为什么美国看不起欧洲?
2021-08-17 翻译熊 16057
正文翻译

Why does America look down on Europe?

为什么美国看不起欧洲?

评论翻译
Feng Jiaxin
This is not true at all from my experience. A lot of Americans look up to Europe. I think the only Americans who look down on Europeans are the highly conservative ones that stereotype Europe to be “full of socialism”. They reference things like atheism, recreational drug use, Muslim immigration, gun control laws, universal healthcare, gay marriage, and nudist colonies in Europe to “prove” their point (none of these things are socialism though…).
Europe to many Americans is prestigious. I speak in my boring middle-class London accent around random Americans and they immediately assume I am fancy and high class. The continent evokes images of sophistication, modernity, and what they wish the USA was more like. The major exception is Native Americans because most I have spoken to strongly dislike Europe (obviously), but other non-white Americans tend to like Europe. When it comes to most white Americans, they strongly emphasise their European heritage. White Americans were the ones who first developed ancestry DNA companies because of the high demand among white Americans to find out where exactly their European ancestors came from. White Americans will call themselves “Italian” or “Irish” even if their last ancestor born in Europe was from six generations ago and they barely carry on any Irish or Italian traditions today (let alone speak those languages). Mention the possibility that they might be part black and they go into denial mode, claiming it’s “probably Native American” instead (despite being statistically far less likely).

根据我的经验,完全不是这么回事。许多美国人尊敬欧洲人。我认为唯一看不起欧洲人的美国人是那些高度保守的人,他们把欧洲定型为“充满社会主义”。 他们引用无神论、娱乐性毒品使用、穆斯林移民、枪支管制法律、全民医疗、同性婚姻和欧洲的裸体主义来“证明”他们的观点(尽管这些东西都不是社会主义…)
对许多美国人来说,欧洲享有盛名。我用无聊的伦敦中产阶级口音跟随便几个美国人说话,他们马上就会认为我是上流社会的人。这片大陆让人联想到复杂、现代化的形象,以及他们希望美国更像什么。主要的例外是印第安人,因为我聊过的大多数人都非常不喜欢欧洲(当然原因显而易见),但其他非白人美国人倾向于喜欢欧洲。当谈到大多数美国白人时,他们强烈强调他们的欧洲传统。美国白人是最早成立研究祖先DNA的公司的人,因为美国白人对弄清他们的欧洲祖先到底来自哪里的需求很旺盛。美国白人会称自己为“意大利人”或“爱尔兰人”,即使他们在欧洲出生的上一位祖先是六代以前的人,而如今他们几乎没有延续任何爱尔兰或意大利的传统(更不用说说那些语言了)。当提到他们可能有部分黑人血统时,他们就会进入否认模式,声称“可能是印第安人”(尽管从统计数据来看可能性很小)。

I wouldn’t say the American admiration is true for all of Europe because most Americans are quite ignorant of the Europe that lies outside of the Western European region. Eastern Europe to many Americans is a total mystery. Americans probably only know of Russia and they may fear Russia but they probably do not know anything else about it. Western Europeans, by contrast can be incredibly discriminatory towards Eastern Europeans. They associate Eastern Europeans with communism, poverty, and sex trafficking (even if it is Western European men buying Eastern European women as sex slaves — they always blame the prostituted women). There’s also an underlying racial element that Eastern Europeans, mostly Russians, are not “purely European” and “too Asian”.
Western Europeans also love to look down on Americans. They treat the United States as an inferior. They think it’s crime-infested, riddled with backwards politics, has low living standards, is “cultureless” or has a trashy culture, and is in a constant state of social disorder. A lot of Americans think Europe is glorious and Europeans are beautiful.

我不会说美国人对整个欧洲的钦佩是真实的,因为大多数美国人对西欧地区之外的欧洲相当无知。东欧对许多美国人来说完全是个谜。美国人可能只知道俄罗斯,他们可能害怕俄罗斯,但他们可能对俄罗斯一无所知。相比之下,西欧人又对东欧人有着难以置信的歧视。他们把东欧人与共产主义、贫穷和性交易联系在一起(问题是,是西欧男人买东欧女人做性奴隶——然而他们总是指责妓女)。还有一个潜在的种族因素,东欧人,主要是俄罗斯人,不是“纯粹的欧洲人”,他们“太亚洲”。
西欧人也喜欢瞧不起美国人。他们把美国视为劣等国家。他们认为美国犯罪猖獗,政治落后,生活水平低,文化荒漠,社会一直处于混乱状态。很多美国人认为欧洲是光荣的,欧洲人是美丽的。

A lot of Europeans think the United States is a dump and Americans are fat idiots. There’s just a lot of negative stereotypes associated with the USA among educated Western Europeans. Your average Western European is quite friendly to Americans but they still hold a superiority complex over Americans. I have found most of them to be much more fond of Canada and Australia than the United States. There is a lot of genuine criticism of the United States, such as American exceptionalism and US imperialism. For example, the USA’s presence in the Middle East has negatively affected Europe by causing refugee crises; and since the US is the most powerful country in the world, no other nation can criticise or hold it accountable for the atrocities it commits (or even be aware that anything happened at all!). But I think many Europeans are just bitter that the United States is more powerful than them. I hardly ever see Eastern Europeans go on about how ignorant and terrible Americans are like Western Europeans do, despite them having far more reasons to dislike the US.

但很多欧洲人认为美国是垃圾场,美国人是肥胖的白痴。在受过教育的西欧人中,有很多关于美国的负面刻板印象。普通西欧人对美国人相当友好,但他们仍然对美国人抱有一种优越感。我发现他们中的大多数人更喜欢加拿大和澳大利亚,而不是美国。对美国有很多的批评,比如美国例外论和美帝国主义。例如,美国在中东的存在对欧洲造成了负面影响,造成了难民危机。由于美国是世界上最强大的国家,没有其他国家可以批评或追究它的暴行。但我认为,许多欧洲人只是因为美国比他们更强大而愤愤不平罢了。我很少看到东欧人像西欧人一样抱怨美国人有多无知和可怕,尽管他们有更多的理由讨厌美国。

This is quite evident in the UK where a lot of people seem nostalgic for the “olden days” when the British empire ruled the world. They harp on about how the US has too much of a grip on the world and that everything is becoming Americanised — as if the English language is not the world’s lingua franca and United States did not begin as a British colony (well, that, and a whole bunch of other European countries contributed since it wasn’t solely the British ravaging the Americas). Some would even say the United States is a continuation of the British empire, and by extension, Eurocolonialism itself. There’s also the constant mockery of Americans for being race-obsessed and racist when the concept of “racism” itself was invented by Europeans. The idea that there are “distinctive races” and that some are superior to others based on “science” is a relatively modern one that arose from the European age of imperialism. White people in the Americas are descended from European settlers (duh) and the state of the Americas today is the direct consequence of European colonisation. But yeah, sure, Americans are all raging racists and Europeans are always tolerant and never racist at all!

这一点在英国很明显,很多人似乎怀念大英帝国统治世界的“旧日时光”。他们喋喋不休地说,美国对世界的控制力太大,一切都在变得美国化,就好像英语不是世界通用语言、美国一开始也不是英国的殖民地似的。好吧,这一点,还有一大堆其他欧洲国家的贡献,因为不仅仅是英国曾在美洲大肆破坏。
有些人甚至会说,美国是大英帝国的延续,进而是欧洲殖民主义本身的延续。当“种族主义”这个概念本身是由欧洲人发明出来的时候,美国人却被嘲笑为种族迷恋者和种族歧视者。有“独特的种族”和基于“科学”的某些种族优于其他种族的观点,是起源于欧洲帝国主义时代的相对现代的观点。美洲的白人是欧洲殖民者的后裔(切!),而美洲今天的状况是欧洲殖民统治的直接后果。但是是的,当然,美国人都是愤怒的种族主义者,而欧洲人总是宽容的,从来不存在种族主义!

Steven Muzik
This isn’t my experience. I’m American, but have lived off/on in Europe for 16 years.
-I think that the urbane liberal western Europeans make a specific point of hating on the USA and Americans, more than any other group of people. Central Europeans a bit less so, and eastern Europeans not at all. The same way that liberal Americans are jumping over each other to show that they’re PC and not racist at all, Europeans are doing the same to show that they don’t like the US/Americans. A kind of virtue signaling and groupthink.
-I’ve had at least 25x more USA/American bashing comments from Europeans than Asians (lived in Asia 10 years).
-More small-town Europeans are friendlier towards Americans. Western Europeans I’ve known in the cities who are from smaller cities/towns tend to like the USA, or at least be curious and open-minded.
-In the USA, urbane liberal types theatrically look up to Europe and Europeans as their model of what works in a country/culture. They’re not wrong. However, the USA has more in common with Brazil than Denmark. Rural Americans are kind of ignorant or ambivalent to Europe, but not at all rude. A Dutch friend of mine has amazing stories of driving through the USA on backroads and constantly being invited to stay at homes and being the center of attention, in a good way. He loves the USA because he really experienced it.

这不是我的经验。我是美国人,但在欧洲住了16年了。
我认为温文尔雅的自由主义西欧人尤其讨厌美国和美国人,中欧人的这种情绪相对轻点,东欧人则完全没有这种情绪。就像自由主义的美国人为了表明他们是政治正确的人而不是种族主义者而互相攻击一样,欧洲人也在做同样的事情来表明他们不喜欢美国人。一种美德信号和群体思维。
我从欧洲听到的抨击美国的评论至少是亚洲人的25倍(也在亚洲生活了10年)。
欧洲小城镇居民对美国人更友好。我在城市里认识的来自小城镇的西欧人往往喜欢美国,或者至少是好奇和开放的态度。
在美国,彬彬有礼的自由主义者戏剧化地将欧洲和欧洲人视为一个国家/文化的典范。他们没有错。然而,与丹麦相比,美国与巴西的共同点更多。美国农村人对欧洲有些无知或矛盾,但一点也不粗鲁。我的一个荷兰朋友有一段令人惊奇的经历,他在美国的公路上开车,经常被邀请呆在家里,并以一种良好的方式成为关注的焦点。他喜欢美国是因为他真的经历过。

-Overall, I’d say Americans love and respect Europe/European culture, at least in the traditional sense. Russians may have a tougher situation, considering Hollywood’s portrayal and their more ‘difficult’ demeanor. But Americans and Russians have a lot in common. From my experience, we get along very well.
—Even conservative US cities have Oktoberfest, St. Patricks Day, British pubs, Italian restaurants, etc. If someone is half Italian, they boast that they’re “Italian”…same for “Irish”, “Czech”, whatever. A lot of Americans are searching for identity and find it in their name or DNA.
-A lot of western Europeans that talk down about the USA changed their minds after a visit to the states. Americans with Euro heritage are quite eager to connect with Europeans. This may not apply to hispanic, asian or black Americans, haven’t had those discussions or situations yet.
Travel is, and always has been, the best way to get over these misconceptions about one another, and from both sides of the Atlantic.

总的来说,我认为美国人热爱并尊重欧洲/欧洲文化,至少是传统意义上的。不过考虑到好莱坞的描述和俄罗斯人更为“负面”的举止,后者的处境可能更艰难。但美国人和俄罗斯人有很多共同点。从我的经验来看,我们相处得很好。
即使是保守的美国城市也有啤酒节、圣帕特里克节、英国酒吧、意大利餐馆等。如果有人有一半意大利血统,他们会吹嘘自己是“意大利人”,“爱尔兰人”、“捷克人”等等。许多美国人在寻找身份,并在他们的名字或DNA中找到身份。
许多贬低美国的西欧人在访问美国后改变了主意。有欧洲血统的美国人非常渴望与欧洲人建立联系。这可能不适用于西班牙裔,亚裔或美国黑人,他们还没有讨论过这些情况。
旅行是,而且一直都是克服这些误解的最好方法,无论是对彼此还是对大西洋两岸的人。

Sassan Behzadi
America-bashing is very common here on Quora. Especially from Western Europeans. They are sometimes joined by Australians and Canadians. The hate seems very visceral. There seems to be a sort of “love of seeing America fail” with statements like “China will soon overtake you guys’’. For the life of me I can't figure out why a European would like to see China's ascension and America’s demise when China’s government cares little about values that we share in the West. Do they really want a world dominated by China? Will they have better lives under a Chinese model?
I think what Western Europeans hate about America is the American self image of “Exceptionalism”. There is - no doubt - a level of arrogance in seeing yourself as an exception. And many Americans have that. I can understand how annoying that can be. On the other hand there is also some jealousy. We need to be honest here. In the same way an average folk may hate a millionaire or hate a highly successful person (and secretly hope that they fail), many Western Europeans wish to see a successful America fail.

在Quora上,抨击美国是很常见的,尤其是来自西欧的。澳大利亚人和加拿大人有时也会加入,这种厌恶似乎是发自内心的。
似乎有一种“喜欢看到美国失败”的说法,比如“中国很快就会超过你们这些家伙”。在我看来,我不明白为什么一个欧洲人想要看到中国的崛起和美国的灭亡,而中国压根不关心我们在西方共享的价值观。他们真的想要一个由中国主导的世界吗?他们在中国模式下会有更好的生活吗?
我认为西欧人讨厌美国的原因是美国人的“例外论”自我形象。毫无疑问,将自己视为例外是一种傲慢。很多美国人都有。我能理解那有多烦人,另一方面,也有一些嫉妒。
就像普通人可能讨厌百万富翁或非常成功的人(私下里希望他们失败),许多西欧人希望看到一个成功的美国失败。
我们需要诚实。

Camila Vaal
Indeed. I’ve heard countless stories of successful Americans on Quora followed by an European saying “Just wait til you visit a Doctor, you will lose everything” hoping they fail. Why do you want to see an American fail? They didn’t even do anything to you. Do you wish the same to other people being successful, regardless of the country?
But boy, do they love to compare the bottom 10% thinking that’s how the majority of Americans live.

确实。我在Quora上听过无数成功的美国人的故事,欧洲人说“等着看医生吧,你会失去一切的”,换言之希望他们失败。但你为什么想看到一个美国人失败?他们没对你做任何坏事。你是否也希望其他国家的人成功?
但是,孩子们,难道他们喜欢拿最下面10%的人做比较,认为这就是大多数美国人的生活方式吗?

Mithur Sheridan
“ China’s government cares little about values that we share in the West”
The point, for many of us, is just that: We don’t share values with you, we really don’t. We might share some centuries old roots, and thus we have somehow similar cultural aspects (languages, social structure)… but values? We can’t be more different even if we tried.

“中国不在乎我们西方共享的价值观”
对我们(欧洲)很多人来说,关键在于:我们和你们(美国)没有共同的价值观,真的没有。我们也许有共同的历史渊源,因此我们有相似的文化因素(语言,社会结构)。但是价值观?即使我们去尝试,也不会有太大的不同。

Brian Mead
We generally share values of democracy, free expression, state secularism, free (to an extent) markets, social welfare, limited government, rule of law, popular government, and humanistic focus. Compare China’s love of authoritarianism and emphasis on stability to the point they’ll roll the tanks on their own people and cover it up.

我们普遍认同民主、言论自由、国家世俗主义、自由(在一定程度上)市场、社会福利、有限政府、法治、民治和人文关怀等价值观。
相比之下,中国是对威权主义的热爱和对稳定的强调……。

Mithur Sheridan
No, you say you have those values, you don’t. Secularism? Which one was the last atheist you have as a president? Social welfare? Do you have that? Where is your public universal healthcare? Limited government you have, we don’t, and don’t want it. We don’t share the fallacy of the small government. Socialism is in the core of most of our constitutions, you hate it and despise it (out of ignorance and propaganda, which is, by the way, another core difference).
Just to say a few.
We don’t have the same values at all. That’s why European people is so antagonistic against americans, because you keep trying to say that we are the same (we are not), that your values are the same (they are not) and half of you presume to be europeans in some fashion or another (you are not).

你所谓的你拥有的这些价值观,不,你没有。
世俗主义? 你见过的最后一位无神论总统是谁? 社会福利? 你们有吗? 你们的公共全民医疗保健在哪里? 你们有一个有限的政府,我们没有,也不想要它。我们不认同小政府的谬论。社会主义是我们大多数宪法的核心,而你们讨厌和鄙视它(出于无知和宣传,顺便说一下,这是另一个我们和你们的核心区别)。
寥寥提到几点。
我们根本没有相同的价值观。这就是为什么欧洲人对美国人如此反感,因为你们一直试图说我们是一样的(我们不是),你们的价值观是一样的(它们不是)。你们中有一半人在某种程度上认为自己是欧洲人(你们不是)。

Brian Mead
Donald Trump is an Atheist. Can’t name a Bible verse and never goes to church.
”Socialism is in the core of most of our constitutions,”
Is it? I know it’s mentioned in a couple, but the last overtly Socialist state fell in 1992. Having a few nationalized industries and strong social programs is hardly being Socialist, especially against something like the Soviet unx. The Nordics and Germany are thriving examples of Social Democracy, but they remain fundamentally Capitalist because of their fundamental lean on private business and property ownership.
”Limited government you have, we don’t, and don’t want it.”
Limited government means there are certain things the government cannot do. For example, the government cannot imprison you for no reason. The government has to compensate you for any land or property it wishes to take; it can’t just send men with guns to seize it by force.
Are you so blind in your hatred, or are you truly this ignorant? Right now you’re acting like the morons who put “Freedom Fries” on the menu.
I will leave you with what sociologists think. In short, Americans are much more like many European countries than even other European countries are.

唐纳德·特朗普是无神论者,他说不出圣经任何一节的内容,也不去教堂。
“社会主义是我们大多数宪法的核心”
是吗?我知道有几篇文章提到过,但上一次公开的社会主义国家在1992年救垮台了。拥有一些国有化的工业和强大的社会项目很难标榜自己是社会主义,特别是跟像苏联这样的国家相比较。北欧和德国是社会民主主义的繁荣典范,但它们从根本上仍是资本主义国家,因为它们的根本依赖于私人企业和财产所有权。
“你们有一个有限的政府,我们没有,也不想要它。”
有限政府意味着有些事情政府不能做。例如,政府不能无缘无故地囚禁你。政府必须就其希望占用的任何土地或财产赔偿你; 它不能派人拿着枪强行夺取。你被仇恨蒙蔽了双眼,还是真的如此无知? 你现在的行为像个白痴一样。
我将把社会学家的想法留给你们。简而言之,美国人甚至比其他欧洲国家更像许多欧洲国家。

Greg Streib
I enjoyed the other answers. I will play along a bit, though. I do think that some Americans look down on Europe.
Some of this is related to race politics, which I will set aside for this discussion. This leaves us with those who embrace suburban living, and this is a fairly large group. Yes, many of these suburbanites travel to Europe, wear Paris t-shirts, drink French wine, and they are unshakable in their conclusion that America is number one.
Big homes, big lawns, backyards, big cars, attached garages, and large chunks of meat are viewed as evidence that we have redefined quality living here in America.
A certain portion of the US population thinks that the US deserves these “extras” because we have wealth that Europeans can only dream about.
Europe is “quaint” and “charming,” but obviously lacking in superfluous wealth. OK, some will say that this American advantage is a delusion, and I would agree, but I do think there is a segment of society that feels a bit sorry for the Europeans. How do they fit in those tiny cars! Do those old apartments in Paris have elevators?
As evidence for my claim, I point out that many elements of the European lifestyle are not exactly catching fire here in the US. Utrecht has a massive new bike parking lot and just a few of us here in America are interested. Most everything Trump says generates much horror, but his slaps at windmills fade quickly. Trains in Paris? Yes, they are wonderful, but crowded!

我喜欢其他的答案,不过我要单独补充一些内容。
我确实认为有些美国人看不起欧洲。其中一些与种族政治有关,我将把它放在一边讨论。这就给我们留下了那些喜欢郊区生活的人,这是一个相当大的群体。是的,许多郊区居民去欧洲旅行,穿巴黎t恤,喝法国葡萄酒,他们坚定不移地认为美国是世界第一。
大房子、大草坪、后院、大汽车、附加的车库和大块的肉被认为是我们在美国重新定义优质生活的证据。有一部分美国人认为,美国理应拥有这些“额外的”财富,因为我们拥有欧洲人只能梦想的财富。
欧洲“古雅”、“迷人”,但显然缺乏多余的财富。好吧,有些人会说美国的这种优势是一种错觉,我也同意,但我确实认为(美国)社会上有一部分人对欧洲人感到有点同情。他们怎么能装进那些小车里! 巴黎的那些旧公寓有电梯吗?
我得说,欧洲生活方式的许多元素在美国并不那么流行。乌得勒支有一个巨大的新自行车停车场,但只有我们寥寥数个美国人对此会感兴趣。特朗普说的每句话几乎都会引发恐慌,但他对风车的抨击很快就会消退。巴黎的火车?是的,它们很棒,但是太拥挤了!

Lennart Kjeldgaard Fischer
Is there any area, country, region or continent (outside USA), that America doesn't look down on?
If there is, I for sure haven't heard about it.
I suppose that the indoctrination of the people being inhabitants in the land of the free and the home of the brave have blurred the vision onto the rest of the world - maybe also due to an educational system, that benefits mostly the richest.
Whenever a country takes care of their sick and old citizens, some smart american politician calls it socialism and looks down on it.
When Europeans pay high taxes to support the poor, the unemployed or simply to make sure that only a few has to starve or simply die, because the can't afford going to the hospital or even buy medicine, some Washington DC politician calls it stupidity and looks down on it.
I suppose that Americans, who can't think for themselves, simply do the same
Therefore America looks down on Europe.
And with a democratic elected president, who admires Putin and Kim Jung Un, you have a long way to go, before you understand the European culture instead of just looking down on it.
Btw Europe is so fragmented and the countries so individual (though many of them stand United in the EU), that you have to be extraordinarily naive to look down on it as a whole.

美国看不起欧洲?这个世界有哪个地区、国家、大陆(美国除外)是美国看得起的?
如果有的话,我肯定没听说过。
我想,人们在自由的土地和勇敢的家园所受到的灌输,模糊了人们对世界其他地方的看法——也许也是由于一种教育制度,这种制度主要使最富有的人受益。
每当一个国家照顾他们的生病和年老的公民,一些聪明的美国政治家就会称之为社会主义,并鄙视它。当欧洲人为了支持穷人、失业者,或者仅仅是为了确保只有少数人会饿死或死亡,因为他们付不起去医院的钱,甚至买不起药,一些华盛顿特区的政客就会称之为愚蠢,并对此不屑一顾。
我想那些不能独立思考的美国人也会这样做,因此,美国看不起欧洲。鉴于他们有了一个崇拜普京和金正恩的民主选举出来的总统(特朗普),要理解欧洲文化,而不是轻视它,还有很长的路要走。
顺便说一下,欧洲是如此的支离破碎,国家又是如此的独立(尽管他们中的许多在欧盟中是统一的),你必须足够天真,才会把它作为一个整体来轻视。

Ty Doyle
They don’t. The reality - at least in my opinion - is actually kind of funny: I think that the vast majority of Americans don’t look down at Europe in the least, but among those who do, it’s usually stemming from having a chip on their shoulder that Europeans allegedly look down on us.
Similarly, I don’t consider garden-variety criticism of the US to be “looking down” on the country, but the few Europeans I’ve met who are rabidly anti-American seem almost obsessed with the US and its superpower status.
In other words, you’ve got two groups of people worried that they’re the “little brother” and aren’t getting enough respect.

他们没有看不起欧洲人。
现实是,至少在我看来,实际上是种有趣的看法—— 我认为绝大多数的美国人至少不会看不起欧洲,但在那些看不起欧洲人的人中,通常是因为他们内部有一种风气,认为据说欧洲人看不起我们。
同样,我不认为对美国的普通批评是“看不起”这个国家,但我遇到的少数几个狂热反美的欧洲人似乎完全痴迷于美国及其超级大国地位。换句话说,这两组人担心他们成了“小弟弟”,没有得到足够的尊重。

Bill Puka
I used to feel this way toward Europe. And it was because many of their practices and institutions seemed mired in an overly quaint past. They were not advancing in industrialization, sci-tech and such as quickly as we were, not its applications to daily life. They seemed backwards as compared to progressive and modern. Most people I met there shared this view. And there was something to it.
This is not to say I was not impressed with the way of life, the outlook there, the kind of social wisdom possessed and richness of culture. We never came up to that and likely never will. We started somewhat as the dregs of Europe, capping our brave colonization of The New Land wiwth slavery and indigenous genocide. No one could rape a land as we did.
Now I look at measures of thinks like education, health care, safety, quality of life and happiness, difficulty of work life, affordability of normal life (rent for example) and I see the US not only falling far down the list, but disappearing. And while I’m hardly nationalistic, it’s a daily heartbreak to me. It pisses me off too when we get an asshole president, vowing to Make America Great again, and everyday making it seriously worse—heading in the wrong direction on almost all fronts. What a disgrace.

我曾经常常看不起欧洲。这是因为他们的许多做法和制度似乎陷入了一种过于古怪的过去。他们在工业化、科技等方面的进步不如我们快,在日常生活中的应用也不如我们快。与进步和现代相比,他们似乎是落后的。我在那里遇到的大多数人都同意这个观点。这是有道理的。
这并不是说我对那里的生活方式、人生观、所拥有的社会智慧和丰富的文化印象不深。我们一开始就有点像欧洲的渣滓——用奴隶制和土著种族灭绝给我们在新大陆的勇敢殖民授勋,没有人能像我们那样掠夺土地。
现在,我看看教育、医疗、安全、生活质量和幸福、工作生活的难度、正常生活的负担能力(比如房租)等指标,我发现美国不仅在榜单上跌得很远,而且正在消失。
虽然我不是民族主义者, 但这样的情况每天都让我心碎。当我们有一个混蛋总统,发誓要让美国再次伟大,却每天让它变得更糟——几乎在所有方面都朝着错误的方向前进时,我也很生气。
真是耻辱。

Shawn Ferguson
I’ve lived in Germany for 3 years. Met wonderful people when not near the installation I was based at.
Lots of wonderful stories involving Americans and Germans having fun, up to mischief and long lasting friendships.
I met some that went out of their way to bad mouth the US and our presence in Europe.
They were usually shut down quickly.
I traveled through Belgium, Luxembourg while there. And again outside most of the larger cities. As an American I didn’t see any anger or hostility.
Europe has many fine things to enjoy. I miss the bakeries and the smell of fresh bread. The beer guy that delivers racks of beer to the house. The fests and other holidays.
The sights and historic places all over.
I don’t miss everything closing early on Saturday and nothing open on Sunday. But you get used to it.
I eventually met and married a Dutch woman. And will look forward to returning to Europe for vacations.
Neither side of the pond enjoys each other bad mouthing the other. If more people traveled back and forth their perceptions may change.
But there will always be assholes on both sides.

我在德国住了3年了,我遇到了很棒的人。
经历许多精彩的故事,涉及美国人和德国人的乐趣,以至恶作剧和持久的友谊。
我在那里游历了比利时和卢森堡,以及大多数大城市之外的地方。作为一个美国人,我没有看到任何愤怒或敌意;欧洲有许多美好的事物可以享受;我想念面包店和新鲜面包的味道;那个送啤酒的家伙,把成堆的啤酒送到家里;这里的节日和其他节日;到处都是名胜古迹。
我不怀念周六提早打烊,周日没有营业的一切,但你会习惯的。
我最终遇到了一个荷兰女人并娶了她。并期待着回到欧洲度假。
双方都不喜欢对方说自己的坏话。如果更多的人来回旅行,他们的看法可能会改变。
当然,双方都有混蛋。

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