美国价值观(中英文对照)

Basic American Values and Beliefs

基本的美国价值观和信仰

Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance

个人自由和自力更生

The earliest settlers came to the North American continent to establish colonies which were free from the controls that existed in European societies. They wanted to escape the controls placed on their lives by kings and governments,priests and churches,noblemen and aristocrats. To a great extent,they succeeded. In 1776 the British colonial settlers declared their independence from England and established a new nation,the United States of America. In so doing,they overthrew the king of England and declared that the power to govern would lie in the hands of the people. They were now free from the power of the king. In 1789,when they wrote the Constitution for their new nation,they separated church and state so that there would never be a government-supported church. Also,in writing the Constitution they expressly forbade titles of nobility to ensure that an aristocratic society would not develop. There would be no ruling class of noblemen in the new nation.

最早的定居者来到北美大陆建立殖民地是自由的控制存在于欧洲社会。他们想逃避国王和政府的控制他们的生活,牧师和教会、贵族和贵族中流行。在很大程度上,他们成功了。1776年,英国殖民定居者宣布脱离英国独立,建立了一个新国家,美利坚合众国。这样做,他们推翻了英格兰国王,宣布权力治理将躺在人民的手中。他们现在没有国王的力量。在1789年,当时他们写宪法为他们的新国家,他们教会和国家分离,不会有一个由政府支持的教会。同时,在写宪法明确禁止贵族头衔的,以确保一个贵族社会不会发展。就没有贵族统治阶级的新国家。

The historic decisions made by those first settlers have had a profound effect on the shaping of the American character. By limiting the power of the government and eliminating a formal aristocracy,they created a climate of freedom where the emphasis was on the individual. The United States came to be associated in their minds with the concept of individual freedom. This is probably the most basic of all the American values.

历史决定的第一批移民有一个对美国人的性格的形成产生深远的影响。通过限制政府权力和消除一个正式的贵族,他们创造了一个气候重点是个体的自由。美国有关在他们心目中与个人自由的概念。这可能是最基本的美国价值观。

Scholars and outside observes often call this value”individualism,”but many Americans use the word”freedom. ”Perhaps the word”freedom” is one of the most respected popular words in the United States today.

学者和外部观察通常称之为价值“个人主义”,但许多美国人使用“自由这个词。“也许“自由”这个词是当今美国最受尊敬的流行词。

There is,however,a price to be paid for this individual freedom:self-reliance. Americans believe that individuals must learn to rely on themselves or risk losing freedom. This means achieving both financial and emotional independence from their parents as early as possible,usually by age 18 or 21. It means that Americans believe they should take care of themselves,solve their own problems,and”stand on their own two feet. ”Tocqueville observed the Americans’ belief in self-reliance 150years ago in the 1830s:

然而,要付出代价这种个人自由:自力更生。美国人认为,个人必须学会依靠自己,否则可能失去自由。这意味着实现金融和情感尽早独立于他们的父母,通常通过18岁或21。这意味着美国