237 Decline in American Moral Standards
237 美国道德标准下滑
The decline in moral standards—which has long concerned social analysts—has at last captured the attention of average Americans. And Jean Bethke Elshtain, for one, is glad.
道德标准下滑，已经不再单单是社会分析家所担心的内容，而且已经引起了普通美国人的注意。作为一名社会分析家，简·比思克·艾尔斯顿很高兴。
The fact the ordinary citizens are now starting to think seriously about the nation’s moral climate, says this ethics professor at the University of Chicago, is reason to hope that new ideas will come forward to improve it.
普通美国公民现在已经开始严肃地思考国民道德风气问题，芝加哥大学伦理教授说，在此基础上，我们有理由希望会产生新思想以改善这种状况。
But the challenge is not to be underestimated. Materialism and individualism in American society are the biggest obstacles. “The thought that ‘I’m in it for me’ has become deeply rooted in the national consciousness,” Ms. Elshtain says.
但是不要低估这种挑战。美国社会的物质主义和个人主义是两个最大的障碍。艾尔斯顿女士说：“我干这事是为自己的思想已深深植根于民族意识之中。”
Some of this can be attributed to the disintegration of traditional communities, in which neighbors looked out for one another, she says. With today’s greater mobility and with so many couples working, those bonds have been weakened, replaced by a greater emphasis on self.
她说其中某些方面是由于邻里之间相互关照的传统社区的解体。由于当今流动性更大，很多夫妻都忙于工作，这种联系已经被削弱，取而代之的就是更加强调自我。
In a 1996 poll of Americans, loss of morality topped the list of the biggest problems facing the U.S. and Elshtain says the public is correct to sense that: Data show that Americans are struggling with problems unheard of in the 1950s, such as classroom violence and a high rate of births to unmarried mothers.
1996年的一项美国民意测验中，道德沦丧名列美国所面临的最严重的问题榜首。艾尔斯顿说，聪明的公众会认识到，资科表明美国人正在与50年代从未听到过的问题作斗争，如教室暴力和未媚母亲的高生育率。
The desire for a higher moral standard is not a lament for some nonexistent “golden age,” Elshtain says, nor is it a wishful longing for a time that denied opportunities to women and minorities. Most people, in fact, favor the lessening of prejudice.
艾尔斯顿说，人们渴望提高道德水准，这并不是对某个并不存在的“黄金时代”的挽歌，也不是一厢情愿地追求一种时代，在这种时代，社会拒绝给妇女和少数民族以机会。实际上，大多数人都赞成减少歧视。
Moral decline will not be reversed until people find ways to counter the materialism in society, she says. “Slowly, you recognize that the things that matter are those that cant’ be bought.”
她说，除非人们找到方法克服社会上的功利主义，否则道沦丧的局面无法扭转。她说：“慢慢地你会认识到，重要的东西是不能用钱买到的。”