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I have to confess that in the 42 years I spent on this
我必须承认，在母亲陪伴我的42年时光中
planet with my mom I had never once thought of
我从来没见过母亲吃过一张薄饼
my mom as a pancake eater. Over the years I am sure
在这42年的岁月中，我吃下的
I have eaten hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of
薄饼足有几百个，都是母亲
pancakes that mom fixed me but I can't honestly ever
亲手做的，但是我从来都不记得
recall watching my mom eat a pancake. I mean that's
曾经看见母亲吃过一张薄饼
how it's supposed to be; moms make pancakes and
似乎人们已经习以为常: 母亲做薄饼
the kids eat the pancakes. I'm also sure that mom
孩子吃薄饼，我敢肯定
never taught me how to eat pancakes the way she
母亲从未像教我系鞋带，教我开车
taught me to tie my shoes or the way she taught me
或者教我如何给妻子选礼物一样
how to drive a car or how to pick out presents for my
教过我如何吃薄饼
wife. Still, each and every time I eat pancakes I have
但是每次吃薄饼的时候
to perform this operation on the pancakes and the
我都会采用这种方式
only way I can explain this is because I can't help
我只能将这解释成
behaving like my mother's son.
因为我是母亲的儿子
In much the same way we can say that a nation often
同理，我们也可以说，一个国家的
behaves the way it does because it can't help factors
行为方式也是深受其
such as its own ancestry, geographical location and
历史渊源和地理位置所影响的
history. The colonists that founded the United States
来到新大陆建立美利坚合众国的
of America were mostly descended from white
先驱们大多具有盎格鲁撒克逊
Anglo Saxon Protestants. These ancestors had come
新教传统，这些先驱们由于各种原因
to the different colonies for various reasons
来到不同的殖民地
but almost always of their own free will.
但是大多是出于自己的意愿
Some of them, granted, did come as indentured servants
毫无疑问，其中一些是契约仆役
some of them had been brought against their will from
还有一些是被迫从非洲
Africa to serve as human slaves. Some of the first
作为奴隶贩运过来的，最早的美国人
American's ancestors had in fact lived in
也就是印第安人，实际上已经在
North America for centuries; the Indians.
北美的土地上生活了几个世纪了
From the early 1800's on people from around
十九世纪以来，人们从全球各地
the world poured into the United States to become
涌向美国，争相成为美国公民
Americans, throwing their stock into the great
将资金投入到美国这个
American melting pot. We live today in an American
大熔炉中，尽管今天的美国
which rightly celebrates and nurtures its diversity.
尊重并倡导多样化
But we can't help the fact that our nation was founded
但无可否认，我们的国家最初是由
by a very un-diverse group of Anglo Saxon males
单一的盎格鲁撒克逊男性创建的
who had very specific ideas. Some of these ideas
他们的观点也相当单一
were pretty awful ideas. The tolerance of human
其中一些甚至十分落后，比如
slavery was awful, the absence of women's rights;
实行奴隶制，性别歧视
stupid. The belief that blacks and Indians weren't
他们不将黑人和印第安人当作
human; that's just repulsive, and we're still fighting
人类看待，那真是令人恶心，我们今天依然在与
the consequences of these wrongs today but by far
这些错误思想的结果做斗争
the greater part of our founders ideas
但是至今为止，这些国家缔造者们的
were miraculously constructive.
思想中有很大一部分依旧十分具有建设性
We're wonderfully valid. America is the first great
我们很成功，在政府的构建方面
experiment in government that actually worked as
美国是第一个实现初衷与结果相一致的国家
it was designed. The United States did not always
美国的版图并不是一开始就横跨东西海岸
extend from sea to shining sea. As originally founded
建国时，国境线向西
America's western boundary was actually the
只延伸到密西西比河，北边是加拿大
Mississippi River. Canada was to the north,
南边是西属佛罗里达
Spanish Florida to the south and the Atlantic Ocean
而东边则是大西洋
to the east. Unsurprisingly for a nation of immigrants
美国人民从来不知疲倦，这对于一个
the American people were restless. Even before the
移民国家来说并不奇怪
American Revolution colonists looking for new land
早在独立战争之前，殖民者们为了寻找新的
defied British laws and settled on the west side of
土地，就已经在违反英国法律的情况下
the Allegany Mountains. Sometimes America extended
在阿勒格尼山地区定居，有时美国通过
its boundaries by purchase, sometimes via diplomacy,
购买土地扩展领土，有时通过外交手段获得
sometimes through the use of raw force.
而还有时是通过暴力
The United States was pretty much given a free hand
在这一过程中，美国基本上不受任何限制
in this process because North America was too
因为它远离欧洲大陆
far away from Europe for the British, the Spanish
对英国，西班牙和法国
and the French to have any real clout here.
都没有直接的影响
