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In country as diverse as ours, there will always be passionate arguments about how we draw the line when it comes to government action. That is how our democracy works. But our democracy might work a bit better if we recognized that all of us possess values that are worthy of respect: if liberals at least acknowledged that the recreational hunter feels the same way about his gun as they feel about their library books, and if conservatives recognized that most women feel as protective of their right to reproductive freedom as evangelicals do of their right to worship.
在我們這樣一個多元的國家，政府采取措施時我們總會就界限劃分的問題進行熱烈爭論。這就是我們的民主工作機制。如果我們意識到所有人都擁有值得尊重的價值觀——如果自由主義者至少承認一個狩獵者對獵槍的感情和他們對館藏圖書的感情如出一轍；如果保守主義者已經意識到多數婦女保護其生育自由權如同福音派保護其祈禱權別無兩樣——我們的民主或許會起到更好的作用。
Much of the confusion surrounding the value debate arises out of a misperception on the part of both politicians and the public that politics and government are equivalent. To say that a value is important is not to say that it should be subject to regulation or that it merits a new agency. Conversely, just because a value should not or cannot be legislated doesn't mean it isn't a proper topic for public discussion.
許多圍繞價值觀辯論的紊亂主要來自政治家和公眾的一種誤解：政治與政府等同。說某種價值重要，不是說它應該接受制約，或者應該得到一個新的機構的關注和研究。相反，正是因為一種價值不應該也不能用來立法，這意味著它很適合用作公眾討論的主題。
I value good manners, for example. Every time I meet a kid who speaks clearly and looks me in the eye, who says "yes, sir" and thank you" and "please" and excuse me," feel more hopeful about the country. I don't think I am alone in this. I can't legislate good manners. But I can encourage good manners whenever I'm addressing a group of young people.
例如，我十分注重舉止禮貌。每次我遇見口齒清楚、用真誠目光注視我的孩子說“是的，先生”“謝謝您”“請”和“對不起”時，我便對國家抱有更大的期望。我認為很多人持有同樣的看法。我不能為禮貌立法，但我在為年輕人做講演時，我會鼓勵禮貌舉止。
The same goes for competence. Nothing brightens my day more than dealing with somebody, anybody, who takes pride in their work or goes the extra mile-an accountant, a plumber, a three-star general the person on the other end of the phone who actually seems to want to solve your problem. My encounters with such competence seem more sporadic lately; I seem to spend more time looking for somebody in the store to help me or waiting for the deliveryman to show (up). Other people must notice this; it makes us all cranky, and those of us in government, no less than in business, ignore such perceptions at our own peril.
這同樣適用于能力。沒有什么比遇上一位以工作為榮或者樂于付出的人一會計師、管道工、三星上將，電話那頭看來真的為你解決問題的人一能讓我更感到高興。但后來這樣的相遇似乎十分少見；我似乎花更多的時間在商店里尋找人幫我，或者等待送貨員出現。他人肯定注意到這點；它令我們所有人看上去十分古怪。我們政府里的人，和生意場上的人一樣，忽略了這種自擔風險的責任意識。
Progressives in particular seem confused on this point, which is why we so often get our clocks cleaned in elections. I recently gave a speech at the Kaiser Family Foundation after they released a study showing that the amount of sex on television has doubled in recent years. Now I enjoy HBO as much as the next guy, and I generally don't care what adults watch in the privacy of their homes. In the case of children, I think it's primarily the duty of parents to monitor what they are watching on television, and in my speech I even suggested that everyone would benefit if parent-heaven forbid-simply turned off the TV and tried to strike up a conversation with their kids.
進步人士在這一點上尤其困惑，這就是我們經常在選舉中被打得一敗涂地的原因。我最近在凱塞家庭基金會發表演講，該基金會發布過一項研究顯示，近幾年里，電視的性畫面成倍增長?，F在我跟大家都一樣，喜歡有線電視網絡媒體公司的電視節目，一般不關心成人在家中選擇看什么電視。但對于孩子們就不同，我想家長有責任監督他們看什么節目。在講演中我甚至建議，若家長此時——但愿不要這樣——果斷關上電視，與孩子就這個問題隨意對話，這將對大家都有好處。
