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So why is that happening? So one reason is obviously economic or structural. So you think of these areas.
為什么會這樣呢？一個原因顯然是跟經濟或結構有關。看看這些地區。
They're beset by these terrible economic trends, built around industries like coal and steel that make it harder for folks to get ahead.
它們的經濟趨勢很不好，當年依靠煤炭和鋼鐵起家，這些產業如今已經沒落。
That's certainly one problem. There's also the problem of brain drain, where the really talented people,
這肯定是原因之一。還有一個問題就是人才流失，很多有才華的人，
because they can't find high-skilled work at home, end up moving elsewhere,
因為在家鄉找不到有技術含量的工作，只能遠走他鄉，
so they don't build a business or non-profit where they're from, they end up going elsewhere and taking their talents with them.
他們無法在老家創業或造福社會，就只能帶著自己的才華遠赴他鄉。
There are failing schools in a lot of these communities,
這些地區有很多衰敗的學校，
failing to give kids the educational leg up that really makes it possible for kids to have opportunities later in life.
無法給予孩子們更好的教育，因此無法幫助他們在未來占得先機。
These things are all important. I don't mean to discount these structural barriers.
這些事都很重要。我并不是說要忽視（之前提到的）結構壁壘。
But when I look back at my life and my community, something else was going on, something else mattered.
但是當我回首人生，回想我們社區的時候，發現還有一些其他的事情也與之有關。
It's difficult to quantify, but it was no less real.
這些事情很難量化，但是卻真實存在。
So for starters, there was a very real sense of hopelessness in the community that I grew up in.
首先，在我成長的社區，你能真切感受到那種無望的氛圍。
There was a sense that kids had that their choices didn't matter.
孩子們覺得自己的選擇毫無意義。
No matter what happened, no matter how hard they worked, no matter how hard they tried to get ahead, nothing good would happen.
無論他們如何努力，如何努力向前，結果都是一樣。
So that's a tough feeling to grow up around. That's a tough mindset to penetrate, and it leads sometimes to very conspiratorial places.
這種消極的情緒四處蔓延。命定論甚囂塵上，甚至有點陰謀論的感覺。
So let's just take one political issue that's pretty hot, affirmative action.
以非常熱門的一個政治話題為例，平權法案。
So depending on your politics, you might think that affirmative action is either a wise or an unwise way
根據政治觀點（不同），你也許會認為平權法案在
to promote diversity in the workplace or the classroom.
推動工作場所或者學校的多樣性上是明智的或者不明智的。
But if you grow up in an area like this, you see affirmative action as a tool to hold people like you back.
但如果你成長于這樣的社區，你可能會把平權法案看作是一種限制。
That's especially true if you're a member of the white working class.
尤其當你是白人工人階級的一員時。
You see it as something that isn't just about good or bad policy.
在你眼里，它不再簡單的是一個好政策或者壞政策。
You see it as something that's actively conspiring, where people with political and financial power are working against you.
你會把它看成是那些握有政治或財政大權的人來壓迫你的工具。
And there are a lot of ways that you see that conspiracy against you -- perceived, real, but it's there, and it warps expectations.
你可以從不同角度來看待這種針對你的陰謀論--可察覺的、真實的，但它確實存在，而且會扭曲你的期望。
