二、美国民主沉疴难愈
II. American democracy in chronic ills文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
美国无视当前自身民主面临的种种问题和制度危机，固执地认为美国民主仍然是全球样板、民主灯塔。这种妄自尊大不仅让美国民主弊病积重难返，也让世界各国继续深受其害。文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
The US refuses to acknowledge the many problems and institutional crises confronting its democracy at home and stubbornly claims to be the template and beacon of democracy for the world. Such imperiousness perpetuates the ills of its democracy and causes dire consequences for other countries.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
（一）美国民主颓势持续加重文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
1. American democracy in further decline文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14320.html
美国民主制度好似外表光鲜的舞台，各路政客你方唱罢我登场，但无论表演多么精彩，都难掩许多长期的严重积弊和始终难以解决的无奈现实。法国《世界报》指出，2022年是美国民主经历怀疑的一年，一场无声的内战已在美国扎根，修复受损的民主需要国家意识和公共利益意识，但目前两者都缺乏，对美国这样一个长期自视为典范的国家来说实属悲哀。瑞典智库“国际民主及选举协助研究所”2022年将美国列入“退步的民主国家名单”。
The functioning of American democratic institutions may look as lively as a circus, with politicians of all stripes showing off themselves one after another. But however boisterous the show is, it cannot hide the lethargy in addressing the long-standing, grave problems. Le Monde points out that 2022 is a year of doubt for US democracy. A silent civil war has taken root in the US, and repairing damaged democracy requires a sense of nation and public interest, both of which are currently lacking. This is sad for a country that has long held itself up as a model. In 2022, the Swedish think tank International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance added the US to its “list of regressive democracies”.
2021年1月6日发生的美国国会暴乱已过去两年，但美国的民主体系并未也难以真正吸取教训，政治暴力还在发展恶化。《华盛顿邮报》《纽约客》指出，美国民主正处于前所未有的糟糕状态，国会暴乱事件充分暴露出社会撕裂、政治分裂以及虚假信息大行其道。国会两党虽然都意识到美式民主的陈年弊病，但在日益极化的党派政治氛围中，出于各自利益，都缺乏革新决心和魄力。
Two years after the Capitol riots on 6 January 2021, the US system of democracy still has difficulty in learning the lessons, as political violence continued to grow and deteriorate. The Washington Post and The New Yorker observe that American democracy is in a worse state than ever before, with the congressional riots fully exposing social rifts, political divisions and rampant misinformation. The two parties, although not unaware of the age-old ills of American democracy, have neither the resolve nor the courage to pursue changes, given the increasingly polarized political atmosphere, as well as their focus on party interests.
2022年，美国国会再度瘫痪，原因不是因为暴乱，而是源于党派恶斗。第118届国会众议长难产闹剧连演4天，最终历经15轮投票才选出众议长。在最后一轮表决中，共和党、民主党分化决裂，票只投给自己人。《纽约时报》称，美国国会未来两年还可能反复陷入这种混乱状态。美国一家政治咨询公司主席布拉德·班农直言：“众议院在此次风波中闹得一团糟，再次表明美国政治机构在衰落。”
In 2022, the US Congress was brought into another paralysis, not by riots, but by partisan fights. The farce of failing to elect the 118th House speaker lasted four days and a decision was only reached after 15 rounds of voting. In the last round, divisions were such that Republicans and Democrats voted strictly along party lines. The New York Times warned that Congress could see repeated chaos like this over the next two years. Brad Bannon, president of a US political consultancy, put it bluntly, “The impasse in the US House of Representatives over the election of the Speaker is another demonstration of the decline in our political institutions.”
美国各界也忧心忡忡。布鲁金斯学会2022年发布报告指出，曾经引以为荣的美国民主制度面临系统性危机，正加速走向衰败，对国内政治、经济、社会的影响已从局部走向整体，将对资本主义的合法性和未来发展带来严重危害。卡内基国际和平基金会报告称，美国民主制度正随着美式资本主义固有弊病的加重而加速衰落，处于危险转折点。投票限制、选举舞弊、政府失信等多重挑战将加速美国民主解体。欧亚集团总裁伊恩·布雷默撰文指出，美国民主制度功能失调使人们担忧2024年总统大选可能再度引发暴力事件。大量社会热点问题持续引发公众愤怒和对美国政治机构合法性的质疑，不少民众担心如此下去不知美国民主制度还能正常运转多久。
This has aroused concerns among the general public. The Brookings Institution concludes in a 2022 report that the once proud American democracy is facing a systemic crisis and is accelerating its decline. The impact is spreading to all fronts in domestic politics, the economy and society, posing a mortal threat to the legitimacy and health of capitalism. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace warns in a report that American democracy is at a dangerous inflection point, declining faster as the inherent ills of American capitalism worsen. Multiple challenges such as voting restrictions, election fraud, and loss of trust in government are accelerating the disintegration of American democracy. Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, writes that America’s dysfunctional politics raises fears that the 2024 presidential election would again provoke deadly violence in the country. A large number of hot button issues continued to provoke public anger and questions on the legitimacy of the US political establishment. Many worried about how long American democracy could continue to function.
（二）两党争斗加剧政治极化
2. Political polarization intensified by partisan fights
民主党和共和党都面临内部激进派别的崛起，在选民基础、意识形态、身份认同等方面日益泾渭分明，传统上基于政策妥协的党际平衡难以为继。两党不仅视对方为政治对手，而且是对国家的威胁。《纽约书评》刊文指出，美国已是“两国之国”，共和党和民主党分别领衔两个尖锐对立的国民群体，各自形成一个联邦政府。美利坚合众国已成为美利坚分裂国，“两个美国”之间的不和日益加深，政治极化达到前所未有的严重状况。
With radical factions rising in both the Democratic and Republican Parties, the two were increasingly at odds in many aspects, such as voter base, ideology and identity. As a result, the traditional inter-party balance based on policy compromise became more difficult to sustain. The two parties saw each other not only as political opponents, but also as a threat to the country. The New York Review of Books points out that America is already “a binational state” with the Republicans and Democrats leading two sharply opposed national communities that effectively operate as confederations under a single federal government. The United States of America has become the disunited states. The discord between “the two Americas” was deepening day by day, and political polarization reached an unprecedented level.
两党内斗轮番升级，政党利益、集团利益被置于国家利益之上，相互攻击和指责无所不用其极。2022年8月8日，前总统特朗普位于佛罗里达州的海湖庄园被执法部门查抄，特朗普称司法部玩弄政治，阻拦其再次竞选总统，自己遭到政治迫害。共和党则对拜登总统住所发现机密文件穷追猛打，对拜登政府自阿富汗撤军事件展开调查，推动问责，国家机器沦为政党谋取私利的工具。
Amid the escalating political battles, politicians put the interests of their political parties and factions above those of the country and acted in an unbridled way to attack and pin blames on each other. On 8 August 2022, law enforcement raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, and Trump accused the Justice Department of playing politics to stop his second presidential bid and of political persecution. The Republicans, on their part, were relentless on the discovery of classified documents in President Joe Biden’s residence, launched investigations into the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and demanded accountability. US state apparatus was reduced to a tool for political parties’ self-interest.
政党政治更加明显地以种族和身份划线。《金融时报》刊文指出，共和党代表白人、小城镇和乡村，民主党则代表城市和多种族人群。两党均有超过三分之一的拥护者认为可以用暴力实现政治目的。当一党选举失败时，支持该党的选民仿佛感到自己的美国被外国势力占领。政治学家芭芭拉·沃尔特称，美国已成为介于威权和民主之间的“派系林立的无支配体系”。
Party politics increasingly followed race and identity lines. According to the Financial Times, Republicans are white, small town and rural while Democrats are now almost entirely urban and multi-ethnic. More than a third of Republicans and Democrats today believe violence is justified to achieve their political ends. When one party loses, its voters feel as though their America is being occupied by a foreign power. Political scientist Barbara Walter considers the US “a factionalized anocracy” – the halfway state between autocracy and democracy.
政治极化使公共政策出台愈发困难。根据GovTrack网站数据，美国历届国会成法数量呈递减趋势,从93至98届国会的4247项下降至111至116届国会的2081项。成法数量占提案总数比重下降更明显，从106届国会的6%降至116届国会的1%，20年间减少了5个百分点。
Political polarization was more of an obstacle to policy decision-making. GovTrack, an online non-governmental source of legislative information and statistics, reveals a steady fall in the number of laws successive US Congresses could enact – from 4,247 by the 93th to 98th Congresses down to 2,081 by the 111st to 116th. The drop was even more pronounced when one considers how many bills could become laws, from 6% in the 106th Congress to 1% in the 116th, a slide of 5 percentage points over two decades.
两党争斗手段越来越低劣。斯坦福大学政治和社会学教授戴雅门指出，参加选举各方本应遵守克制用权、拒绝暴力等民主规则，然而在今天的美国，这些规则已面临瓦解。一方面，越来越多的政客和民选官员为获取或保留权力，宁愿不顾和放弃民主规则。另一方面，由于缺乏政治共识，越来越多的民众倾向于接受激进政治观点。美国民主已陷入严重不稳定状态。
The tactics used in partisan fights were more scandalous. Professor Larry Diamond of Political Science and Sociology at Stanford University believes the norms of democracy, such as self-restraint in the exercise of power and rejection of violence, which should have been observed by the participating parties in elections, have begun disintegrating in the US. A growing number of politicians and elected officials in the US have been willing to bend or abandon democratic norms in the quest to achieve or retain power. And as common political ground vanishes, rising proportions of Americans in both camps express attitudes and perceptions that are blinking red for democratic peril. Democracy in the US is at serious risk of breaking down.
（三）金钱政治愈演愈烈
3. Money politics surged
英国剧作家亨利·菲尔丁有句名言：“把金钱奉为神明，它就会像魔鬼一样降祸于你。”在美国政坛，金钱是政治的母乳，选举日益成为富裕阶层的独角戏，普通民众对民主的呼声和诉求反倒成为政治的“杂音”。当金钱这只魔鬼充斥在美国政坛的每一个角落，受挤压的必然是公平与正义。
“Make money your god, and it will plague you like the devil,” so admonished British playwright Henry Fielding. In the US, money is the breast milk of politics and elections increasingly morph into monologues of the wealthy, while the public call for democracy is made only “a jarring note”. With the devil of money lurking in every corner of American politics, fairness and justice is naturally strained.
2022年中期选举是美国金钱政治的最新注解。长期跟踪美国政治献金流向的“揭秘”网站披露，2022年中期选举两党耗资超过167亿美元，刷新了2018年140亿美元的纪录，超过全球70多个国家2021年全年的国民生产总值。佐治亚、宾夕法尼亚、亚利桑那、威斯康星、俄亥俄等州联邦参议员竞选开销平均超过1亿美元。超过90%的参众议员候选人通过砸钱赢得选举。资金来源不明的“黑钱”实际总额难以估量。
The latest illustration is the 2022 midterm elections. The whole exercise has a price tag of more than US$16.7 billion – breaking the 2018 record of US$14 billion – as found by Reveal, an online platform tracking the flow of political donations in the country. This amount dwarfs the 2021 GNPs of more than 70 countries. Federal Senate races in some states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Ohio sucked in more than US$100 million on average. Over 90% of those elected as lawmakers won by splurging funds. It was impossible to identify how much “dark money”, or funds from undisclosed sources, was involved.
美国政治“富人游戏”本色日益显现。根据美国布伦南正义中心数据，21个捐款最多家族每家至少捐助1500万美元，总计达7.83亿美元，远超370万小额捐款总和。亿万富翁提供15.4%的联邦选举资金，这些巨款大部分流向了可以接受无限捐款的超级政治行动委员会。
American politics has increasingly revealed its nature as the “game of the rich”. US think tank the Brennan Center for Justice finds that the top 21 families making political donations contributed at least US$15 million each, totaling US$783 million, far more than the US$3.7 million of small donations. Billionaires provided 15.4% of federal election funds, and most of it went to super PACs that can accept unlimited donations.
巨额的竞选资金消耗并未转化为有效的国家治理。相反，政治分肥愈演愈烈。《联合早报》刊文指出，过去几十年，西方民主政治已经变质。财富日益集中到少数人手里，贫者愈贫，富者愈富。政治把持在富人和政客手中，为自身利益服务。民众虽有投票权，却无法对政治产生实际影响。这种无力感和对传统政党、政府丧失信心的失落感，催生了民粹主义，但问题仍无法解决。
The enormous bills did not bring effective national governance in return. They only stimulated pork barrel politics. An article on Lianhe Zaobao observes that the past few decades has witnessed a decay in Western democracy. Wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, making the poor poorer and the rich richer. Politics is controlled by the rich and politicians to serve their own interests. Despite a right to vote, the public does not have real sway over politics. This sense of powerlessness and loss of confidence in political parties and government has given rise to populism, and the problem remains unresolved.
（四）言论自由徒有其名
4. “Freedom of speech” in name only
美国一向标榜言论自由。但实际上，美国的言论自由奉行以我为准的美国标准。党派利益和金钱政治成为压在言论自由头上的“两座大山”，只要是不利于美国政府和资本利益的言论，都会受到严格限制。
The United States has always prided itself on free speech. In reality, however, freedom of speech in the United States is upheld according to self-centered “US standards”. Partisan interest and money politics have become the “two big mountains” that weigh on free speech. Any speech that is detrimental to the interests of the US government or capital is subject to strict restrictions.
美国政府全面监管媒体和科技公司，干预社会舆论。2022年12月，推特公司首席执行官马斯克和记者马特·泰比连续发布推文，曝光“推特文件”，披露美国政府对所有社交媒体公司都要进行严格审查，有时还直接干预大媒体公司报道内容，例如谷歌经常让链接页面消失。此外，推特公司在2020年大选前审查总统候选人敏感信息，建立“黑名单”，限制不受欢迎的账号甚至热搜话题的曝光度，与联邦调查局合作监控社交媒体内容，同时为美国军方虚假网络宣传大开绿灯。凡此种种，无疑撕下了美国言论自由的遮羞布。
The US government has all-encompassing regulations on media and technology companies to intervene in public opinion. In December 2022, Twitter CEO Elon Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi posted back-to-back tweets that exposed “Twitter files”, revealing that the US government is heavily scrutinizing all social media companies. Sometimes it directly intervenes in big media companies’ reporting, like frequently having Google remove certain links. Twitter censored sensitive information about presidential candidates ahead of the 2020 election, creating “blacklists” to limit the exposure of unpopular accounts and even hot topics, and working with the FBI to monitor social media content, all the while giving the US military the green light to spread disinformation online. All this has undoubtedly torn off the fig leaf of free speech in the United States.
资本和利益集团在舆论上“呼风唤雨”。美国媒体的“言论自由”在遇到资本和利益集团时，会散发出浓浓的“铜臭味”。美国媒体多为私人所有，媒体集团的服务对象是权力和财富精英。无论是媒体的拥有者还是媒体赖以生存的投资和广告收入，都与资本和利益集团脱不了干系。德国知名作家、媒体人米夏埃尔·吕德斯在《伪圣美国》一书中详尽介绍了美国媒体受利益集团影响，对事实进行选择和歪曲的“过滤机制”。2023年1月，一则由美国右翼组织“真相工程”（Project Veritas）发布的辉瑞制药相关视频冲上热搜。辉瑞公司高层乔登·特里斯顿·沃克在视频中提到，辉瑞考虑自行研发新冠病毒变种，新冠疫苗生意是“摇钱树”，并称美国监管人员与药企有利益关联。为灭火，辉瑞除发表声明外，还紧急联系优兔以“违反社区规则”为由删除上述视频。
Capital and interest groups basically can get anything they want when it comes to public opinion. In the face of capital and interest groups, American media’s “freedom of speech” smacks of hypocrisy. Most American media firms are privately owned and serve the powerful and the rich. Whether it’s the owner of the media or the investment and advertisement income that the media depends on, all of them are related to capital and interest groups. In his book The Hypocritical Superpower, Micheal Lueders, a well-known German writer and media professional, elaborated in detail how the “filtering mechanism” of American media, under the influence of interest groups, chooses and distorts facts. In January 2023, Project Veritas, an American right-wing group, published a video about Pfizer that went viral. It recorded Jordon Trishton Walker, a senior executive at Pfizer, saying that Pfizer was exploring plans to “mutate” the coronavirus, that the coronavirus vaccine business was a “cash cow”, and that US regulators had vested interests in drug companies. To deal with the PR crisis, in addition to issuing a statement, Pfizer even had YouTube remove the video immediately on ground of “violating community guidelines”.
美国利用社交媒体操纵国际舆论。2022年12月，独立调查网站“The Intercept”披露，美国防部下属机构长期在推特等社交媒体通过操控话题、欺骗性宣传等手段干预中东国家舆论认知。2017年7月，美军中央司令部官员纳撒尼尔·卡勒给推特公共政策团队发了一个表格，包含52个阿拉伯语账号，要求优先服务其中6个。按照卡勒要求，推特将这批阿拉伯语账号放入“白名单”，用来放大对美有利的信息。美国反战组织“公正外交政策”执行主任埃里克·斯柏林就此指出，美国国会和社交媒体应调查并采取行动，让民众知道自己的纳税款被用来宣传美国无休止的战争。
The US uses social media to manipulate international public opinion. In December 2022, the independent investigation website “The Intercept” revealed that agencies affiliated to the US Department of Defense had long interfered in public opinion in Middle Eastern countries by manipulating topics and waging deceptive propaganda on social media such as Twitter. In July 2017, US Central Command official Nathaniel Kahler sent to the Twitter public policy team a form containing 52 Arabic-language accounts, asking for priority services for six of them. Following Kahler’s request, Twitter put these Arabic accounts on a “white list” to amplify messages favorable to the United States. Eric Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, an anti-war organization, commented on this incident that Congress and social media companies should investigate and take action to ensure that, at the very least, the citizens are fully informed when their tax money is being spent on putting a positive spin on the endless wars.
2022年9月，“北溪”天然气管道被炸震惊全球，肇事者身份和动机引发国际社会高度关注。2023年2月8日，普利策新闻奖得主、美国资深调查记者西摩·赫什撰文，直指美国政府是事件幕后黑手。但对于这条爆炸性新闻，一向嗅觉敏锐的欧美主流媒体却避而不谈，反应蹊跷。加拿大《西部标准报》和德国电视二台评称，赫什的报道是十年来最大新闻之一，但在北美几乎没有媒体愿意谈及，原因在于西方国家不想让别人发现事实真相及其在波罗的海部署的监视技术。此外，西方媒体还“另辟蹊径”，质疑赫什报道的真实性。2月15日，赫什发文指责美国政府和主流媒体大肆掩盖“北溪”管道爆炸事件真相。分析人士指出,考虑到西方媒体听从美国领导，其封锁赫什爆料的行径不足为奇。
In September 2022, the explosion of the “Nord Stream” natural gas pipeline shocked the world, and the international community was eager to know the identity and motive of the perpetrator. On 8 February 2023, Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published an article exposing the US government as the culprit of the incident. However, American and European mainstream media, known for their sensitivity to such scoops, stayed eerily quiet on this piece of explosive news. As observed by Canadian website Western Standard and German television channel ZDF, Hersh’s report was one of the biggest stories of the decade, but few media in North America wanted to talk about it because the West does not want anyone to find out about the truth and the surveillance technologies it has deployed in the Baltic Sea. Western media even try to bypass the crux of the issue by questioning the authenticity of Hersh’s report. On 15 February, Hersh wrote another article, accusing the US government and mainstream media of covering up the truth of the “Nord Stream” pipeline explosion. Analysts pointed out that given Western media’s obedience to the US, their blocking of Hersh’s revelations is not surprising.
（五）司法系统无视民意
5. The judicial system blind to public opinion
作为宪法保障机构，最高法院同美国社会一样陷入不可调和的分裂局面，社会分裂裹挟司法权，两党斗争向司法系统蔓延。最高法院判决越来越体现出保守派和自由派“两个美国”之间的巨大分歧，日益沦为政治斗争工具。“三权分立”不断被侵蚀。党派之争已抛弃传统、突破底线。
As an institution undergirding the country’s Constitution, the US Supreme Court, like the American society, has become deeply divided. Judicial power is hijacked by public opinion, and partisan struggle has spread to the judicial system. Increasingly, Supreme Court decisions reflect the huge chasm between “two Americas” – the conservatives and liberals, and have been reduced to a tool of political warfare. The “separation of powers” is constantly being eroded. Partisanship has abandoned tradition and crossed the line.
两党通过改变最高法院政治倾向实现自身议程。总统选举在某些方面成为两党争夺法官任命权之战。由于最高法院大法官离世，特朗普任内任命了3名立场偏保守的大法官，使保守派大法官对自由派大法官占据绝对优势。南非“每日独行者”网站刊文称，特朗普之后，激进的白人福音派原教旨主义者已接管最高法院的缰绳，最高法院几乎总是做出有利于基督教福音派、大公司和共和党的判决，这并不令人惊讶。
Both parties pursue their agenda by changing the political orientation of the Supreme Court. The presidential election has in some ways become a partisan battle for the right to appoint judges. The passing away of Supreme Court justices gave Trump the opportunity to appoint during his term three justices who took a conservative stance, giving conservative justices an overwhelming advantage over liberal ones. After Trump, radical white evangelical fundamentalists have taken the reins of the Supreme Court, according to an article on the South African website Daily Maverick. It’s hardly surprising that the Supreme Court almost always makes decisions in favor of Christian evangelicals, big corporations and the Republican Party.
美国最高法院关于堕胎权的判决充分显示出其卷入党争、与社会脱节的恶果。2022年6月24日，最高法院公然为宗教保守主义站台，推翻1973年“罗伊诉韦德案”裁决，取消对女性堕胎权的宪法保护，引发全美多地抗议。民调显示，超过半数美国人认为剥夺堕胎权是美国的倒退。以色列《国土报》刊文评称，在堕胎权问题上，最高法院打着捍卫民主的旗号破坏民主，提供了一个“少数人暴政”的生动案例。一个不具有代表性的最高法院，由一位不具有代表性的总统任命，由一个明显不具有代表性的参议院批准。但是，这个最高法院的裁决对美国的影响却将延续到2030、2040乃至2050年。
The US Supreme Court’s decision on abortion rights fully demonstrates the consequences of being involved in partisan warfare and out of touch with society. On 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court flagrantly endorsed religious conservatism by overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and removing constitutional protections for women’s abortion rights. The decision triggered protests across the United States. Polls show that more than half of Americans believe that stripping away abortion rights is a setback for the country. Israeli media “Haaretz” commented that on the issue of abortion rights, the Supreme Court has undermined democracy in the name of defending it, which is a typical case of “tyranny of the minority”. Here is an unrepresentative Supreme Court, with its justices appointed by an unrepresentative president and confirmed by an obviously unrepresentative Senate; but it has made a decision that will affect the United States till 2030, 2040, and even 2050.
最高法院还推翻了纽约州自1913年起实施的限制民众在外隐蔽携枪的法律。纽约州州长称，在全美反思枪支暴力之际，最高法院鲁莽推翻纽约州控枪法律，令人无法容忍。美国政治评论家马修·多德指出，当今美国面临的问题从根本上说源于民主的破碎。美国公民希望看到“罗伊诉韦德案”的公正裁决、真正的枪支改革、提高最低工资、对超级富豪加税、改善全民医疗等反映民众呼声的改革。
The Supreme Court also struck down a New York state law that had been in place since 1913 restricting people from carrying concealed firearms. As the nation reflects on gun violence, such a reckless reversal of New York’s gun control law is intolerable, noted the governor of New York. American political commentator Matthew Dowd pointed out that the problems facing the United States today are rooted in the fragmentation of democracy. What American citizens want are a fair ruling in Roe v. Wade, a real gun reform, higher minimum wages, steeper taxes on the super-rich, better health care for all, and other reforms that heed popular calls.
（六）美国民众对美式民主日益失望
6. Americans increasingly disillusioned with American democracy
《华盛顿邮报》和马里兰大学联合调查显示，美国人对民主的自豪感急剧下降，从2002年的90%下降到2022年的54%。加利福尼亚公共政策研究所民调显示，加州选民普遍担忧美国民主正偏离正轨，其中62%的选民认为美国正朝着错误方向发展，46%对持不同政治观点的美国人合作解决分歧的前景感到悲观，52%对当前美国民主的运作方式不满。昆尼皮亚克大学民调显示，67%受访者认为美国民主制度有崩溃危险，48%认为美国可能再次发生类似国会暴乱的事件。皮尤中心民调显示，65%的美国人认为美国民主制度需要重大改革，57%的受访者认为美国不再是民主典范。加州大学洛杉矶分校研究显示，美国政府治国能力和民主责任感近年不断下降，在推进大规模改革、解决选举公正以及媒体造假等诸多问题上缺乏有力措施。
Americans’ pride in their democracy has dropped sharply, from 90% in 2002 to 54% in 2022, according to a joint Washington Post-University of Maryland survey. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that Californian voters have widespread concern that American democracy is going off track, with 62% saying the country is headed in the wrong direction, 46% pessimistic about the prospect of Americans with different political views working together to resolve differences, and 52% dissatisfied with the current way American democracy works. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 67% of respondents believe that American democracy is in danger of collapse, and 48% think there could be another Capitol riot in the United States. According to a Pew Center poll, 65% of Americans believe that the American democratic system needs major reforms, while 57% of respondents believe the United States is no longer a model of democracy. A UCLA study shows that the US government has been losing its ability to govern and its sense of democratic responsibility in recent years, and lacks effective measures to push forward large-scale reforms or address issues such as electoral justice and media fraud.
