“美國夢”在悄然改變

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:設想，想象；City upon a Hill:山巔之城，來自耶穌“登山寶訓”中“鹽和光”的寓言，耶穌告知門徒:“你們是世上之光。山巔之城，無法隱藏?！痹撛~進入美國歷史，是因清教徒領袖約翰·溫思羅普（John Winthrop）曾在《基督慈善之典范》中對后來的馬薩諸塞灣移民放言：“我們將抵達那山巔之城（a city upon the hill），受萬眾瞻仰?！?/p>

2. intently: 專注地；almighty:萬能的，全能的。

3.對大多數美國人而言，其人生信條即為追求即時的——盡管難以捉摸的——滿足。albeit:盡管，縱然；gratification:滿足，喜悅。

4.savvy:機智的，有頭腦的；game show:游戲節目，游戲表演；lucrative:賺錢的，可獲利的。

5. Benjamin Franklin: 本杰明.富蘭克林,美國政治家、哲學家和文學家，曾參與美國獨立戰爭并參與起草《獨立宣言》；下文提到的“Poor Richard（窮理查）”是他撰寫、刊登《窮理查年鑒》時用的化名；counsel:提供建議，勸告。

6. u biquitous:無所不在的，普遍的；rags to riches:從赤貧到暴富；cornerstone:奠基石，基礎。

7. 流水線作業和機器驅動的美國工業化氛圍吞噬了大量的技術工人，人們的工作觀念發生了巨大的改變。swallow up:吞沒，吞噬。

8.二戰的余波又加劇了這一觀念的轉變，消費文化蓬勃發展，美國人開始漸漸被物質產品所迷惑。aftermath:余波，后果；exacerbate:加重，惡化；be preoccupied with:使……專注于，被……迷住。

9. craftsmanship:技術。

10. entitlement:賦予的權利。

11.大量的營銷手段使得可以快速、輕松地獲取財富這一觀念深入人心并成為理所當然。perpetuate:使永存，使不朽；legitimize:使合法，使成為正當。

12. abide by: 遵從；tenet: 信條，宗旨。

13. socio-corporate:社會企業。

14. latch on to:理解某想法、某說法；core: 核心。

15. enthrall with:使迷惑，迷住。

16.shot:運氣，機會；cash in:從某物中獲利。

17. long shot: 風險大的賭注。

18. erode: 腐蝕，侵蝕；self-reliance:自力更生，依靠自己； embody: 體現，代表。

19. spill over:從某物中溢出，蔓延。

20.如此多的美國人都愿意利用訴訟趁機謀利，來實現自己的“美國夢”——這個事實真令人失望。litigation:訴訟，起訴；disheartening: 令人沮喪的，失望的。

21. plaintiff:原告。

22. avalanche:雪崩，此處an avalanche of比喻廣告鋪天蓋地。

23. sue: 控告，起訴。

24. covet:覬覦，垂涎；undercut:削弱，廉價出售。

25. culpable:有罪的，該受懲罰的；capitalize:充分利用某事物，從某事物中獲利。

26. ironic: 具有諷刺意味的；dangle:用某事物誘惑，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:將（計劃、意見等）擱置，暫緩考慮?！皍nshelve”是作者自創的一個詞，“un-”作前綴，表示“做……相反的動作”，因此“unshelve”的意思即為“不能將某事擱置一邊”。

2. multiculturalism: 多元文化主義；embrace:欣然接受，樂意采納。

3. heritage: 遺產，傳統。

4.從多個方面來看，取代經典文本這一舉動已經產生了適得其反的結果。backfire:（內燃機等）發生逆火，回火。

5. atrocity: 兇惡的行為，殘暴的行為；endure:忍耐，忍受。

6. Uncle Toms Cabin: 美國作家哈里特·比徹·斯托（Harriet Beecher Stowe）于1852年發表的一部反奴隸制小說，是19世紀最暢銷的小說，并被認為是刺激19世紀50年代廢奴主義興起的一大原因；abolitionist era:（美國）廢奴運動時期，廢奴運動指的是大致從19世紀30年代初開始在美國北部興起的要求徹底廢除黑人奴隸制的群眾運動，下文的abolitionist意為“廢奴主義者”；address: 討論，論述。

7. autobiography: 自傳；Booker T. Washington:布克·華盛頓（1856—1915），美國政治家、教育家和作家，他于1895年發表了著名的亞特蘭大演說——《亞特蘭大種族和解聲明》（Atlanta Compromise），使他聞名全國，成為該時期美國黑人的代言人，其自傳Up From Slavery（《超越奴役》）1901年出版，至今仍廣為流傳；hostile: 不友善的，含敵意的。

8.unprecedented:前所未聞的，絕無僅有的；James Baldwin: 詹姆斯·鮑德溫（1924—1987），美國作家、小說家、詩人、劇作家和社會活動家。他的不少作品關注20世紀中葉美國的種族問題和性解放運動，代表作有小說《向蒼天呼吁》（Go Tell It on the Mountain）等；torment: 折磨，使痛苦。

9.前兩句提到的狄更斯的小說分別是《大衛·科波菲爾》和《霧都孤兒》，均是家喻戶曉的經典名著。

10. John Locke: 約翰·洛克（1632—1704），英國的哲學家，代表作有《論寬容》（A Letter Concerning Toleration）和《政府論》（Two Treatises of Government）。他在自由和社會契約上的理論影響了后來的亞歷山大· 漢密爾頓、托馬斯·杰斐遜以及其他許多美國開國元勛，其政治理論極大地影響了美國憲法及《獨立宣言》；principal: 首要的，最重要的。

11. C. S. Lewis: C.S.路易斯（1989—1963），愛爾蘭裔英國知名作家和神學學者，以兒童文學作品《納尼亞傳奇》（The Chronicles of Narnia）聞名；Mr. Badger: 老獾先生，是肯尼斯·格雷厄姆（Kenneth Grahame）的經典兒童小說《柳林風聲》（The Wind in the Willows）中的角色，它正直忠誠，俠義十足而具有領袖風范，深受廣大讀者喜愛；humanity: 人道，博愛。

12. Todd Gitlin: 托德·吉特林（1943— ），美國社會學家、小說家和文化評論家，現任美國哥倫比亞大學新聞學院教授；glut: 大量，供大于求，info-glut即“信息過量”之意；fluff: 微不足道、無關緊要的事物；obsolescence: 廢棄，淘汰；Jane Austen: 簡·奧斯?。?775—1817），英國著名女性小說家；Balzac: 巴爾扎克（1799－1850），法國19世紀著名批判現實主義作家；pecuniary: 金錢上的，錢財方面的；squeeze: 榨取，壓榨。

13. Dostoyevsky:陀思妥耶夫斯基（1821—1881），俄國著名作家，代表作有《罪與罰》（Crime and Punishment）和《卡拉馬佐夫兄弟》（The Brothers Karamazov）等；Melville:此處指赫爾曼·梅爾維爾（1819—1891），美國作家，代表小說《白鯨》；Douglas: 此處指喬治·諾曼·道格拉斯（1868–1952），蘇格蘭小說家和游記作家；chaff: 谷殼，糠，比喻廢物，無價值的東西。在這一引言中，吉特林列舉了來自不同國家不同文化的文人作家及他們所關注的人生主題，意在指出這些作品經受住了時間的考驗，流傳至今成為了經典，對世人的價值是不可估量的。

14. transient: 短暫的，轉瞬即逝的。

15. Walden : 《瓦爾登湖》，是美國作家亨利·戴維·梭羅（Henry David Thoreau）所著的一本著名散文集，詳盡描述了他在瓦爾登湖湖畔一片再生林中度過兩年零兩月的生活以及期間他的許多思考。

16. perspective: 觀點，想法。

17. appeal to: 有吸引力，投其所好；prestige:（由于財富等而產生的）顯赫。

18. wishful: 渴望的，急切希望的；reverie:幻想，白日夢；batten:養肥，喂肥；此句中提到的三部作品均為具有豐富想象力的奇幻小說，分別是《奧德賽》、《暴風雨》和《歐魯勃洛斯之蟲》（英國作家Eric Eddison于1922年所著的奇幻小說，描述了一個名叫“水星”星球上的英雄故事；posh:豪華的，精美的。

19. askesis: 又寫作ascesis，意為“苦行，禁欲”。

20. stimulus: 刺激物，促進因素。

21. 一旦我們的思想走向成熟，我們就可以更好地回報社會。

22. conform to: 順從，遵照；Eurocentric: 以歐洲為中心的。

23. clichéd: 老生常談的。

24. Arnold Bennett: 阿諾德·本涅特（1867—1931），英國作家、劇作家和評論家，代表作有《五鎮上的安娜》（Anna of the Five Towns）和《老婦人的故事》（The Old Wives Tale）；miraculous: 神奇的，不可思議的。

閱讀感評

西方自20世紀最后幾十年興起后現代、后殖民思潮以來，便開始了對既定權威的顛覆和對所謂多元化（diversity）的追求。這一點反映在文化經典（canon）領域，便是借消解西方中心主義之名，一味強調其構成的非穩定性，大肆剔除傳統上的名家名作，而把大量原本屬邊緣化的少數族裔、弱勢群體等創造的文本乃至過去經典根本不予考慮的未受較長時段歷史考驗的時文納入其中。這種現象在美國尤其普遍，而且正受到崇尚政治正確、文化正確之士的追捧，影響不可謂不深遠。因此，才會出現原文作者所憂慮以至反對的所謂“大多數中學與大學都有一種用更多樣化的書目清單去替換經典文獻的動向。新課程在內容上以當今社會話題為主，著重教授多元文化以及體現所有文化的觀念”云云。

要正視此問題，我們首先要看一看這種現象的存在是否具有一定的合理性。長期以來，西方經典是以主流文化中的白種人創作為標準，絕少有其他的內容；而英美文化經典更是把所謂的盎格魯—撒克遜（Anglo-Saxon）來源奉為圭臬，英倫三島如此，北美地區也概莫例外。這里就產生了一個問題，北美地區尤其是美國人口與文化的構成非常復雜，有印第安的土著，有歐洲殖民者，還有來自全球幾乎所有地域所有文化體的移民。因此，傳統上僅承認盎格魯—撒克遜血統為經典的正宗，顯然是代表性失衡，對于美國人口構成中的很大一部分有欠公平公正。再則，我們當今所處的時代，對許多人來說傳媒視覺形象的沖擊要遠遠超過文本閱讀的魅力，信息爆炸、知識過剩，同時又非常講求現實性與實用性，是經世致用之學得到大力倡導并大行其道的時代。因此，在知識與信息上追求與當下的相關聯性，在文化經典上質疑“永遠有多遠”，“不求天長地久”等等也就能得到許多人的諒解甚至理解了。

不過，盡管如此，一個國家、一個民族的文化經典，其核心的部分應該是相對穩定的，其構成方式必須是經過歷史上較長時間的優勝劣汰、去偽存真、去粗存精后經久不衰的那部分典范之作，而非簡單地像西方議會席位的地方名額分配或者聯合國的一國一票制。也就是說，文化經典基本不是一個分布構成代表性是否全面公平的問題，而是一個價值、口碑與影響大小的問題。因此，當今無限擴大收錄范圍同時大量壓縮傳統權威文本的經典重構策略就很值得商榷了，因為這種重組方式建構的讀本恐怕讓學生最終獲得的是各族裔文化概論知識而非對一國文化經典的系統了解。

另外，消解甚至拋棄經典顯然不妥。雖然當今社會不可能像西方文藝復興與啟蒙時代以及中國的“五四運動”之前那樣，學校教育基本上就是人文主義的經典教育。我們早已為學校教育增加了許多重要的新內容。但是，作為一個民族千百年積存下來文化寶藏的結晶，經典確有其無法替代的力量，因為它傳達的決不僅僅是信息或知識本身！從文化傳承來看，若概括原文作者的說法，經典體現著“傳統精神的諸多重要方面”，有助于我們理解一個民族的歷史文化傳統；以個人修養而言，原作者認為它能讓我們開闊眼界、啟迪心靈、陶冶情操，發揮著建構我們的“世界觀”、幫助我們應對當今世界出現的新問題等多重作用。雖然原作者用了一些例證來說明以上“大道理”，但可能還是抵擋不住當今諸多死心塌地的“務實主義者”的關于“花時間讀經典到底能有多少實用性”的一再追問。在筆者看來，讀經典尤其是人文經典的實用價值，坦率地講，似乎是沒有的，因為有點實用的知識都已收入各個專門學科里了。朱自清曾在其《經典常談》的序言里說：“經典訓練的價值不在實用，而在文化。......做一個有相當教育的國民，至少對于本國的經典也有接觸的義務?！贝搜詷O是，畢竟在大學求學與手工藝人的技能培訓有較大區別。大學生僅僅掌握若干工具的用法還不夠，夯實基礎、提高素養、追求“無用之用”無疑是大學教育的應有之義，而閱讀經典、見識經典應該是其中一個重要的環節。?