有時是通過暴力
The United States was pretty much given a free hand
在這一過程中，美國基本上不受任何限制
in this process because North America was too
因為它遠離歐洲大陸
far away from Europe for the British, the Spanish
對英國，西班牙和法國
and the French to have any real clout here.
都沒有直接的影響
