新闻周刊:接下去是否还要拆除华盛顿和杰斐逊的雕像(10)

But the argument that Washington and Jefferson were mere¹ products of their time may ring hollow for some— their contemporary John Adams, who served as the nation's second President, didn't own slaves. He also declined to use slave labor² on principle, although he spoke³ out against a bill to emancipate⁴ slaves in Massachusetts in 1777, saying the matter was too divisive at the time.

但是认为华盛顿和杰斐逊只是那个时代的产物的说法，可能听起来有些空洞——和他们处于同一时代的约翰·亚当斯是美国的第二任总统，他没有奴隶。他坚持自己的原则，拒绝使用奴隶。尽管他公开反对1777年在马萨诸塞州解放奴隶的法案，他认为在当时这个问题太容易造成分裂了。

And while contemporaries such as British politician William Wilberforce led the abolitionist movement to end slavery, Washington and Jefferson continued to profit off slave labor while decrying⁵ slavery as abhorrent⁶.

当诸如英国政治学家威廉·威伯福斯等同时代的人们领导废奴运动以结束奴隶制时，华盛顿和杰斐逊一边继续从奴隶劳动中获利，一边谴责奴隶制是可憎的。

In an article for Smithsonian magazine in 2002, the late historian Stephen E. Ambrose laid bare the contradictions in both Washington and Jefferson's lives.

在2002年史密森尼杂志的一篇文章中，已故历史学家斯蒂芬·安布罗斯揭露了华盛顿和杰斐逊生活中的矛盾。

Both were visionaries who championed liberty, but "failed to rise above their time and place" when it came to slavery, Ambrose wrote. But he insisted that they should not be disavowed and judged solely⁷ on that.

安布罗斯写道，这两个人都是有远见的人，他们拥护自由，但在奴隶制问题上“未能超越他们所属的时代和地点”。但他坚持认为，不应仅凭这一点来否定和评判它们。

"The Washington Monument and the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials remind us that greatness comes in different forms and at a price. Jefferson, by his words, gave us aspirations⁸. Washington, through his actions, showed us what was possible. Lincoln's courage turned both into reality," he wrote.

“华盛顿纪念碑以及杰斐逊和林肯纪念馆提醒着我们，伟大是以不同的形式和代价来实现的。杰斐逊用话语给了我们希望。华盛顿用行动向我们展示什么是可能的。林肯的勇气把这两件事都变成了现实，”他写道。

"Slavery and discrimination cloud our minds in the most extraordinary ways, including a blanket judgment⁹ today against American slave owners in the 18th and 19th centuries," he said. "That the masters should be judged as lacking in the scope of their minds and hearts is fair, indeed must be insisted upon, but that doesn't mean we should judge the whole of them only by this part."

“奴隶制和歧视以最意想不到的方式迷惑了我们的思想，包括今天对18世纪和19世纪美国奴隶主的全面判决，”他说。“认为这些奴隶主们思想狭隘，内心局限，这样的判断是公平的，也是我们必须真正坚持认为的，但这并不意味着我们只通过这一部分就去判断他们的全部。”

Ellis noted¹⁰ that many historical figures including the Founding Fathers wouldn't come off well when judged by modern standards. "If you do that, there won't be anybody left," he said.

埃利斯指出，如果我们以现代的标准来衡量开国元勋等许多历史人物，他们并没有表现得很好。“如果你这样做的话，就不会有人留下来了，”他说。

America has been a nation of paradoxes¹¹ from its inception¹², he said. "America is set on a group of ideals that are quite oppressive," he said. "The society that saved the West and Western Civilization in the 1940s and against the Russians in the Cold War is the same society that's responsible for Indian removal and black slavery."

美国从一开始就是一个充满矛盾的国家，他说。“美国是建立在很多非常压抑的理想之上的，”他说。“美国社会在20世纪40年代挽救了西方和西方文明，并在冷战中对抗俄罗斯，但这个社会也同样要对印第安人迁移和黑奴制负责。”

But while he understands why some protesters are yearning¹³ for contentious¹⁴ monuments to be torn down, Ellis doesn't believe it will help end racism¹⁵ in the country.

但是尽管埃利斯理解为什么一些抗议者渴望拆除有争议的纪念碑，但他不认为这样的行为会有助于结束美国的种族歧视。

"Anybody in America who believes racism is going away, that we can expunge¹⁶ it by knocking down monuments, is naive¹⁷. It's a cancer. It's never going away. Never," he said. "We can take steps forward, but everybody time you do, there is a permanent pool of racism beneath American society."

“在美国，任何一个相信种族主义正在消失，我们可以通过拆除纪念碑来消除种族主义的人，都太天真了。这是一种癌症。永远不会消失。永远不会，”他说。“我们可以向前迈出一步，但每一个人只要你这样做，就永远会有一个种族主义群体存在于美国社会。”

"The ideals are there, we've acted on them in many ways, ending slavery was one step, the Civil Rights movement was another step. But each step in American history forward produces a half-step backward. For every 10 Americans that thought Martin Luther King had a dream, there's another three that thought it was a nightmare."

“理想就在那里，我们已经在很多方面采取了行动，结束奴隶制是一步，民权运动是另一步。但美国历史上每向前走一步，就会倒退半步。每10个认为马丁·路德·金有梦想的美国人中，就有3个认为这是一场噩梦。”

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 emancipate   

v.解放，解除

参考例句：

• This new machine will emancipate us from the hard work.这部新机器将把我们从繁重劳动中解放出来。
• To emancipate all mankind,we will balk at no sacrifice,even that of our lives.为了全人类的解放,即使牺牲生命也在所不惜。

5 decrying   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Soon Chinese Internet users, including government agencies, were decrying the' poisonous panda. 不久，中国网民以及政府机构纷纷谴责“影响极坏的熊猫烧香”。 来自互联网
• Democratic leaders are decrying President Bush's plan to indefinitely halt troop withdrawals from Iraq after July. 民主党领导公开谴责布什总统七月后无限停止从伊拉克撤兵的举动。 来自互联网

6 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

7 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

8 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 paradoxes   

n.似非而是的隽语，看似矛盾而实际却可能正确的说法( paradox的名词复数 )；用于语言文学中的上述隽语；有矛盾特点的人[事物，情况]

参考例句：

• Contradictions and paradoxes arose in increasing numbers. 矛盾和悖论越来越多。 来自辞典例句
• As far as these paradoxes are concerned, the garden definitely a heterotopia. 就这些吊诡性而言，花园无疑地是个异质空间。 来自互联网

12 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

13 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

14 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

15 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

16 expunge   

v.除去，删掉

参考例句：

• He could not expunge the incident from his memory.他无法忘掉这件事。
• Remember that you can expunge anything you find undesirable.记住，你可以除去任何你发现令你讨厌的东西。

17 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。