KATRIN BENNHOLD2026年7月3日The United States is turning 250 tomorrow. It’s a big birthday. But what exactly is America celebrating?美国明天就要迎来250岁生日了。这是一个重大的日子。但美国人究竟在庆祝什么？The revolutionary ideals enshrined in the 1776 Declaration of Independence inspired generations: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”1776年《独立宣言》中所载的革命理想曾激励了一代又一代人：“我们认为以下真理是不言而喻的：人人受造而平等，造物主赋予他们某些不可转让的权利，其中包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。”But those ideals are now the subject of intense debate. What is the American experiment all about? What should American democracy be? These are big questions, especially during Donald Trump’s polarizing presidency. I talked to my colleague Peter Baker, our chief White House correspondent, about what this anniversary tells us about America and the moment it’s in.但这些理想如今正引发激烈的辩论。这场“美国实验”的本质究竟是什么？美国的民主应该呈现何种面貌？这些都是重大的问题，尤其是在唐纳德·特朗普引发两极分化的总统任期内。我就此采访了我的同事、我们的首席白宫记者彼得·贝克，探讨了这个周年纪念日向我们揭示了怎样的美国以及它目前所处的处境。America’s very messy birthday party一场混乱的美国生日派对So Peter, can anyone actually agree on what’s being celebrated this weekend?那么，彼得，这个周末大家对于究竟在庆祝什么，真的能达成共识吗？No, and that’s what’s so striking. It should be a moment of unity, right? I was 9 when we celebrated 200 years of independence. Everybody came together waving flags, remembering the Revolution and thinking about what it all meant. But it’s a much more polarized environment today. And we have a president who’s making this anniversary more about himself than about the country.没法达成，而这正是最惊人的地方。这本该是一个团结的时刻，对吧？我们庆祝独立200周年时我才九岁。那时每个人都走上街头挥舞着国旗，缅怀当年的独立革命，并思考这一切的意义。但如今的政治环境要对立得多。而且我们现任的总统正把这个周年纪念日变成一场关于他个人、而非关于整个国家的秀。How so?此话怎讲？He’s basically taken over the organization of the festivities in Washington. Take the big Fourth of July concert. That’s been completely transformed. All these musicians backed out. They didn’t want to be part of some sort of Trump show. And so instead, the president is giving what he says will be “a really long speech.”他基本上接管了华盛顿庆祝活动的筹备工作。拿盛大的7月4日音乐会来说，它已经被彻底改变了。众多音乐家宣布退出，他们不想成为某种“特朗普秀”的一部分。因此，总统现在的安排是，他将发表一场他自称“会非常长”的演讲。I’ve lived my whole life in the Washington area, and on the Fourth of July back in the day, you’d go to the National Mall, bring a picnic, stay through the concert by the National Symphony Orchestra, which would play patriotic music, and then you’d watch the fireworks.我大半辈子都生活在华盛顿地区。放在以前的独立日，你会去国家广场野餐，一直待到国家交响乐团的音乐会开始，聆听那些爱国音乐，然后观看烟花秀。But this year it’s essentially a political rally, and that will leave a lot of Americans feeling that they don’t want to be there. There’s going to be security. They can’t bring chairs or balls or Frisbees or coolers full of food and have a picnic on the mall the way they used to.但今年，这本质上变成了一场政治集会，这会让许多美国人觉得他们不想去凑这个热闹。现场会设严密的安保，他们无法再像以前那样带着椅子、球、飞盘或者装满食物的保温箱在国家广场上野餐。Picnics on the mall — what could be more American?在国家广场上野餐——还有什么比这更具美国色彩的呢？Exactly. You want to look back at what made America great? It was picnics on the mall!确实如此。你想回顾是什么让美国变得伟大？那就是以前在国家广场上的野餐！ Alex Kent/The New York TimesYou mentioned the musicians backing out of Trump’s concert. That’s not the only thing that has gone wrong. There’s also his multi-million-dollar project to spruce up the Reflecting Pool for the anniversary — only to get an algae infestation and peeling paint.你提到音乐家们退出了特朗普的音乐会。但这还不是唯一搞砸的事情。他此前还耗资数百万美元开展了一项在周年纪念日前翻新倒影池的工程——结果现在却面临着藻华和漆面剥落的问题。Yeah, the symbolism is terrible. It makes him look like he’s focused on the wrong things to a lot of Americans struggling to pay for rent or gas. And he can’t even do it right. For those who don’t like him, it’s become a metaphor for his presidency.是的，这个象征意义实在太糟糕了。在许多正为支付房租或油费而苦苦挣扎的美国人眼里，这让他看起来把精力放错了地方。而且他连这点事都办不好。对于那些讨厌他的人来说，这已经变成了他总统任期的一个隐喻。For any other president this would have been very damaging. But Trump has so many of these moments that it may not matter. Still, it’s a bad story and one that has frustrated him enormously.对任何其他总统而言，这本会是极具破坏性的。但特朗普经历过太多这样的时刻，以至于这可能也无伤大雅。不过，这依然是个负面新闻，也给他本人造成很大困扰。What about the content of the celebrations? What exactly are Trump and his supporters celebrating?那么关于庆祝活动的内容呢？特朗普和他的支持者究竟在庆祝什么？They’re celebrating a view of America as they believe it once was, a better America as they see it. An America with fewer immigrants, a strong manufacturing sector, a more traditional definition of the family and so on.他们庆祝的是一种他们心目中曾经存在过的、在他们看来更好的“昔日美国”。一个移民更少、制造业强劲、家庭定义更传统等等的美国。It’s a view of America that doesn’t embrace some of the changes we’ve seen in the country. Those changes are discomfiting to a lot of people. And Trump has tapped into this sense of grievance that is out there among many Americans, that the country is getting away from them.这是一种不接受这个国家已经发生的某些转变的美国观。这些转变让许多人感到不安。特朗普恰恰利用了许多美国人心中普遍存在的一种怨恨感，即觉得这个国家正在偏离他们熟悉的轨道。It also doesn’t acknowledge some of the times it’s fallen short of its ideals. But Trump doesn’t believe in telling stories that in any way diminish the mythology of America’s greatness.这种观点也绝不承认美国曾有违背自身理想的时刻。因为特朗普绝不接受讲述任何在任何层面上削弱“美国伟大”这一神话的故事。 Alex Kent/The New York TimesHow are his opponents celebrating this anniversary?他的反对者又是如何庆祝这个周年纪念日的？The people who don’t subscribe to Trump’s view of the world look at America as a place of change. We’re not the same country we were 250 years ago, nor, they argue, would most people want it to be. When we said in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal,” what we really meant was “all white men who owned a certain amount of property.” Those were the only ones who were allowed to vote then.那些不认同特朗普世界观的人则将美国视为一个不断变化的地方。他们认为，我们不是250年前的那个国家了，而且大多数人也不希望回到过去。当我们在《独立宣言》中说“人人受造而平等”时，当时的真实含义其实是“所有拥有一定资产的白人男性”。因为在当时，只有他们才拥有投票权。But the Constitution also vows to “form a more perfect union.” So there’s an acknowledgment that we’re not a perfect union, but we’re trying to get there. That ideal is what traditionally made America a beacon for the world. But now there’s a worry among people who aren’t fans of Trump that we no longer are.但宪法也誓言要“建立更完善的联盟”。因此，大家承认我们现在还不是一个完美的联盟，但我们正在努力向那个方向迈进。这种理想在传统上使美国成为世界的灯塔。但现在，那些不是特朗普粉丝的人开始担心，我们已经不再是那座灯塔了。Is there a chance that, all of this division notwithstanding, this weekend will actually be an occasion where people come together?抛开所有的这些分歧不谈，这个周末有没有可能实际上仍是一个让人们走到一起的契机？Certainly in individual communities. I’m in New England with my family right now and when you drive around, you see flags everywhere, you see a lot of excitement about the holiday that has nothing to do with politics. It’s in Washington where it just feels so divided, but I expect in communities across the country they will ignore the politics — or at least put it to the side for one day.在各个地方社区里当然是可能的。我现在和家人正在新英格兰地区，开车随处转转时，你能看到到处都挂着国旗，大家对这个节日感到非常兴奋，这与政治毫无关系。只有在华盛顿才让人感觉如此割裂。但我预计在全国各地的社区里，人们会忽略政治——或者至少在这一天把政治抛诸脑后。And Peter, how are you going to celebrate tomorrow?那么，彼得，你明天打算怎么庆祝？We’re going to a barbecue with fried chicken, burgers and fireworks. We also have a family tradition of the kids reading from the Declaration of Independence and we will do that again this year. It’s such a beautiful document. The meaning of the words has evolved with our lived reality. But the ideal behind it is as inspiring as ever.我们要去参加一个有炸鸡、汉堡和烟花的烧烤派对。我们家还有一个传统，就是让孩子们朗读《独立宣言》，今年我们还会这么做。这是一篇如此优美的文献。虽然这些字句的含义随着我们当下的现实生活而不断演变，但它背后的理想依然如以往那般激励人心。本文节译自《纽约时报》全球新闻电邮The World。 Katrin Bennhold是The World的主笔。翻译：纽约时报中文网