来源：《基督科学箴言报》
原文刊登日期：2022年5月30日
For seven years, Lucy Harper has been trying to get Americans to think about their country differently. She has taught classes and led workshops from Florida to Illinois, all to instill the conviction that America is not a political prize to be fought over, but an idea to be fought for.
七年来，露西·哈珀一直试图让美国人以不同的方式思考自己的国家。从佛罗里达州到伊利诺伊州，她都在授课和主持研讨会，所有这些都是为了灌输这样一种信念，美国不是一个需要争夺的政治战利品，而是一个需要为之奋斗的理念。
Recently, it has felt like an uphill battle. So this June, she and her colleagues are going to try something different. They’re going to make their case through a play.
最近，这感觉像是一场艰苦的战斗。所以今年六月，她和同事将尝试一些不同的东西。他们将通过一出戏来证明自己的观点。
Her most recent journey began in 2015 when she became part of the Idea of America Network. The organization’s goal is to create a network of Americans who can help their communities look at the country through the lens of values.
她最近的一次旅行开始于2015年，当时她成为了美国理念网络的一份子。该组织的目标是建立一个美国人网络，帮助他们的社区从价值观的角度来看待这个国家。
“When you talk about values and America, everyone knows life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” says Ms. Harper, referencing the Declaration of Independence. But the values that really drive the United States are all about balance, she argues. Freedom and equality, law and ethics, common wealth and private wealth, unity and diversity. How citizens find the balance between these essential but conflicting values determines the nation’s character and direction.
“当你谈论价值观和美国时，每个人都知道生命、自由和对幸福的追求，”哈珀女士说，她引用了《独立宣言》。但她认为，真正推动美国发展的价值观都是关于平衡的。自由与平等、法律与道德、共同财富与私人财富、统一与多样性。公民如何在这些基本但相互冲突的价值观之间找到平衡，决定了国家的性质和方向。
It’s that last set of values – unity and diversity – that is under the most strain today, she says. Since joining the Idea of America Network, she and her husband have taught a class on this vision of America at the University of Miami’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. But she notices that, these days, there is also a current events class with a conservative bent and one with a liberal bent. “It didn’t used to be that way,” she says.
她说，最后一组价值观——统一和多样性——如今受到的压力最大。自从加入“美国思想网络”以来，她和丈夫就在迈阿密大学的奥舍终身学习学院开设了一门关于这一美国愿景的课程。但她注意到，近来，时事课一分为二，一门以保守派价值观为基础，另一门则以自由派价值观为基础。“过去不是这样的，”她说。
That’s partly the inspiration for the play – to find a new way to break through what have become entrenched ideological lines. The general idea is that a quirk at an imaginary “Hall of Legends” allows some of the most renowned thinkers in American history – from Thomas Jefferson to Elizabeth Cady Stanton – to come together and debate what makes America special. Parts of the show are interactive, aiming to educate as much as entertain, and reaching out to people of all political stripes.
这也是他们戏剧的部分灵感来源——寻找一种新的方式来突破已经根深蒂固的意识形态界限。其主要想法是，虚构的“传奇大厅”发生的怪事让美国历史上一些最著名的思想家——从托马斯·杰斐逊到伊丽莎白·凯迪·斯坦顿——聚在一起，讨论是什么让美国与众不同。节目的部分内容是互动的，旨在教育和娱乐并重，并触及各种政治派别的人。
The play opens the first weekend in June at Principia College in Illinois, with plans to move to the University of California, Berkeley in the fall. The hope is that more colleges will follow.
该剧将于6月的第一个周末在伊利诺斯州的普林西亚学院上演，并计划于秋季在加州大学伯克利分校上演。希望更多的大学会跟进。
America is not a birthright nation – founded not for any religion or race, but on the values we share, she says. “It’s about seeing this as a country of good people,” she adds. “There’s plenty of evidence to the contrary, but we jolly well better see the good in people, ... giving people the room to grow – including ourselves.”
她说，美国不是一个与生俱来的国家——不是为任何宗教或种族而建立的，而是基于我们共同的价值观。她补充道：“这是要把这里视为一个人民善良的国家。有很多相反的证据，但我们最好看到人们的优点，……给人们成长的空间——包括我们自己。”