川普vs希姨 史上最尷尬感恩節(jié)

Where can you find reasons to feel truly positive about the American spirit today? That is a question that many voters might be asking themselves after the long 2016 race. For while the contest ended this week with a victory for Trump, it seems unlikely to bring a close to all the polarisation and acrimony; on the contrary, most pundits fear that America is more polarised now than ever before, with a poisonous mood.

今天你在哪里還能真正感受到美國精神的正能量?在漫長的2016年大選后，許多選民或許正在問自己這個問題。盡管大選已經(jīng)以特朗普的勝利落幕，但這似乎不太可能給極化和尖刻態(tài)度畫上句號;相反，大多數(shù)評論人士都擔憂美國現(xiàn)在比以往任何時候都更加極化，整個社會彌漫著一種有毒的情緒。

Last week, though, I discovered one little flash of joy — and hope — in an unexpected place: the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where I took my daughters to watch a performance of the US Olympic women’s gymnastics team. The “Final Five” — as Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez call themselves — delivered a stunning performance at the Rio Games, reaping a historic nine medals.

然而，最近我在一個意想不到的地方發(fā)現(xiàn)了一點喜悅——和希望：紐約布魯克林的巴克萊中心(Barclays Center)。我?guī)е业呐畠簜兊竭@里觀看了美國奧運體操女隊的表演。自稱“終極五人組”的西蒙娜•拜爾斯(Simone Biles)、加比•道格拉斯(Gabby Douglas)、阿利•雷斯曼(Aly Raisman)、麥迪遜•科齊安(Madison Kocian)和勞麗•赫南德斯(Laurie Hernandez)在里約奧運會用令人驚嘆的表演歷史性地斬獲了9枚獎牌。

Unsurprisingly, their performance at the Barclays Center was exuberant and impressive, with somersaults, gravity-defying leaps, bar routines — and rousing images of the American flag. So far, so cheering. But what really grabbed my attention was not the physical contortions — it was the atmosphere in the auditorium. The Final Five is a strikingly multiracial group, with African-American (Biles and Douglas), Caucasian (Kocian and Raisman) and Hispanic (Hernandez) gymnasts.

毫不意外，她們在巴克萊中心的表演充滿活力，令人印象深刻——空翻、挑戰(zhàn)重力的跳躍、杠上動作，以及激動人心的美國國旗的畫面。這一切都令人歡欣鼓舞。但真正吸引我的注意力的不是她們的動作——而是觀眾席上的氛圍。“終極五人組”是一個醒目的多族裔組合，其中包含非裔美國人(拜爾斯和道格拉斯)、高加索種白人(科齊安和雷斯曼)和西語裔人(赫南德斯)。

The audience at the Barclays Center was a mix too, seemingly from all boroughs and backgrounds, rich and poor (many tickets were distributed at subsidised rates). Nobody in the hall gave a damn about whether the gymnasts were black, brown, white or blue; they shrieked with pleasure in a colour-blind way. This was an America united, not divided by racial slurs or anger.

巴克萊中心的觀眾也混合了多種族裔，他們似乎來自紐約各區(qū)和各種背景，既有富人，也有窮人(很多票是以補貼價分發(fā)的)。沒人在乎這些體操運動員的膚色是黑色、棕色、白色或者任何什么顏色;他們高興地尖叫，對不同的膚色一視同仁。這是一個團結(jié)的美國，沒有被種族主義詆毀或者怒火撕裂。

Better still, for a blissful few hours, that gym mat even drowned out gender battles. Like many parents in America, I have spent the past few months wondering how to raise young girls to feel strong and confident in a political culture that has become infused with rows about sexism, sexual harassment and feminism. Should you stop kids watching TV in case they hear vulgar language? (As I did for the second political debate.) Or should you, instead, talk openly about sexual harassment? (As I have tried to do.) And even if you can sidestep the political cycle, what do you do about all the other appalling images that bombard girls today on social media, such as vapid YouTube stars or pouting, hyper-sexualised icons like Rihanna and Miley Cyrus?

更棒的是，在快樂的幾個小時中，體操墊也讓性別之爭湮沒無聲。像很多美國的父母一樣，過去幾個月我一直在思考如何撫養(yǎng)年幼的女兒們，讓她們能夠在當前這種充斥著有關(guān)性別歧視、性騷擾和女權(quán)主義的紛擾的政治文化下自強自信。是否應(yīng)該不讓孩子看電視，以免他們聽到粗俗的語言?(在第二場總統(tǒng)候選人電視辯論的時候，我就是這么干的。)或者，你是不是應(yīng)該公開談?wù)撔则}擾?(我嘗試這么做了。)就算你能繞開政治周期，對于現(xiàn)在社交媒體上鋪天蓋地涌向女孩子的令人驚駭?shù)膱D片，你又能做些什么呢?比如那些乏味的YouTube明星，或者像蕾哈娜(Rihanna)和麥莉•賽勒斯(Miley Cyrus)那樣撅著雙唇的超級性感的偶像?

There are no easy answers. But, as I watched those five gymnasts twirl on the mat, I realised that they offer a refreshing counterpoint. Are they wholesome? Yes, as far as anyone can tell. Do they demonstrate discipline and ambition? Undoubtedly: if you want to teach a kid about triumph in the face of adversity, Biles’s life story is a good place to start: she overcame the challenges of a very tough childhood to win five Olympic medals.

對此，沒有簡單的答案。但是，當我看著那5個體操運動員在體操墊上旋轉(zhuǎn)的時候，我意識到她們提供了一個令人耳目一新的對比。她們是不是健康正派?是的，至少在觀眾眼里是如此。她們是否展現(xiàn)出自律和雄心?毫無疑問：如果你想要教一個孩子戰(zhàn)勝逆境，拜爾斯的人生故事是一個好的開始：她克服了一個非常艱難的童年帶來的挑戰(zhàn)，贏得了5枚奧運獎牌。

 . . .   . . . 

Do the Final Five create a positive body image? Surprisingly, yes. When I was growing up, many female gymnasts seemed to be emaciated waifs. But the US Olympic women’s team has all types of builds, and each of them seems utterly comfortable in her own skin, projecting an image of strength and confidence. Or, as my daughters declared on our way home after the show: “They are awesome, awesome, awesome!” Every other family around us in the subway carriage seemed to agree.

“終極五人組”是否創(chuàng)建了一個正面的身材形象?令人驚訝的是，答案是肯定的。在我長大的年代，許多女性體操運動員看起來像是瘦弱的流浪兒童。但美國奧運女子體操隊的成員們有各種各樣的體型，每一個人都輕松自在，展現(xiàn)出力量和自信?；蛘撸拖癖硌萁Y(jié)束后，我的女兒們在回家的路上說的：“她們棒極了，棒極了，棒極了!”在地鐵車廂里，我們周圍的其他每一個家庭似乎都認同這一點。

Of course, some readers may point out that sport is not real life; they might also observe that it’s easier to create this harmonious blend in relatively privileged corners of the US, such as New York. Perhaps so. But the reason I am sharing this experience is this: at a time when so much poison is swirling around the political landscape — and pundits everywhere are wailing about uncertainty in the US — we also need to celebrate the parts of our cultural life that are truly “great”, at least in terms of upholding the American spirit.

當然，一些讀者可能會指出，體育不是現(xiàn)實生活;他們或許還會指出，在美國的一些相對優(yōu)越的地方，比如紐約，更容易營造這種和諧的融合?；蛟S如此。但我分享這段經(jīng)歷的原因是：在現(xiàn)在這個政治生態(tài)被如此之多的毒藥圍繞的時期，在各路評論人士都在哀嘆美國的不確定性的時期，我們也需要歡呼我們的文化生活中真正“偉大”的那些部分，至少從弘揚美國精神的角度上是這樣。

When we finally got home, I was quietly thrilled to see my daughters put a poster of the Final Five above their beds. To them, this is merely an expression of hero(ine) worship. To me, it seems like a little talisman to ward off a wave of sexism, racism and hate.

我們終于到家后，看到女兒們把一張“終極五人組”的海報掛在床頭，我暗自感到振奮。對她們來說，這只不過是對(女)英雄崇拜的一種表達。對我來說，這就像是一個能夠抵御性別歧視、種族主義和仇恨的小小護身符。

Perhaps we should send Donald Trump down to the gym mat too; if nothing else, it might force him to ponder a better vision of the mighty US of A.

或許我們應(yīng)該讓唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)也到體操墊上;即使沒有其他作用，那或許能夠迫使他思考一個強大的美利堅“合眾國”的更美好愿景。