United we stand: Divided we fall

坚持团结，反对分裂（译）

Flipping on any news channel today, you are likely to see a number of stories that make you look at the world and think “what is this world coming to?” We see terrorist attacks on a regular basis, racial controversies, and politicians acting like children. Our world is in chaos, but the United States seems to have an internal chaos and it is coming to its boiling point.

如今随便看看这些新闻频道，你几乎都会看到一系列的报道，让你深思：这个世界会成为什么样子？恐怖袭击已然成为日常，种族争端、政客们童稚般的游戏频频上演。这个世界本来就很乱，但是美国内部似乎已乱到了高潮。

The United States was a country built on the ideology of uniting people, but all I can see now is a country that seems to be more divided than ever. We pit Republicans against Democrats, whites against blacks, and Christians against Muslims. The media is filled with bias and only encourages chaos and division by blaming the opposing political party for all of our problems. We have lost the ability to solve these problems because we have lost the ability to have a respectful conversations with people who have an opposing view. We refuse to sit down with the intention of listening and understanding the views of someone who disagrees with us. We have divided ourselves into groups that only express the same views as our own, unable to tolerate people who have contradicting views. We have become a selfish nation and it’s about time we turn things around and get back to our roots.

美国是一个建立在每个人的意志凝聚在一起这个基础之上的国家，但是现在我所看到的是似乎是一个四分五裂的国家。如今我们有共和党与民主党、白人与黑人、基督教与穆斯林教的各种争端。媒体也过于偏激，他们乐忠于围绕一些问题煽动政党制造分歧，唯恐天下不乱。我们已经无力解决这些问题，因为我们失去了以一种尊重的方式与持对立观点的人交流的能力。我们拒绝坐下来认真聆听和思考那些不赞同我们的人。我们只喜欢持相同立场的人，同自己持不同观点的人划分开，排除异己。我们已经成为一个自私的国家，现在大概是时候来扭转这个局面来找回我们自己了。

The Founding Fathers had a multitude of opposing views, but they believed that a successful representative government required individual personal interests to be set aside for the common good. They respected each other’s views and had healthy discussions until they came to a resolution that they believed was best for everyone. They didn’t believe politics should be about competition or disagreements, but that rational and logical discussions should take place in order to come to an agreement that was best for society.

我们的开国元勋，他们也有很多不同的立场，但是他们坚信一个真正的联合政府需要团结每一个人为共同的利益奋斗。他们互相尊重对方的立场，他们通过有效的讨论直到达成共识。他们不认为政见就是竞争或者是分歧，应该通过理性的辩论来达成共识——为了共建美好社会！

We are human beings and we will never agree on everything but we need to learn to accept that there is no black and white when it comes to political matters; your opinion is not necessarily better or worse than any other person’s opinion. What is clear is that we cannot accomplish anything if we can’t listen to and respect another person’s opinion. Many times, we have opinions that we feel overwhelmingly passionate about and we believe our opinion is logical and justified. Then, when someone has an opposing view they feel strongly about, we feel the need to attack them for it. I encourage you to listen to them with an open mind, engage them in conversation explaining the facts and rationale behind both opinions. If we can do this in a respectful manner, without calling each other names, blaming each other for all of our problems, and discrediting a person’s opinion solely because they are of the opposing political party, we can finally work together to find a balance. Maybe you persuade them, maybe they persuade you, and maybe you walk away still in disagreement. But you will have had a healthy, respectful, and productive political conversation.

人类不可能在所有事情上都持相同观点，但是我们应该明白政治并不是非黑即白的，你的观点未必比其人好或者坏。众所周知，如果我们不能聆听和尊重对方，我们就什么也做不成。很多时候我们无比坚决的认为我们的观点是有理有据的，此时如果有人坚持己见，我们就会敌视他们。我建议你能打开心扉倾听，通过交流来解释不同观点背后的原因。如果我们能这样互相尊重的交流，不再因为一些问题而对骂、相互谴责，不再因为是不同的政党而互黑，我们终将能一同找到平衡。或许是你说服了他们，或许是他们说服了你，也可能是你带着意见离开。但是这样可以在一个健康、和谐、有效的氛围中进行政治对话。

Most importantly, educate yourself on what is going on in the world and in our country. Educate yourself on the issues before posting uneducated opinions on social media. As a college student, I cannot tell you how many people mindlessly share biased articles or opinions that are not supported by facts. This does not accomplish anything besides dividing our country further and spreading biases. Politics has an important role in our lives and in our future, it is not something to blatantly disregard. Politicians today are horribly corrupt and that turns people away from getting involved. But that is exactly why you need to get involved. That is why we have a democracy. As a country, we need to appreciate the fact that we are free to have opposing opinions by initiating the conversations out political leaders refuse to have, rather than letting it tear us apart.

重中之重，你要搞清楚我们的国家、这个世界是怎么一回事儿。对于一些问题，通过媒体发表你的观点之前，还请三思。作为一个大学生，我没法告诉你有多少人成天没头没脑的转发偏激、瞎扯淡的内容。这除了散布谣言、分裂国家，没个卵用。在我们如今以及未来的美好生活中，政治扮演着非常重要的角色，不能无视。如今的政党，腐败的发指，完全置人民于不顾。所以你更要参与进来，这才是民主。作为一个国家，我们应该明白，事实上我们可以自由的持不同观点发起政客们不愿意的交谈，而不是让他们把我们分裂开。

Our country was founded by people who held many opposing views, but they respected each other, and that's how they got things accomplished. That's how they founded such a great country. Unfortunately, we have fallen away from that. As divided of a country as we are right now, the future of the United States can go one of two ways. We can continue dividing ourselves and refusing to work together, inevitably leading to another civil war. Or we can come together to make this country the great nation it was intended to be.

我们国家是由一群持不同立场的人建立起来的，但是他们互相尊重，所以他们成功建立了这样一个伟大的国家。不幸的是，我们早已跑偏。如果就这样继续下去，美国的未来只有两条路:我们继续分裂自己、拒绝合作，这必将导致下一个内战；或者我们团结起来，让这个国家回归民主，强大起来！

Worley is a student at Missouri State University.

Worley，密苏里州立大学学生。

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原文链接：http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/260960-united-we-stand-divided-we-fall