美国开始走向终结了吗？

Jakk Taylor
This was predicted. A common read text is “The communist Manifesto". A lesser known work is from 13 years earlier “American Democracy”. It said
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
 
这早已被预测。一个常见的阅读文本是《共产党宣言》;但一个较少人知晓的作品是13年前出版的《美国民主》,书中提到：
民主制度本质上是暂时性的，它不可能永久存在。当选民意识到他们可以通过投票为自己从公共财政中获取丰厚的回报时，民主制度就会开始走向终结。从那时起，大多数人会倾向于支持那些承诺从国库中提供最多利益的候选人。最终，由于财政政策过于宽松，每个民主国家都会崩溃，而这种崩溃往往会被独裁统治所取代。
 
The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to complacency; From complacency to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage”
Marking 1776 as our start date we are doing a little better than average. It is amusing this is not read as the end of the communist Manifesto, which is read by Americans, applys to prevent our collapse.
“Working Men of All Countries, Unite!”
 
纵观历史，世界上那些最伟大的文明平均存在大约200年。在这段时期内，这些国家通常会经历一个连续的发展过程：从被奴役到获得精神信仰；从精神信仰到展现出巨大勇气；从勇气到实现自由；从自由到达到富裕；从富裕逐渐转向自私；从自私发展为自满；从自满演变为冷漠；从冷漠导致依赖；最终从依赖重新回到被奴役的状态。
将1776年作为我们的起点，我们的表现比历史上许多文明的平均寿命稍好一些。有趣的是，这段话并不是作为《共产党宣言》的结束语来阅读的，尽管这本宣言是美国人用来警醒自己，防止国家走向衰败的工具。
“全世界的工人，联合起来！”
 
Gordon Quinn
Is this the beginning of the end for the USA?
No, not the beginning, but the end of the great American Empire is certainly underway, and Trump is certainly accelerating it. It happened to the British Empire, and now it’s happening to us.
The bedrock of America has always been its middle class, and it’s under attack and is eroding.
Healthcare is the worst in the developed world. This drives people into bankruptcy and affects ability to spend on goods and services.
The quality of public education is in serious decline relative to the rest of the developed world. Curriculum, infrastructure, and teachers. Priorities are badly screwed up. Sports facilities get funding and budgets for quality teachers don’t.
 
这是美国走向终结的开始吗?
不，这并不是开始，但伟大的美国帝国的终结无疑正在进行中，特朗普显然加速了这一进程。这种情况曾经发生在英国帝国，现在也正在发生在我们身上。
美国的基础一直是其中产阶级，但如今它正受到攻击并逐渐消失。
医疗保健在发达国家中是最糟糕的，这导致人们破产，影响他们购买商品和服务的能力。
与其他国家相比，公共教育的质量正在急剧下降。课程、基础设施和教师的质量都令人担忧。体育设施得到了资金支持，而优秀教师却没有。
 
The war machine is draining our treasury. Pointless wars-for-profit just keep going.
Our infrastructure isn’t keeping up. It’s rotting. Our war budget could solve the problem. Sadly, bridge-builders and grid-builders don’t have the same lobby presence in D.C. as weapons manufacturers.
We’re viewed as a country of dummies on the world stage. GWB is largely responsible for this. Obama turned it around, but the world watched the senseless obstruction he faced from Congress and now with Trump things are worse than ever. The world is starting to look elsewhere for leadership because of the void created by Trump.
There is a major energy disruption underway, and instead of aiming all focus on green energy, we’re saving a few coal jobs and subsidizing oil. We’re going to be left behind.
It’s so unnecessary and so sad. We have too many dummies electing too many dummies to represent them. We’re doing this to ourselves.
 
战争机器正在耗尽我们的国库，一直在进行无意义的以盈利为目的的战争。
我们的基础设施正在老化，而我们的战争预算本可以解决这些问题。不幸的是，桥梁和电网建设者在华盛顿的影响力不如武器制造商。
在世界舞台上，我们被视为一个愚蠢的国家。乔治·W·布什对此负有很大责任。奥巴马扭转了局面，但全世界都看到了他面临的来自国会的无谓阻挠，现在特朗普上台，情况比以往任何时候都糟糕。由于特朗普造成的失落感，世界开始寻找其他领导力量。
一场重大的能源危机正在上演，我们没有把所有的注意力集中在绿色能源上，而是挽救了一些煤炭行业的工作岗位，并补贴了石油行业，我们将会落后于其他国家。
这太没必要了，太可悲了。我们选出了太多的傻瓜来代表我们，我们正在自我毁灭。
 
BJ Chippindale
Nope, the beginning of the end was likely the change in the 1980’s to a less restrictive and more market driven news cycle.
It could have been the Vietnam War but I think we might have survived that if we could simply have stuck to more honest and less popular news.
The people of the USA all now live in their own private information “silos” in which only the information that they find agreeing with them can be found. This promotes ignorance, and as Jefferson pointed out long ago, ignorance is incompatible with “freedom” and democracy
 
不，可能标志着终结的起点是1980年代，当时新闻业开始转向更加宽松和市场驱动的报道模式。
这可能与越南战争有关，但我认为，如果我们坚持发布更真实、哪怕受众较少的新闻，我们本可以安然度过那段时期。
如今，美国人民生活在各自的信息“孤岛”中，他们只能接触到与自己观点一致的信息，这助长了无知。正如杰斐逊很久以前所指出的，无知与自由和民主是不相容的。
 
Edit:
It also encourages news media to tailor their coverage to support the views of their audience. This means that over time, the understanding of the facts becomes a matter of “which side you are on”. This is a problem.
Debate over policy is reasonable, debate over matters of belief is inevitable, but debate over facts is impossible.
 
编辑：
它还鼓励新闻媒体调整报道内容，以支持受众的观点，这意味着，随着时间的推移，对事实的理解变成了“你站在哪一边”的问题。这是一个问题。
对政策的争论是合理的，对信仰的争论是不可避免的，但对事实的争论是不可能的。
 
Ray Jones
We have a lot of severe problems just now such as
Concentration of wealth so as to allow a few people to control the courts, government and news media
A general movement away from knowledge and learning as the most powerful tools for improving human life
Racial, ethnic, religious etc divisions
The loss of industrial capacity with attendant collapse of prosperity and national security
Callous lack of concern for the poor, the homeless and others who have fallen on hard times for any reason
However, the US is a large country containing many diverse cultures and talented people. We still have a lot of resources, natural, technological and human. I do believe we can get through this if we Americans want to and will come together to rebuild ourselves and our nation.
 
我们目前面临许多严重问题，例如：
财富集中，使得少数人能够控制法院、政府和媒体。
这是一场普遍的运动，不再把知识和学习作为改善人类生活最有力的工具
种族、民族、宗教等方面出现分裂
工业能力的丧失，随之而来的是繁荣和国家安全的崩溃
对穷人、无家可归者和其他因任何原因陷入困境的人漠不关心
然而，美国是一个拥有多种文化和人才的大国。我们仍拥有丰富的资源，包括自然资源、技术和人力资源。我相信，只要我们美国人愿意团结起来，重建我们的国家，我们就能克服这些困难。
 
Steven Pace
I think most of us believe the US is in the down part of its civilisation trajectory, but there is no firm timeline for the rise and fall of a civilisation. Internal and external events could cause the US to decline faster, or bounce back. History is always being written, and patriotism is a person choice for each citizen. From Trumps election, and republican acceptance of him, I get a sense that many people think politics is a joke. That is not a good sign.
 
我认为我们大多数人都认为美国正处于其文明轨迹的低谷，但文明的兴衰并没有固定的时间表。内部和外部事件可能会加速美国的衰落，或者促使其反弹。历史总是在被书写，爱国主义是每个公民的个人选择。从特朗普的当选和共和党对他的接受来看，我感到许多人认为政治是一场笑话，这不是一个好兆头。
 
Peter Clahr
Suckers work, try to get on Disability, even if you can work. Have 20 kids and get the state to support them. Can't even use the internet to find out who the first President was. Raise kids just because you can and then put them in front of the tv to avoid interacting and training them correctly. Defend your kids in school, even if you know they are wrong.
 
一些人不工作，却试图领取残疾福利；有些人生育众多孩子，却依赖国家来抚养。他们甚至不知道如何使用互联网来查找谁是第一位总统。他们生育孩子，却只是将他们放在电视机前，却避免与他们互动和正确教育他们。即使知道孩子做错了，他们在学校中还为孩子辩护。
 
Eugene Aaron
Definitely. Not many politicians would argue against that. (Tip: U.S. officials are like all others, and await strong leadership) The U.S. is likely where the next culture will birth and rise, as well. The forefathers designed the nation to support this coming. Very clever.
Not as difficult as you all think. I, as an individual, know the blueprint. All I really need is an audience in Congress, and backup from an investment firm. We could raise arms, partition, stake banner and rock and roll.
 
当然。许多政治家不会反对这一点。美国官员像其他国家的官员一样，期待强有力的领导。美国很可能是下一个文化诞生和崛起的地方。先辈们设计了这个国家，以支持这种文化的到来。这并不像你们想象的那么困难。作为一个个体，我知道这个蓝图。我真正需要的是在国会有听众，以及投资公司给予支持。这样我们就可以动员起来，明确立场，展示我们的旗帜，然后开始行动。
 
Pat Mason
If Democrats get in power again it will be the end for America. They are the authors of all the nonsense going on. Never , ever vote for a Democrat. They’ll give you a world without police , where you’re forced to accept there are 48 genders , not two , where thugs are allowed to travel about freely destroying public and private property , where racism still exists but now there is a new target and it’s not black.
 
如果民主党再次掌权，那将是美国的终结。他们是所有混乱的始作俑者。永远不要给民主党投票。他们会让你生活在一个没有警察的世界里，你被迫接受有48种性别，而不是两种。他们允许暴徒自由地破坏公共和私人财产。种族主义仍然存在，但现在有了新的目标，不再是针对黑人。
 
John Papadimitropoulos
From death comes rebirth, the old dies, the new is born. Time to copy the very efficient European systems, Austria, Germany, Sweden, etc revamp education and prison, forget this calvinist predestination shit that has corrupted prisons and even HR departments. Adopt a growth mentality, people can change if they want to, educate and reform the lower classes because you have to live with them…
 
死亡带来新生，旧事物消逝，新事物诞生。是时候学习那些高效的欧洲模式了，例如奥地利、德国、瑞典等，彻底改革我们的教育和监狱体系。摒弃那些已经破坏了监狱系统甚至人力资源部门的加尔文主义宿命论。培养一种成长型心态，相信人们有意愿就能改变，教育和改造底层阶级，因为你需要和他们共同生活……
 
Timothy Poplaski
2020 might be looked on as one of America's luckiest years since it's founding.
The Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests might just have saved us from falling into a dictatorship. Trump's poll numbers are dropping, dragging Republicans with him. If things don't improve, it's going to be a historic defeat.
The economic crash is prompting enough emergency aid that huge percentages of Millennials and Zoomers are learning to see, “I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.” as a good thing. They're looking at Europe and seeing Democratic Socialism as a good thing.
 
2020年可能会被看作是美国建国以来最幸运的一年之一。新冠病毒的流行和“黑人的命也是命”运动可能已经拯救了我们，使我们避免了陷入独裁。特朗普的支持率正在下降，这也拖累了他的共和党同僚。如果情况没有好转，我们可能会见证一场历史性的失败。
经济危机促使了足够多的紧急援助，使得许多千禧一代和Z世代开始认识到政府的帮助是积极的。他们开始观察欧洲，认为民主社会主义是有益的。
 
Idealists, the angry, and the uncomfortable vote. Which usually means mostly idealists. This year I think the angry and the uncomfortable are going to make themselves heard in a big way. Voting is a habit, the more people start doing it, the more will keep doing it, and the stronger the nation is.
Yes, it feels like a painful scary time. But I think good things will come from it.
 
理想主义者、愤怒者和感到不安的人都会选择投票。通常情况下，理想主义者是其中的主力。但在今年，我认为那些愤怒和不安的人将会以一种强烈的方式表达他们的声音。投票是一种习惯，参与的人越多，习惯就会越深入人心，从而使得国家更加稳固。
虽然现在感觉是一个充满痛苦和恐惧的时期，但我相信最终会有积极的变化。
 
Gareth Albans
Every day is both an end and a beginning. The future is what you choose to make of it, including the choices you make to deal with “acts of God". If you want a better future for the US my suggestion is tackle institutionalised corruption of the economic and legal systems, racism, the culture of violence, and uncritical nationalism.
 
每一天既是结束也是开始。未来取决于你如何选择，包括你如何应对那些不可抗力的事件。如果你想让美国有一个更美好的未来，我的建议是解决经济和法律体系的制度化腐败、种族主义、暴力文化和不加批判的民族主义。
 
Louis Juliot
What events could cause the US to implode?
I do not know what specific event would trigger this, but I know what issue would be the catalyst: WATER!
Already, there are the water have’s and have not’s and battles have begun.
Georgia wanted to change its borders to get access to a river in Tennessee to provide Atlanta with more drinking water.
 
哪些事件可能导致美国内部崩溃?
我不知道什么具体事件会引发这种情况，但我清楚地知道，水资源问题可能会成为导火索
目前，水资源的分配不均已经引发了冲突。
比如，乔治亚州想通过改变边界来获取田纳西州的河流，以便为亚特兰大提供更多的饮用水。
 
Illinois is allocated only a certain amount of water from Lake Michigan to serve Chicago and its suburbs.
California and Nevada are constantly bickering over Lake Tahoe.
So if water as a resource becomes even rarer, the battles will become more and more heated.
 
伊利诺斯州从密歇根湖获得的水资源有限，这直接影响到芝加哥及其郊区的供水。
加利福尼亚和内华达州则因塔霍湖的水资源而不断发生争执。
如果水资源变得更加稀缺，这些争端可能会愈演愈烈。
 
Aaron Anderson
The United States has the world's oldest system of government in the world, with the Constitution of the United States being ratified in 1789.
Every other government in the world either did not exist or has reorganized itself to what it is today, after that year, due to wars or violent overthrow.
 
美国拥有世界上历史最悠久的政府体系，其宪法自1789年通过以来一直沿用至今。
世界上其他所有政府要么是在那之后成立，要么是在那一年之后因战争或暴力推翻而重新构建的。
 
The United States came close to failure during the American civil war 1861–65, but has existed continuously for 227 years. I point this out to show how strong the American constitutional republic is. It's division of powers, Bill of Rights, and citizen representation in most leadership positions is designed to prevent too much power from being centralized. The specific division of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches effectively prevents the country from “ imploding” as you put it. The system for preventing unconstitutional government overreaching is checks and balances.
 
美国在1861至1865年的南北战争期间险些解体，但至今已经连续存在了227年。我指出这一点是为了表明美国的宪政共和国是多么强大。其权力分立、权利法案以及公民在大多数领导职位中的代表性设计，旨在防止权力过于集中。立法、行政和司法三权分立的制度，有效避免了国家出现你所提到的“内爆”现象。制衡机制是防止政府行为超越宪法限制的关键。
 
美国在1861至1865年的南北战争期间险些解体，但自那以来，它已经持续稳定地存在了227年。我强调这一点是为了彰显美国宪法制度的强韧。通过权力分立、权利法案的保障，以及在关键领导岗位上的公民代表，这一制度被设计来避免权力过度集中。立法、行政和司法三个分支之间的权力分配，确保了国家不会像你所说的“自我毁灭”。制衡机制是美国防止政府行为超越宪法限制的关键制度。
 
Wether or not American leaders are elected or appointed, they all swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. It would take a large scale coordinated plan by traitors in positions of power acting in concert against their sworn allegiance to America, to collapse the system. They wouldn't fare too well with penalties for acts of espionage, sedition and war against the United States which range from lengthy prison sentences to even the death penalty.
 
无论是选举还是任命，美国领导人都必须宣誓保护和捍卫宪法。要想摧毁这个体系，需要那些身居高位的背叛者们共同策划并实施大规模的阴谋，他们的行为将违背他们对美国的忠诚誓言。这种行为将面临严厉的惩罚，包括长期监禁甚至死刑，因此他们不太可能成功。
 
Somsong B.
The United States is a country with defined borders, so it has a defined beginning and end in terms of physical geography. However, the concept of the "United States" has a historical and cultural significance that extends beyond its physical borders, so it can be argued that it does not have a clear beginning or end in a broader sense.
 
美国是一个边界明确的国家，因此在地理上可以明确指出它的起点和终点。但是，"美国"这个概念在历史和文化上的影响远远超出了其地理边界，所以从更广泛的角度来看，它的历史和文化意义并没有一个清晰的起点或终点。