“美国梦”在悄然改变

Matthew Warshauer

【 C 】Changing Conceptions of the American Dream

How does one achieve the American Dream? The answer undoubtedly depends upon ones definition of the Dream, and there are many from which to choose. John Winthrop envisioned a religious paradise in a “City upon a Hill.”1 Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of racial equality. Both men yearned for what they perceived as perfection. Scholars have recognized widely varying conceptions of these quests for American excellence. One component of the American Dream seems, however, to be fairly consistent: the quest for money. Few will deny that Americans are intently focused on the “almighty dollar.”2

Yet the question remains, how does one achieve this success? How is the Dream realized? For many Americans the formula is one of instant, albeit elusive, gratification.3 Rather than adhering to a traditional work ethic, far too many Americans are pinning their hopes on what they perceive as“easy” money. There are three phenomena in contemporary American society that have successfully captured the quest for the American Dream. Savvy marketers have convinced their audiences that a new wave of television game shows, lottery luck, and lucrative lawsuits are the way to wealth.4

Instant wealth has not always been a major component of the Dream. Americans have traditionally centered their efforts on thrift and hard work. During the Colonial Period, Benjamin Franklin counseled people on the “The Way to Wealth.”5 The key to wealth was industry: “Industry pays debts,” insisted Poor Richard. Americans of the Early Republic expanded Franklins notion of industry into a labor ideology. Abraham Lincoln insisted that the greatness of the American North was that industry allowed all men to prosper.

In the midst of industrialization following the Civil War, many Americans experienced profound hardship in the changing economic landscape. The ubiquitous “rags to riches”legend became a cornerstone of American society;6 anyone could succeed and achieve wealth if they worked hard.

Numerous scholars note that the shift away from the traditional American work ethic corresponded directly with the rise of industry. Work values changed dramatically when the assembly line production and machine driven atmosphere of industrial America swallowed up skilled workers.7 The aftermath of World War II exacerbated the ethical shift as a consumer culture blossomed and Americans became preoccupied with material goods.8 As one critic noted, “consumed by desires for status, material goods, and acceptance, Americans apparently had lost the sense of individuality, thrift, hard work, and craftsmanship9 that had characterized the nation.”

The result of this shift in work ethic has actually spurred rather than lessened the peoples desire to achieve the American Dream. Yet the real difference is that the Dream has become more of an entitlement10 than something to work towards. Many Americans who are engaged in work view it more as a necessary evil until striking it rich. This idea has been perpetuated by a massive marketing effort that legitimizes the message that wealth can be obtained quickly and easily.11 Whether through the television entertainment industry, state-based lottery marketing drives, or legal advertisements, Americans are told again and again that the road to the financial success of the American Dream is more a matter of luck than hard work.

There are unquestionably many Americans who continue to abide by such tenets and in doing so are rewarded for their efforts.12 Yet there are also those who have come to believe that the American Dreams promise of riches is just that, a promise, and as such they feel entitled to instant financial success. Nor has the socio-corporate13 climate in America disappointed such a belief. Savvy television producers and marketing executives have latched on to the core of the American Dream.14 They understand that Americans are enthralled with15 striking it rich. Thus millionaire game shows are designed to make winning seem easy. Lotteries are marketed in such a way that one thinks they have a real shot at cashing in.16 The reality in both instances is that achieving the American Dream through such means is a long shot17 at best. Too much chance exists. Too much luck is necessary.

What is the end effect on society? Do millionaire game shows and promises of lottery millions help to further erode the ethic of work and self-reliance that once embodied the American Dream,18 replacing it with an ethic of luck? Or are these sources of instant gratification merely products of an ethic already lost to some Americans? Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

The even darker side to this cultural phenomenon is how the sense of entitlement has spilled over19 into a lack of responsibility. The fact that so many Americans are willing to utilize litigation to cash in on the American Dream is disheartening.20 Failing to take responsibility for their own mistakes, plaintiffs21 look to the legal system to make misfortune into fortune. Again, marketing and an avalanche22 of advertising by personal injury lawyers helps encourage would-be injury victims. Still, the readiness of people to sue23 is a key social factor.

Ultimately, most Americans would like to achieve the American Dream of financial independence. Yet it is the means to achieving it that are essential to the nations ethical foundations. It seems that many Americans covet the easy road to the Dream and in the process undercut the core values that established the Dream in the first place.24 Equally culpable are the big businesses that capitalize on the quest for the Dream.25 In an ironic sense, such businesses are fulfilling the Dream for themselves while dangling the possibility of the Dream over the heads of the public.26 There can be little doubt that the producers of the millionaire games shows, the state lotteries, and lawyers are getting rich on other peoples yearning for the American Dream. ?

1. envision:设想，想象；City upon a Hill:山巅之城，来自耶稣“登山宝训”中“盐和光”的寓言，耶稣告知门徒:“你们是世上之光。山巅之城，无法隐藏。”该词进入美国历史，是因清教徒领袖约翰·温思罗普（John Winthrop）曾在《基督慈善之典范》中对后来的马萨诸塞湾移民放言：“我们将抵达那山巅之城（a city upon the hill），受万众瞻仰。”

2. intently: 专注地；almighty:万能的，全能的。

3.对大多数美国人而言，其人生信条即为追求即时的——尽管难以捉摸的——满足。albeit:尽管，纵然；gratification:满足，喜悦。

4.savvy:机智的，有头脑的；game show:游戏节目，游戏表演；lucrative:赚钱的，可获利的。

5. Benjamin Franklin: 本杰明.富兰克林,美国政治家、哲学家和文学家，曾参与美国独立战争并参与起草《独立宣言》；下文提到的“Poor Richard（穷理查）”是他撰写、刊登《穷理查年鉴》时用的化名；counsel:提供建议，劝告。

6. u biquitous:无所不在的，普遍的；rags to riches:从赤贫到暴富；cornerstone:奠基石，基础。

7. 流水线作业和机器驱动的美国工业化氛围吞噬了大量的技术工人，人们的工作观念发生了巨大的改变。swallow up:吞没，吞噬。

8.二战的余波又加剧了这一观念的转变，消费文化蓬勃发展，美国人开始渐渐被物质产品所迷惑。aftermath:余波，后果；exacerbate:加重，恶化；be preoccupied with:使……专注于，被……迷住。

9. craftsmanship:技术。

10. entitlement:赋予的权利。

11.大量的营销手段使得可以快速、轻松地获取财富这一观念深入人心并成为理所当然。perpetuate:使永存，使不朽；legitimize:使合法，使成为正当。

12. abide by: 遵从；tenet: 信条，宗旨。

13. socio-corporate:社会企业。

14. latch on to:理解某想法、某说法；core: 核心。

15. enthrall with:使迷惑，迷住。

16.shot:运气，机会；cash in:从某物中获利。

17. long shot: 风险大的赌注。

18. erode: 腐蚀，侵蚀；self-reliance:自力更生，依靠自己； embody: 体现，代表。

19. spill over:从某物中溢出，蔓延。

20.如此多的美国人都愿意利用诉讼趁机谋利，来实现自己的“美国梦”——这个事实真令人失望。litigation:诉讼，起诉；disheartening: 令人沮丧的，失望的。

21. plaintiff:原告。

22. avalanche:雪崩，此处an avalanche of比喻广告铺天盖地。

23. sue: 控告，起诉。

24. covet:觊觎，垂涎；undercut:削弱，廉价出售。

25. culpable:有罪的，该受惩罚的；capitalize:充分利用某事物，从某事物中获利。

26. ironic: 具有讽刺意味的；dangle:用某事物诱惑，吊某人胃口。

Unshelving1 Classic Books

In the late twentieth century, there was a move to replace classic literature used in most schools and universities with a more diverse reading list. The new curriculum would focus on themes present in todays society, emphasizing multiculturalism and embracing ideas from all cultures.2 However, in replacing the classics curriculum, educators have removed important parts of Americas heritage3.

Classic books provide the framework by which we can build our own world view and analyze the problems of today. The classics are an important part of American education because they not only reveal the ideas that have shaped the world, but also provide a foundation which we can use to develop our own opinions on many of the issues facing us today.

In many ways, the replacement of classic books has backfired.4 In school we learn about the atrocities slaves endured on Southern plantations,5 and the sorrow they faced when a husband was separated from a wife, or a mother from a child. However, contemporary books cannot present the issues surrounding slavery the way the classics do. Uncle Toms Cabin, written during the abolitionist era, addresses the horrors of slavery as no contemporary book can.6 Likewise, the autobiography of Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery, tells of a former slaves struggle for equality in a hostile world.7 History books can talk about the struggles of AfricanAmericans during this era, but only the writings of abolitionists and blacks who lived through it can make the experience real for schoolchildren.

This not only applies to the struggles of minorities or women, but to the problems faced by all people. “You think your pains and your heartbreaks are unprecedented in the history of the world,” wrote James Baldwin, “but then you read. It is books that taught me that the things that tormented me were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who have ever been alive.”8 Charles DickensDavid Copperfield tells the story of a man who was abused as a child, and his efforts to live a comfortable and normal life. Oliver Twist describes the struggle of a poor orphan who tries to rise above his criminal companions level.9 The classics show that the problems of today are not new, and that a person can still be happy despite his circumstances.

The classics also reveal ideas that have long been the foundation of American government, including those of Plato and Aristotle. The writings of John Locke are considered the principal influence on American government;10 however, with the removal of the classics from American schools, few know what Locke believed. Understanding our own culture is necessary; if we do not, how can we understand others? In his essay “On Three Ways of Writing for Children,” C.S. Lewis wrote, “The child who has once met Mr. Badger has ever afterwards in its bones, a knowledge of humanity and of English social history which it could not get in any other way.”11 The classics present cultural history in a way contemporary books cannot.

The classics also preserve traditional values that have survived for centuries. Todd Gitlin, in “The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut,” wrote, “Amid the weightless fluff of a culture of obsolescence, here is Jane Austen on psychological complication, Balzac on the pecuniary squeeze.12 Here is Dostoyevsky wrestling with God, Melville with nothingness, Douglas with slavery … In a culture of chaff, here is the wheat.”13 In other words, we need to study ideas and principles that have endured for centuries.

In todays culture, everything is transient14. We follow what is popular, and not what has withstood the test of time. An understanding of the ideas that have endured is the deciding factor between a person who went to school and one who is truly educated. Once we have read Walden15, we realize that there is a world outside of the city. Through Jane Eyre, we see that patience can bring about unexpected results. By reading a book that has endured, we find many new concepts that open our eyes and give us a different perspective16 on life.

We live in a time of great technological advancements. Computers have made information more accessible. We have found cures to some forms of cancer. We are healthier and live longer, yet we are becoming intellectually fat. Many contemporary writers, especially fiction writers, merely appeal to our desire for wealth, prestige, and power.17 The classics create a longing in us for a different world, a better world. Contemporary books create a different longing. C.S. Lewis addressed this too: “The real victim of wishful reverie does not batten on the Odyssey, The Tempest, or The Worm Ouroboros: he (or she) prefers stories about millionaires, irresistible beauties, posh hotels, palm beaches and bedroom scenes18 –things that really might happen, that ought to happen, that would happen if the reader had a fair chance. For, as I say, there are two types of longing. The first one is an askesis19, a spiritual exercise, and the other is a disease.” It is the classics that cause askesis, or self-discipline. If you remove that from a childs education, you are removing an intellectual stimulus20.

The classics are an important part of education. It is critical to teach children about their culture, and to encourage them to be accepting of other people as well as to know what is happening in the world. However, this pursuit should not replace the classics. It is the classics that make us think and make our minds mature. Once mature we can contribute to society.21 The classics do not force a child to conform to old-fashioned beliefs, nor do they teach them to be Eurocentric.22 They teach that there is more to the world than the clichéd23 problems of urban society. According to Arnold Bennett in “Literary Taste: How to Form It,” “The makers of literature are those who have seen and felt the miraculous interestingness of the universe.24 If you have formed … literary taste … [your life] will be one long ecstasy of denying that the world is a dull place.”

1.shelve:将（计划、意见等）搁置，暂缓考虑。“unshelve”是作者自创的一个词，“un-”作前缀，表示“做……相反的动作”，因此“unshelve”的意思即为“不能将某事搁置一边”。

2. multiculturalism: 多元文化主义；embrace:欣然接受，乐意采纳。

3. heritage: 遗产，传统。

4.从多个方面来看，取代经典文本这一举动已经产生了适得其反的结果。backfire:（内燃机等）发生逆火，回火。

5. atrocity: 凶恶的行为，残暴的行为；endure:忍耐，忍受。

6. Uncle Toms Cabin: 美国作家哈里特·比彻·斯托（Harriet Beecher Stowe）于1852年发表的一部反奴隶制小说，是19世纪最畅销的小说，并被认为是刺激19世纪50年代废奴主义兴起的一大原因；abolitionist era:（美国）废奴运动时期，废奴运动指的是大致从19世纪30年代初开始在美国北部兴起的要求彻底废除黑人奴隶制的群众运动，下文的abolitionist意为“废奴主义者”；address: 讨论，论述。

7. autobiography: 自传；Booker T. Washington:布克·华盛顿（1856—1915），美国政治家、教育家和作家，他于1895年发表了著名的亚特兰大演说——《亚特兰大种族和解声明》（Atlanta Compromise），使他闻名全国，成为该时期美国黑人的代言人，其自传Up From Slavery（《超越奴役》）1901年出版，至今仍广为流传；hostile: 不友善的，含敌意的。

8.unprecedented:前所未闻的，绝无仅有的；James Baldwin: 詹姆斯·鲍德温（1924—1987），美国作家、小说家、诗人、剧作家和社会活动家。他的不少作品关注20世纪中叶美国的种族问题和性解放运动，代表作有小说《向苍天呼吁》（Go Tell It on the Mountain）等；torment: 折磨，使痛苦。

9.前两句提到的狄更斯的小说分别是《大卫·科波菲尔》和《雾都孤儿》，均是家喻户晓的经典名著。

10. John Locke: 约翰·洛克（1632—1704），英国的哲学家，代表作有《论宽容》（A Letter Concerning Toleration）和《政府论》（Two Treatises of Government）。他在自由和社会契约上的理论影响了后来的亚历山大· 汉密尔顿、托马斯·杰斐逊以及其他许多美国开国元勋，其政治理论极大地影响了美国宪法及《独立宣言》；principal: 首要的，最重要的。

11. C. S. Lewis: C.S.路易斯（1989—1963），爱尔兰裔英国知名作家和神学学者，以儿童文学作品《纳尼亚传奇》（The Chronicles of Narnia）闻名；Mr. Badger: 老獾先生，是肯尼斯·格雷厄姆（Kenneth Grahame）的经典儿童小说《柳林风声》（The Wind in the Willows）中的角色，它正直忠诚，侠义十足而具有领袖风范，深受广大读者喜爱；humanity: 人道，博爱。

12. Todd Gitlin: 托德·吉特林（1943— ），美国社会学家、小说家和文化评论家，现任美国哥伦比亚大学新闻学院教授；glut: 大量，供大于求，info-glut即“信息过量”之意；fluff: 微不足道、无关紧要的事物；obsolescence: 废弃，淘汰；Jane Austen: 简·奥斯汀（1775—1817），英国著名女性小说家；Balzac: 巴尔扎克（1799－1850），法国19世纪著名批判现实主义作家；pecuniary: 金钱上的，钱财方面的；squeeze: 榨取，压榨。

13. Dostoyevsky:陀思妥耶夫斯基（1821—1881），俄国著名作家，代表作有《罪与罚》（Crime and Punishment）和《卡拉马佐夫兄弟》（The Brothers Karamazov）等；Melville:此处指赫尔曼·梅尔维尔（1819—1891），美国作家，代表小说《白鲸》；Douglas: 此处指乔治·诺曼·道格拉斯（1868–1952），苏格兰小说家和游记作家；chaff: 谷壳，糠，比喻废物，无价值的东西。在这一引言中，吉特林列举了来自不同国家不同文化的文人作家及他们所关注的人生主题，意在指出这些作品经受住了时间的考验，流传至今成为了经典，对世人的价值是不可估量的。

14. transient: 短暂的，转瞬即逝的。

15. Walden : 《瓦尔登湖》，是美国作家亨利·戴维·梭罗（Henry David Thoreau）所著的一本著名散文集，详尽描述了他在瓦尔登湖湖畔一片再生林中度过两年零两月的生活以及期间他的许多思考。

16. perspective: 观点，想法。

17. appeal to: 有吸引力，投其所好；prestige:（由于财富等而产生的）显赫。

18. wishful: 渴望的，急切希望的；reverie:幻想，白日梦；batten:养肥，喂肥；此句中提到的三部作品均为具有丰富想象力的奇幻小说，分别是《奥德赛》、《暴风雨》和《欧鲁勃洛斯之虫》（英国作家Eric Eddison于1922年所著的奇幻小说，描述了一个名叫“水星”星球上的英雄故事；posh:豪华的，精美的。

19. askesis: 又写作ascesis，意为“苦行，禁欲”。

20. stimulus: 刺激物，促进因素。

21. 一旦我们的思想走向成熟，我们就可以更好地回报社会。

22. conform to: 顺从，遵照；Eurocentric: 以欧洲为中心的。

23. clichéd: 老生常谈的。

24. Arnold Bennett: 阿诺德·本涅特（1867—1931），英国作家、剧作家和评论家，代表作有《五镇上的安娜》（Anna of the Five Towns）和《老妇人的故事》（The Old Wives Tale）；miraculous: 神奇的，不可思议的。

阅读感评

西方自20世纪最后几十年兴起后现代、后殖民思潮以来，便开始了对既定权威的颠覆和对所谓多元化（diversity）的追求。这一点反映在文化经典（canon）领域，便是借消解西方中心主义之名，一味强调其构成的非稳定性，大肆剔除传统上的名家名作，而把大量原本属边缘化的少数族裔、弱势群体等创造的文本乃至过去经典根本不予考虑的未受较长时段历史考验的时文纳入其中。这种现象在美国尤其普遍，而且正受到崇尚政治正确、文化正确之士的追捧，影响不可谓不深远。因此，才会出现原文作者所忧虑以至反对的所谓“大多数中学与大学都有一种用更多样化的书目清单去替换经典文献的动向。新课程在内容上以当今社会话题为主，着重教授多元文化以及体现所有文化的观念”云云。

要正视此问题，我们首先要看一看这种现象的存在是否具有一定的合理性。长期以来，西方经典是以主流文化中的白种人创作为标准，绝少有其他的内容；而英美文化经典更是把所谓的盎格鲁—撒克逊（Anglo-Saxon）来源奉为圭臬，英伦三岛如此，北美地区也概莫例外。这里就产生了一个问题，北美地区尤其是美国人口与文化的构成非常复杂，有印第安的土著，有欧洲殖民者，还有来自全球几乎所有地域所有文化体的移民。因此，传统上仅承认盎格鲁—撒克逊血统为经典的正宗，显然是代表性失衡，对于美国人口构成中的很大一部分有欠公平公正。再则，我们当今所处的时代，对许多人来说传媒视觉形象的冲击要远远超过文本阅读的魅力，信息爆炸、知识过剩，同时又非常讲求现实性与实用性，是经世致用之学得到大力倡导并大行其道的时代。因此，在知识与信息上追求与当下的相关联性，在文化经典上质疑“永远有多远”，“不求天长地久”等等也就能得到许多人的谅解甚至理解了。

不过，尽管如此，一个国家、一个民族的文化经典，其核心的部分应该是相对稳定的，其构成方式必须是经过历史上较长时间的优胜劣汰、去伪存真、去粗存精后经久不衰的那部分典范之作，而非简单地像西方议会席位的地方名额分配或者联合国的一国一票制。也就是说，文化经典基本不是一个分布构成代表性是否全面公平的问题，而是一个价值、口碑与影响大小的问题。因此，当今无限扩大收录范围同时大量压缩传统权威文本的经典重构策略就很值得商榷了，因为这种重组方式建构的读本恐怕让学生最终获得的是各族裔文化概论知识而非对一国文化经典的系统了解。

另外，消解甚至抛弃经典显然不妥。虽然当今社会不可能像西方文艺复兴与启蒙时代以及中国的“五四运动”之前那样，学校教育基本上就是人文主义的经典教育。我们早已为学校教育增加了许多重要的新内容。但是，作为一个民族千百年积存下来文化宝藏的结晶，经典确有其无法替代的力量，因为它传达的决不仅仅是信息或知识本身！从文化传承来看，若概括原文作者的说法，经典体现着“传统精神的诸多重要方面”，有助于我们理解一个民族的历史文化传统；以个人修养而言，原作者认为它能让我们开阔眼界、启迪心灵、陶冶情操，发挥着建构我们的“世界观”、帮助我们应对当今世界出现的新问题等多重作用。虽然原作者用了一些例证来说明以上“大道理”，但可能还是抵挡不住当今诸多死心塌地的“务实主义者”的关于“花时间读经典到底能有多少实用性”的一再追问。在笔者看来，读经典尤其是人文经典的实用价值，坦率地讲，似乎是没有的，因为有点实用的知识都已收入各个专门学科里了。朱自清曾在其《经典常谈》的序言里说：“经典训练的价值不在实用，而在文化。......做一个有相当教育的国民，至少对于本国的经典也有接触的义务。”此言极是，毕竟在大学求学与手工艺人的技能培训有较大区别。大学生仅仅掌握若干工具的用法还不够，夯实基础、提高素养、追求“无用之用”无疑是大学教育的应有之义，而阅读经典、见识经典应该是其中一个重要的环节。?