美国的致命弱点是什么？ [美国媒体]

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What is the United States' Achilles heel?

美国的罩门是什么？
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Ernest W. Adams Game Design Consultant Author and Professor
Answered Apr 14 2016
Hostility to and suspicion of its own government.

对政府持有极深的敌意和怀疑

The Founding Fathers were rightfully concerned about tyranny. So should we be. But that's why they set up a system that has done a remarkably good job of avoiding tyranny over the last 240 years. They hoped to create a system that people would be confident in admire and approve of. Considering how many other nations have modeled their own governments on the American one I think they succeeded—except in the United States!

开国元老们都深切忧虑暴政统治，我们也应该如此。这也是为什么他们构建了一套政权体系，这套体系在过去240年里发挥了不可思议的作用，成功避免了暴政统治；他们希望能创造出一套被民众所信任、认可和尊崇的政权体系；考虑到目前世界上许多国家都仿造这个政府体系来构建自己的政府，从这个意义来讲，那些元老们的目的达到了——除了在米国国内！

The truth is that the state governments not the federal one have a much worse record of denying citizens their civil rights; they persistently ignore the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution to pass laws that harm racial religious and sexual minorities. Yet for some reason large numbers of Americans distrust the federal government and trust their state government in spite of this sorry record.

实际情况是州政府（非联邦政府）在侵犯公民权利方面有着更加糟糕的记录；他们总是忽略米国宪法中的平等保护条款而颁布一些法律条例伤害到了种族、宗教和性别上的弱势群体。然而出于某些理由，尽管有着这些糟糕的记录，依旧有着相当多的米国人相比联邦政府而言更加信任他们本地的州政府。
 
When a people distrust their government it discourages good ones from wanting to work there. Then you get inferior performance and it become a self-fulfilling prophecy. America's greatest weakness is that its own people don't trust its greatest strength: the government its founders created for them. This is one of the reasons that the Western European nations have such a better standard of living: the people want and expect their government to provide it -- and give it the means to do so.

当一个人对政府产生不信任感时，这往往会削弱他在当地择业工作的意愿。也因此工作业绩无法提升，形成了不良的自我暗示。米国最大的弱点就是民众不信任其最伟大的力量：开国元老为民众而设立的政府。而这是西欧诸国为什么有着更高生活水平的原因之一：民众需要并要求政府提供更好的生活水平，也因此给予了政府去实现它的各种手段

-------------译者：yoy119-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------
 
Edgar Towers Physician
upxed Apr 15 2016
The increasing disconnect between politicians and the population. Post citizens United the US government basically responds to the needs of corporations and a few billionaires who through generous (and mostly anonymous at least to the general public) contributions they have basically taken over the political process on the state and national level.

政治精英和民众之间日益增长的隔阂。在“公民联合会”事件之后，政府一直重点关注于满足大公司和亿万富翁的需求，这些大公司和亿万富翁通过慷慨的、（对普罗大众而言）匿名的捐助获得了在州府和联邦层面的政策决策力
 
"Divide and conquer" is traditionally attributed to Phillip of Macedonia and basically means that one strategy of the powerful to maintain control over their subordinates or subjects is by encouraging dissent between them.  Via the use of "dark money" in super pacs corporations and the wealthy have more power than ever to dictate national discourse.  They have used it effectively to stoke and use religious regional racial and economic differences and frustrations to divide our country to best suit their needs.  Today's political parties are more polarized than ever and less inclined to cooperate on many issues. And in both parties nowadays the word moderate is treated as a bad word.

“分而治之”策略传统上认为起于马其顿国王菲利普二世（亚历山大大帝之父），其本质上意味着一种强权统治策略——通过扩大属下城邦或者成员之间的不合来获得对于他们的控制力。通过在超级的院外活动中大量使用“黑钱”，大公司和富豪们相比以前任何时候都更有力地抓住国家的话语权。他们有效地利用宗教、地域、种族和经济之间的差异性和挫折感将我们的国家分裂从而满足他们自己的利益。今天的政党比以往任何时候都更加分化，在许多问题上的合作意愿更小。在今天的两党政治中，“中庸”这个词被看作一个贬义词。

 -------------译者：yoy119-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

How many times we have seen "conservative" politicians pander to the religious right using wedge issues such as abortion illegal inmigration religious freedom "war on Christianity" and manufactured rage on inconsecuential issues to stoke their bases. How many time have we seen "liberals" use minority rights worker's rights and other issues of a  supposedly liberal agenda to stoke their base?  Yet these same politicians once in power basically ignore these issues only giving lip service to them or doing things they know are futile (such as the house voting FIFTY TIMES to repeal Obamacare) so that they can say they tried.

我们都不知道看过多少次保守派政治家是如何使用分裂性议题来迎合宗教右翼团体的了，这些分裂性议题有如：堕胎、非法移民、宗教自由、反基督教之战，他们还利用无因果关联的事件来制造戾气从而巩固自身立场。我们也看过不知多少次自由派分子使用平权议题、工人权利和一些其他的自由主义议题来固持他们自身立场了。而一旦同样的这批政治人物上台后，他们基本上都会选择无视这些议题，顶多动动嘴皮子或者做些没效果的场面活（比如废除奥巴马医改的那50次投票），他们借此也可以说他们已经尽力了。
 
At the very same time they feverishly approve laws stripping government power to regulate buisnesses create more tax loopholes for coorporations and the wealthy and create conditions even more conductive to the accumulation of power and wealth in a very very small faction.  They do this at the expense of middle class working class and the poor.

于此正当时，为了大公司和富豪的利益，他们兴奋地通过法案剥夺政府干预公司的权力、制造税法漏洞并创造更加有助于非常小的团体攫取权力和财富的外部条件。他们做这种事情是以牺牲中产的劳工阶层和穷人的利益为代价的。

-------------译者：yoy119-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

They constantly talk of loving the "real" america especially its middle class yet pass laws that have the effect of the better paying jobs going overseas and destroying benefits and job stability.
They say they respect the working class for their work ethic yet they promote conditions where most manufacturing jobs go overseas destroying job opportunities here while enriching coorporations and the wealthy.
They say they want to help the poor "take responsability" and lift themselves from poverty yet do everything in their power to villify the poor destroy government programs designed to help them and destroy many of the few paths they have to get out of poverty. Condemning then to remain poor while they divert those resources to benefit the wealthy.
What is sad about this is that they somehow convinced a huge portion of our electorate to back policies that were so obviously harmful to their own interests wholeheartedly backing laws that took away from them to give to the wealthy.  They succeeded in imprinting the patently false and ridiculous idea of "makers and takers" into our collective psyche.  And before someone accuses me of pissing on Republicans Democrats are just as guilty if not more because of their deviousness.

他们总爱谈论他们多么热爱“真实”美国，特别是它的中产阶层，然而却通过法案导致高报酬工作流失海外，并且摧毁了福利体系和工作稳定性。
他们说他们因劳工的道德规范而尊崇劳工阶层，然而他们却推动各项条件导致大多数制造业工作机会流失海外，在当地摧毁了工作机会的同时催肥了大公司和富豪。
他们说他们想要帮助穷人“担起责任”并且自力更生摆脱贫困，然而他们却无所不用其极地诋毁穷人搞垮了政府扶助计划和他们必须经历的脱贫之路。在责备这些依旧贫困的穷人的同时，他们将这些资源移走去补贴富豪。
让人难过的是他们不知怎的就搞定了一大片的选区来支持这种明显损害选民自身利益的政策，全身心地支持那种劫贫济富的法案。他们成功地将金融学书籍《制造者和收获者》里的明显错误和滑稽可笑的观点印刻到我们的脑海中了。在某些人指出我对于共 和 党和民 主 党的不敬之前，我要说就凭他们的阴暗卑鄙，他们至少是同样有罪的。

-------------译者：恭-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

The reason no one in wall street was ever punished for almost crashing the world economy through sheer greed was precisely because both democrats and republicans did everything in their power to shield the guilty parties. They know exactly who the responsible parties were and yet somehow instead of jailtime these people banks and coorporation ended up richer with more power and LESS regulation than before the Great Recession!

原因就是在华尔街就算是因为贪婪搞垮世界经济也没有人会受到惩罚，因为民主党和共和党都竭尽所能地保护有罪的一方。虽然他们很清楚地知道谁才是负责任的一方，但是不知为何，这些人的银行和公司最终比大萧条前更富有，更有权力，监管也更少。
 
I mention this because this use of wedge issues and mass manipulation has a limit and we are already seeing signs of it.  By using racial economic and social resentment as a political weapon to manipulate the population they created a powder keg that is ready to explode.  After many years of loosing power and wealth the mayority of Americans are beginning to wake up to the favt thay they were manipulated to benefit a few who could care less about their lives. They see how the wealthy get richer while their paychecks decrease and are now realizing what was obvious for so long. Trump and Sanders are only the beginning. This can and most likely will spiral out of control of the elites and the outcome can be very dangerous.  Right now the biggest threat to the US is not from outside but from within.

我提到这个是因为楔子问题和大规模操纵这些手段的使用是有限的，但我们已经看到了它的迹象。让将种族经济和社会怨恨作为操控人民的政治武器，他们创造了一个随时可以爆炸的火药桶。在经受了多年的权利侵害之后，大多数美国人开始清醒地认识到一个事实，即他们受人摆布而惠及的是一些并不真正关心普罗大众的少数人。他们看到了富人如何变得富有，而他们的薪水却在减少，他们现在意识到什么是显而易见的。特朗普和桑德斯只是一个开始。这很有可能而且极有可能会逐渐失控，而结果可能是非常危险的。目前，美国面临的最大威胁不是来自外部，而是来自内部。

 -------------译者：hht288-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------
 
David Ferguson Spent time in all 48 contiguous US States and more than 48 days outside US.

戴维 弗格森把时间花在全部48个美国本土州，在美国以外的地方待了48天。

Answered Apr 14 2016
Entitlement and ignorance.   A huge percentage of our population appears to believe that we are somehow better than almost everybody else for very little reason.

权利和无知。基本不要什么理由，我们美国大部分人员都似乎相信我们比其他几乎所有人都要好一点。

     The truth is that we as a country have been extraordinarily lucky.  Founded in a relatively empty (for giggles research death rates of indigenous populations pre-'discovery' and 1700) but already 'tamed' land with enormous natural resources; we gained Independence from a country that was basically fighting a 4 front war and just couldn't convince their population to sacrifice for a colony so far away that nobody knew anything about.   We quietly kept growing and stuck our nose into WW1 just in time to take the credit without being significantly impacted;  certainly not compared to any of the European nations.  We didn't get into WWII until AFTER everybody else had already been attacked and had their infrastructure and economies wrecked.  Yes our money and resources helped sustain and provided a path to victory for our Allies but anybody who thinks we sacrificed anywhere near as much as any of the Allies needs to do some serious reading.   We came out of WWII massively industrialized with an untouched infrastructure and a clear economic advantage over the rest of the world.  We BETTER have done well it would have been really embarrassing to have wasted that head start.

事实是我们作为一个国家非常幸运。建立在一个相对空白（在谷歌研究了下“发现”美洲大陆之前和1700年的土着居民死亡率）却已经被“驯服”又拥有巨量自然资源的土地上；我们从一个几乎在打4场战争，还无法说服其人民为一个遥远的殖民地牺牲的国家手里获得独立。我们暗自发展，并在恰当的时候介入到第一次世界大战，从中获取信誉而又没有受到多大影响；而不像那些欧洲国家。我们直到二战中所有参与方都遭受攻击，基建和经济都受到破坏后才介入其中。是的，我们用金钱和资源为我们的盟友铺就并维持了一条胜利之道路，但是无论有谁，认为我们付出的牺牲差不多跟其他任何的盟友一样都需要仔细地读一读。从二战结束后，相比于世界其他各国，我们进行了大规模工业化，建设了难以企及的基础设施，也取得了明显经济优势。我们最好再好好干下去，如果浪费掉如此好的开头，真的是令人尴尬。

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As with any country individuals and groups can accomplish great things and the 'culture' of a country/tribe/race has an awful lot of influence on the success.  But recognition of reality and honest appraisal of performance is how people both individual and collectively improve.   Too many of us think we earned our place in the world with no knowledge of how lucky or fortunate the USA has been.   If you think you are entitled to success you eventually find out you have none.  If we remain as ignorant of the rest of the world as complacent in our own (misunderstood) superiority and denial of globalization impact as so many are today we will slide down the ladder.

一个国家，个人和集体能成功干大事，和这个国家/部落/民族的"文化"是分不开的，而评估(文化的)表现，真实可信的标准，是个人和整体两方面的发展状况，很多人并没有认识到美国能赢得现在在世界上的地位是多么的幸运。如果闭门造车，终将一无所成。如果我们继续像今天这样沉迷于优越感洋洋自得，否认全球化带来的冲击，对世界其他地方一无所知，我们将会衰落。
 
Thinking long-term and strategically is hard.  It requires short-term sacrifices and honest self-appraisal.   I'll admit to wondering whether we can find the fortitude as a nation to do so.   Right now the USA is one of the best places for my children to grow up.   While I won't be there I hope that remains true for my great-great-grand-children.

思考长期的战略并不容易，它需要短期的牺牲和真实的自我评估，作为一个国家，我们是否有坚定的意志实现它，我承认我很想知道. 现如今，美国是适合我的孩子成长最好的地方之一，我希望对于我的曾曾孙子来说，仍然如此，即使那时我已不在了

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Dave Sparazynski Unspecified credentials for liability reasons. I am not an expert I just live.
Answered Apr 11 2016
I would say obesity. If North Korea IS/ISIS/ISIL or the other boogey men don't kill us first then it'll be McDonald's or Burger King. Diabetes and other chronic health related conditions in this country are often caused from poor quality highly processed food in quantities that are unnecessary to sustain life. I guess a sedentary lifestyle probably doesn't help either.

我觉得是肥胖，麦当劳和汉堡包将会抢在朝鲜/IS/ISIS/ISIL或者其他追随者之前杀死我们，由于低质深加工危害健康的食品泛滥，糖尿病和其他慢性病在这个国家很普遍，另外我觉得久坐的生活方式也不好.

-------------译者：恭-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Jerry Kitich studied at ESSEC Business School
Answered Apr 11 2016
It has been said that if you want to defeat the US militarily start several wars at the same time in several places on the globe. America would not have been able to fight another war at the same time as the Korean conflict or Vietnam war.

人们都说，如果你想打败美国，你就必须在世界上好几个地方同时发动几场战争。比如说在朝鲜战争或越南战争的同时，美国不可能再打另一场战争。
 
Other than that crime racism self serving politics and pollution are America's Achilles heel. The USA started with a country that was in pristine condition thanks to the way the natives lived. However the way the land was taken from the natives populated with slaves and subjected to unsound environmental practices has eroded what America could have achieved. The way that American politics is about beggaring your neighbor to swing resources over to your state means the American political system is not efficient at addressing the real issues it faces.

除此之外，犯罪，种族主义，自我服务的政治以及污染也是美国的罩门。美国从土着手中接管了原始风貌的土地。然而，在这片土地上来了很多奴隶，环境也没有得到很好的保护，这对美国产生了消极的影响。美国的政治运作就是将资源交给州，让你的社区变得贫穷，所以美国政治系统在解决现实问题时是很低效的。
 
That being said I am still a big supporter of the American Dream I think it can still be achieved because America is despite its heel a great country. Never underestimate America or what the American public can achieve.

尽管如此我仍然是美国梦的坚定支持者，我认为美国梦仍然可以实现，因为美国是一个伟大的国家。永远不要低估美国，也不要低估美国公众的力量。

 -------------译者：lanrlt-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Douglas Dea
Answered Apr 15 2016
I agree with many ofthe answers already given. I think Ernest W. Adams is largely correct: hostility to the government and what it does is a big weakness.

我同意许多人给的答案，欧内斯特 亚当斯的回答绝大部分是正确的：对政府的敌意及其造成的巨大劣势。
 
Like any nation or people it comes down to the top 3 sins: greed fear and ignorance. Americans are a greedy lot and will sacrifice much to obtain more. More land more money more power etc. We'll sacrifice people morality truth time even the land itself just for greed. This weakens us terribly. We'll deny rights and life to others we'll strip mine mountains we'll clear cut forests we'll pollute river lake and countryside just so a few can make a big profit. We call a multi-millionaire CEO righteous and great and the poor people who work for him "leeches" and "takers".

就像任何国家或人民一样，(美国人性格)可以总结为三点：贪婪，恐惧和无知，美国人很贪婪，会为了获取更多的东西而放弃很多，更多的土地，更多的钱，更多的权力等等，我们可以牺牲道德，真理，时间，甚至是大地，仅仅为了贪婪，这是个致命弱点，我们会为了赚钱，剥夺其他人的生命和权利，挖山毁林，污染河流湖泊和乡村，我们称百万富翁CEO为正直伟大的人，而称劳苦穷人为“吸血鬼和剥削者”。

-------------译者：yoy119-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------
 
We fear others outrageously. Too much so. After the attacks on 9-11 we created the Patriot Act then invaded 2 countries just because of fear (and greed of course.) Those actions cost us more than the attacks did and we gained nothing from them. Despite being a nation of immigrants we hate and fear the immigrant (at least many of us do not all of us.)

我们对于外人极端恐惧，太极端了。在911撞机事件之后，我们通过了爱国者法案，然后出于恐惧（当然也有贪婪）入侵了两个国家。 这些入侵行动本身的花费超过了撞机事件造成的损失，而我们却一无所得。尽管我国是移民国家，我们（即使不是全部也是相当一部分人）却仇视和害怕移民。

Ignorance is obvious. Despite being a literate and scientific country we still wallow in stupidity shallowness and lack of knowledge. Kids "graduate" from high school not knowing the basics. TV and radio show hosts bloviate about incorrect theories and fears and "facts" every hour of the day. We bomb and invade countries people can't even find on a map. This weakens us terribly.

无知无处不在。尽管我国是有文化懂科学的国度，我们依旧迷失在愚昧、肤浅和无知之中。孩子们不掌握常识性知识就从高中“毕业”了。电视和广播主持人们每天每时每刻都在喋喋不休着那些谬论、恐惧和“个体现象”。我们轰炸入侵那些大众甚至无法在地图上辨识出来的国家。这极大地削弱了我们的力量。

America is not about to collapse or fall apart. But if it did it wouldn't be by foreign invasion. It would be by the internal tensions of it's own weak minded populace

美国并不会马上崩溃或者分裂。但是假如它真的分崩离析了也不会是外国入侵导致的，而是出于我们大众虚弱的心智带来的内部张力。

-------------译者：yoy119-审核者：龙腾翻译总管------------

Jian Sun USA self-claimed moral beacon to mankind.
Answered Apr 14 2016
America's original sin.

美国的原罪
 
Structural institutional and systemic racialism is America's Achilles heel. Without racism America would be internally peaceful and socialist secular like their ancestral Europe. Racism poisons everything in the US.

结构性、制度性和体系性的种族主义是美国的罩门。假如没有种族主义，美国将是一个内部安定和普世世俗的社会，正如他们祖籍地欧洲。种族主义毒害了美国的方方面面。
 
Racism is pretty much the root cause for all political and ideological schism between the GOP and Democrats. The religious or philosophical debates like pro-life v pro-choice wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the future demographic shift hence the changing political landscape and the bloody social Darwinism backed by glorious libertarianism. All Americans know it Black or White just not the outsiders. Political correctness on TV covers it all.

种族主义在相当程度上就是共和党和民主党之间一切政治和意识形态之争的根源。如果不是考虑到未来人口组成成分发生翻转而产生政治光谱的变化和该死的社会达尔文主义得到道德意志自由主义的支持，很多宗教性或者哲学性的争议（如“妊娠还是堕胎”议题）都不会存在。所有的美国人都很清楚无论黑人还是白人都不是外人。政治正确性在电视节目上得到很好的体现。
 
Racial separation with states autonomy is the only way to mitigate the racial issues in America. Forced racial or cultural assimilation has been proven disastrous in EU. However racial separation can never happen in the US as it's against Americans delusional ideal of equality.

州府自治下的种族分离是缓解美国种族问题的唯一途径。强制进行种族性或者文化性同化的做法在欧盟国家已经被证实为灾难性的了。可是种族分离制在美国永远无法达成，因为它和美国人自身妄想的平等思想相抵触。
 
Racism (and immigration) will bring down the mighty American empire. A 2500 years old Chinese wisdom gives this hint - 多行不义必自毙

种族主义（和移民）将使得强大的美洲帝国落入尘埃。一句2500年前的中国谚语暗示了这一切- 多行不义必自毙