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My Generation was Supposed to Level America's Playing Field
我們這代人本該為美國創造公平的競爭環境
Instead, We Rigged it for Ourselves
結果卻將它變成了私欲的出口
BY STEVEN BRILL
文/史蒂夫·布里爾
LATELY, MOST AMERICANS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR POLITICAL leanings,
最近，大多數美國人，無論政治傾向如何，
have been asking themselves some version of the same question: How did we get here?
都在捫心自問同一個問題：我們是如何落到今天這步田地的？
How did the world's greatest democracy and economy
世界上最大的民主國家，最大的經濟體是如何
become a land of crumbling roads, galloping income inequality, bitter polarization and dysfunctional government?
變成了一個道路破敗、收入不平等加劇、兩極分化嚴重、政府功能失調的國家的？
As I tried to find the answer over the past two years, I discovered a recurring irony.
過去兩年，我一直在尋找這個問題的答案，在這個過程中發現了一個反復出現的可笑之處。
About five decades ago, the core values that make America great began to bring America down.
那就是，大約50年前，曾經成就了美國的核心價值觀開始將美國推上了衰敗之路。
The First Amendment became a tool for the wealthy to put a thumb on the scales of democracy.
憲法第一修正案成了富人操控民主的工具。
America's rightly celebrated dedication to due process was used as an instrument to block government from enforcing job-safety rules,
公認的，美國對一心執行正當法律程序的熱忱被用作了阻礙政府落實職業安全條規，
holding corporate criminals accountable and otherwise protecting the unprotected.
追究法人罪犯的責任，保護未受保護人群等的工具。
Election reforms meant to enhance democracy wound up undercutting democracy.
選舉改革不僅沒能加強民主建設，反而削弱了民主。
Ingenious financial and legal engineering turned our economy
別出心裁的金融和法律工程也把我們的經濟
from an engine of long-term growth and shared prosperity into a casino with only a few big winners.
從一個驅動長期增長和共同繁榮的引擎變成了只有少數幾個大贏家的賭場。
These distinctly American ideas became the often unintended instruments for splitting the country into two classes: the protected and the unprotected.
這些帶有鮮明的美國特色的思想淪為了，往往還是無意之間變成的，將這個國家分裂成兩個階級——被保護階級和未被保護階級的工具。
The protected overmatched, overran and paralyzed the government.
被保護階級戰勝、超越并麻痹了這個國家的政府。
The unprotected were left even further behind.
未未被保護階級則被遠遠地甩在了后面。
And in many cases, the work was done by a generation of smart, hungry strivers
而且，很多時候，實施這些改變的都是頭腦聰明又充滿渴望，
who benefited from one of the most American values of all: meritocracy.
享受到了美國最重要的價值觀之一——精英統治的紅利的奮斗一族。
This is not to say that all is rotten in the United States.
但這并不等于說美國的一切都在腐壞。
There are more opportunities available today for women, nonwhites and other minorities than ever.
因為今天的女性、有色人種和其他少數群體已經有了比以往任何時候都多的機會。
There are miracles happening daily in the nation's laboratories,
而且，這個國家每天都有奇跡在發生，無論是在實驗室里，
on the campuses of its world-class colleges and universities,
世界一流大學的校園里，
in the offices of companies creating software for robots and medical diagnostics,
開發機器人和醫療診斷軟件的公司的辦公室里，
in concert halls and on Broadway stages,
還是在音樂廳和百老匯的舞臺上，
and at joyous ceremonies swearing in proud new citizens.
在充滿歡樂的，宣誓新公民身份的儀式上。
Yet key measures of the nation's public engagement, satisfaction and confidence—
然而，衡量國家民眾參與、民眾滿意度和民眾信心的關鍵指標——
voter turnout, knowledge of public-policy issues,
投票率，對公共政策問題的了解，
faith that the next generation will fare better than the current one,
相信下一代會比現在這一代過得更好的信念，
and respect for basic institutions, especially the government—
尊重基本制度，尤其是對政府的尊重等——
are far below what they were 50 years ago, and in many cases have reached near historic lows.
已經遠遠落后于50年前，還有很多已經達到了歷史低點。
It is difficult to argue that the cynicism is misplaced.
你很難說這樣的諷刺不合時宜。
From matters small—there are an average of 657 water-main breaks a day, for example—to large,
無論是從小的方面——比如平均每天有657個水管斷裂——還是大的方面來看，
it is clear that the country has gone into a tailspin over the last half-century,
很明顯，從半個世紀以前，也就是約翰·肯尼迪的新邊疆沒有試圖把握當下，
when John F. Kennedy's New Frontier was about seizing the future, not trying to survive the present.
而是放眼未來的時候起，這個國家就開始逐步陷入了混亂。
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