梅森-迪克森线仍然分裂国家

在成人世界中，决心可能更加难以捉摸。

The presidential race results coming in on our Zenith black-and-white television clashed with our bedtime on Nov. 5, 1968.

1968 年 11 月 5 日，我们的 Zenith 黑白电视上公布的总统竞选结果与我们的就寝时间发生了冲突。

My sister wrote: “Who won the election?” on the chalkboard and then put Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey’s name below them and a box beside each name.

我姐姐写道：“谁赢得了选举？”写在黑板上，然后将理查德·尼克松和休伯特·汉弗莱的名字放在下面，并在每个名字旁边画一个方框。

The idea was that my parents, up late, would learn the outcome and make an X in the proper box, and we, waking early, we would see it and be immediately informed of the news.

我的想法是，我的父母，在很晚的时候，会了解结果，并在适当的框中画一个X，而我们，早起，我们会看到它，并立即获悉这个消息。

A child’s eagerness: Tell me now.

孩子的渴望：现在告诉我。

How does the story end?

故事的结局如何？

In the adult world, resolution can be far more elusive.

在成人世界中，决心可能更加难以捉摸。

So while the stakes could not be higher — the politics of fabrication, grievance and vengeance, shredding democratic norms or adhering to big tent Democratic aspirations and respecting the time-honored habits of democracy — the outcome of one the most acrimonious elections in American history is still being sorted out.

因此，虽然赌注再高不过了——捏造政治、不满和报复、撕碎民主规范或坚持大帐篷民主愿望并尊重民主的历史悠久的习惯——但美国历史上最激烈的选举之一的结果是仍在整理中。

The coin has been flipped and now spins maddeningly on the table. Where will it fall? What kind of country are we going to be?

硬币已经翻转，现在在桌子上疯狂地旋转。会掉到哪里呢？我们要成为一个什么样的国家？

Though it’s not looking good for Harris, we might have to wait days for final results.

虽然哈里斯的情况看起来不太好，但我们可能需要等待几天才能得到最终结果。

I would never be so glib as to say it doesn’t matter. Though it might be comforting — or terrifying — to look around and ask instead: What kind of country are we now? A Trump or a Harris victory would take us in very different directions. Either way, we’ll still be starting from right here, with all of the conflict and animosity raging today.

我绝不会圆滑地说这不重要。尽管环顾四周并问自己：我们现在是一个什么样的国家，这可能会让人感到安慰，也可能会让人害怕？特朗普或哈里斯的胜利将把我们带向截然不同的方向。不管怎样，我们仍然会从这里开始，今天所有的冲突和敌意都在肆虐。

This is a struggle that did not begin with Trump, who undercuts voting, the press, the courts, civil society while routinely maligning ethnic minorities — as I’ve said for years, he is not a cause but a symptom of longstanding American inclinations — and will not end now no matter who wins.

这场斗争并非始于特朗普，他削弱投票、媒体、法院和公民社会，同时经常诽谤少数族裔——正如我多年来所说，他不是美国长期倾向的原因，而是其症状——无论谁获胜，现在都不会结束。

I remember, in 2016, pondering while the vote was being tabulated, looking at the election map, seeing the divide between the blue in the north and the red in the south and thinking: “It’s the Mason-Dixon line. We’re still fighting the Civil War.”

我记得在 2016 年，当投票结果被制成表格时，我看着选举地图，看到北部的蓝色和南部的红色之间的分界线，心想：“这是梅森-迪克森线。我们仍在打内战。”

Think about it. The institution of slavery was the central cause of that conflict. To be able to treat people as slaves, you had to deny their humanity and consider them chattel, property you can buy or sell.

想一想。奴隶制是这场冲突的核心原因。为了能够将人们视为奴隶，你必须否认他们的人性，并将他们视为动产，即你可以买卖的财产。

Look at the top Republicans issues — immigration, reproductive choice, trans rights. They’re still busy fingering classes of people whose dignity and integrity can be snatched away.

看看共和党最关心的问题——移民、生育选择、变性人权利。他们仍然忙着指摘那些尊严和正直可能被剥夺的人。

The United States has been at an impasse for eight years. Neither four years of a Trump presidency, from 2017 to 2021, ending in the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, nor four years of Joe Biden’s administration that followed, has tilted the playing field in one direction or the other. It’s coming down to a handful of votes in a few battleground states. Again.

美国已经陷入僵局八年了。从 2017 年到 2021 年，特朗普担任总统的四年（以 2021 年 1 月 6 日国会大厦发生叛乱告终），以及随后乔·拜登执政的四年，都没有使竞争环境向一个方向或另一个方向倾斜。这取决于几个战场州的少数选票。再次。

Myself, I feel a certain calm. Say what you will about Trump, for someone who has told thousands of documented lies, he can be very frank, especially over the past few weeks. Very direct about who he is and what he stands for. You can’t say anyone was deceived who didn’t want to be deceived.

我自己也感到一定的平静。不管你对特朗普有什么看法，对于一个说过数千个有记录的谎言的人来说，他可以非常坦率，尤其是在过去几周。非常直接地表达他是谁以及他代表什么。你不能说任何不想被欺骗的人都被欺骗了。

And Harris — like Biden, originally an unexceptional party hack — rose to the occasion. I find myself indulging in sports metaphor: She left it all on the field. Since her boss flamed out on national television in June, she ramped up quickly and campaigned forcefully.

哈里斯——就像拜登一样，原本是一名普通的政党黑客——挺身而出。我发现自己沉迷于体育隐喻：她把一切都留在了球场上。自从六月份她的老板在国家电视台失声后，她迅速崛起并大力宣传竞选活动。

The choice was clear. And stark. Regardless of who wins, the hard work is still cut out for us — beginning with thwarting the possibility of a second coup.

选择是明确的。而且很鲜明。无论谁获胜，我们仍然需要付出艰苦的努力——从阻止第二次政变的可能性开始。

On Monday, my mother called.

星期一，我妈妈打来电话。

“Are you moving to Canada if Trump wins?” she asked. “Because we’ll go with you.”

“如果特朗普获胜，你会搬到加拿大吗？”她问道。 “因为我们会和你一起去。”

“No, Mom, I’m staying right here,” I replied. “It’s still my country.”

“不，妈妈，我就待在这里，”我回答道。 “这仍然是我的国家。”

Flight is a pipe dream. Would-be strongmen are on the rise the world over; Canada has its own rising strongman waiting in the wings, Pierre Poilievre. You can’t run from trouble. It finds you.

飞行是一个白日梦。世界各地的未来强者正在崛起。加拿大有自己冉冉升起的强人，皮埃尔·普利耶夫尔 (Pierre Poilievre) 正在伺机而动。你无法逃避麻烦。它找到你了。

Besides, people rarely leave. The closest I actually encountered was a former state rep who told me she and her husband had bought a condo in Portugal to sit out Trump 2.0. I made a face.

此外，人们很少离开。我实际遇到的最接近的是一位前州代表，她告诉我她和她的丈夫在葡萄牙买了一套公寓，以静观特朗普 2.0。我做了个鬼脸。

“I plan to be on the last train out,” I said. “Not the first.”

“我打算坐最后一班火车出去，”我说。 “不是第一个。”

Cowardice knows no party. How much can you love America if you turn tail and run when the going gets rough?

怯懦不分党派。如果你在遇到困难时转身逃跑，你能爱美国多少？