经济学人146:幸福婚姻在美国

 　　Lexington

　　来克星敦

　　Connubial¹ bliss² in America

　　幸福婚姻在美国

　　Behind the politics of gay marriage, a widening social acceptance

　　同性婚姻之政治因素的背后，公众对同性恋的接受程度看涨

　　Jul 30th 2011 | from the print edition

　　AMERICA is the country, said Alexis de Tocqueville, where the bonds of marriage are most respected and the concept of connubial bliss “has its highest and truest expression.” If the French aristocrat³ were to revisit America’s capital today, he might at first glance think his observation had withstood the test of time remarkably⁴ well. Not content with having in 1996 put a Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the statute⁵ book, Congress has now begun to hold hearings on a Respect for Marriage Act. Defended, respected: what could possibly ail⁶ marriage in America?

　　法国贵族托克维尔曾说，美国人最为尊重婚姻联系，夫妻美满生活的概念在美国也是达到了“最顶级最真实的境界。”今日，倘若托尔维尔能够重游华盛顿的话，乍一看也许觉得自己的评论如此经得起时间考验，历久弥新啊！美国于1996年曾经推行了一部《捍卫婚姻法案》，现今，不满足于仅此而已，国会又已着手于就出台《尊重婚姻法案》举行听证会。到底是该捍卫婚姻还是尊重尊重？到底哪个可能会“蹂躏“美国婚姻呢？

　　Plenty. As the revisiting Norman would swiftly discover, Americans today are better at quarrelling about what marriage is and who should be allowed to enjoy its benefits than they are at the more demanding work of getting and staying married themselves. The National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia points to a widening “marriage gap”. Traditional family values are enjoying a revival⁷ among better-educated Americans, but are fraying⁸ in the lower middle class and have collapsed⁹ among the poor. As for laws “defending” and “respecting” marriage, these are merely weapons in a battle that has rolled back and forth¹⁰ for more than a decade between those who say that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry and those who abhor¹¹ the idea.

　　能够“蹂躏“美国婚姻的因素还真不少呢。要是故地重游的话，托克维尔会很快发现，如今美国人更多的是争论婚姻的本质是什么，以及哪一方可以从婚姻中受益，反而没有过多谈论他们自己应该提高结婚率，压低离婚率。弗吉尼亚大学《全国婚姻计划》表明“婚姻差距”愈发扩大。受过良好教育的美国人越发崇尚“传统家庭观念”，下层中产阶级的这方面意识在变淡，而之于贫穷家庭，“传统家庭观念”干脆就已分崩离析了。十几年来，美国内部有两种声音，一种声音主张允许同性婚姻，另一种声音对此深恶痛绝，在这十几年里，两番势力反反复复斗争不断，而至于美国法律一边捍卫婚姻，一边尊重婚姻，他们也不过是斗争中的武器而已。

　　So far neither side has scored a decisive victory, though each will occasionally claim one. When it was passed, DOMA looked like a solid victory for enemies of gay marriage. Its aim was to nip moves towards same-sex marriage in the bud by defining marriage as a legal union “between one man and one woman as husband and wife”. It also stipulated¹² that in the event of an individual state making same-sex marriage lawful¹³, no other state needed to respect the rights or claims arising from such a marriage. To buttress¹⁴ this apparently¹⁵ formidable firewall, three dozen states have imposed constitutional or other legal bans.

　　目前为止，两方都没有取得什么决定性胜利，虽说他们时不时的会宣称自己胜利了。当初《捍卫婚姻法案》的获准通过，对于反对同性婚姻的人来说，这看似是个实实在在的成功。《捍卫婚姻法案》定义婚姻为依照法律程序，一男一女互为夫妻的结合，以此来达到掐死同性婚姻于摇篮中的目的。同时它还规定，万一有个别州承认同性婚姻合法性的话，其他各州也不必对次类婚姻所产生的权利和要求予以尊重。为了支持这条看似强大的防线，三十几个州以州宪法或者其他法规的形式，强制颁布了对于同性婚姻的禁令。

　　And yet gay marriage marches on, scoring its own victories along the way. Among the greatest and most recent was New York’s decision last month to become the sixth and most-populous state to allow same-sex marriage. If the Respect for Marriage Act were to become law (though this will need to await a more sympathetic Congress), this would defang DOMA and mark another victory for gay marriage. But DOMA is anyway not the deterrent¹⁶ it once seemed. The ever-cautious Barack Obama, who favours civil unions but says his views on gay marriage are still “evolving”, has ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the law, which is under challenge in the courts.

　　然而，同性婚姻一直都在继续，并且过程中也取得了一些胜利。上个月，纽约州成为允许同性婚姻的第六个州，同时也是六个州中人口最多的一个，对于“同性婚姻”来说，这是自己最近一次的胜利，同时也是有史以来最伟大的胜利之一。倘若《尊重婚姻法案》能够写进法律的话（虽说那还得等着“通情达理”的国会予以通过），《捍卫婚姻法案》的威力恐怕就会被大大削弱，从而为同性婚姻打赢又一场战争。但是话又说回来了，《捍卫婚姻法案》早已失去当初的震慑力了。《捍卫婚姻法案》在法庭上受到质疑，一贯行事小心翼翼的奥巴马也已要求司法部门放弃为此法案提供辩护。奥巴马个人支持同性恋民事结合，但他表示自己对待同性恋婚姻的看法还未一锤子钉死。

　　The relentless¹⁷ back-and-forth in Congress, the courts and state legislatures transfixes the minority of Americans who feel strongly about this issue. And yet the cycle of victories and defeats may in the end matter less than one startling underlying¹⁸ fact, which is that America’s attitudes to homosexuality appear in recent years to have undergone a dramatic change.

　　对于同性婚姻问题，国会，法院以及州议会一直反反复复，令那些强烈抵制同性婚姻的少数美国人无计可施。可是最终，胜利与落败的轮回就显得不那么重要了，一惊人的基本事实反而更加要紧，那就是，近几年，美国人对于同性恋的态度发生了巨大的转变。

　　Gallup reported in May that for the first time ever a majority (53% to 45%) of Americans said that same-sex couples should have the same marriage rights as straight couples. In 1996, the time of DOMA, the majority leant 68% to 27% the other way. The controversial policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell”, which banned gays from serving openly in the armed forces, is meanwhile due to expire in September with surprisingly little hue¹⁹ and cry. And when National Journal polled political “insiders” this month, it found a majority of Democratic politicos, lobbyists and strategists in favour of making gay marriage legal. No less telling, a majority of their Republican counterparts, while continuing to oppose gay marriage, thought their party should just ignore the issue.

　　今年5月，盖洛普民意测试显示，有史以来第一次，大多数美国人认为同性伴侣应跟异性伴侣一样享有同样的婚姻权（持有此观点的美国占到了53%，而持反对观点的人占了45%）。而《捍卫婚姻法案》颁布的那一年，也就是1996年，反对同性婚姻的人占了大多数，当时的数字是68%，而支持的人仅有27%。如今，饱受争议的“不问不答”（这项政策旨在防止同性恋在部队中公开自己的性取向，以防引发歧视乃至有损士气的后果）政策也将于今年9月告一段落，而令人惊讶的是，人们对此并未有什么抗议。本月，《国家杂志》对重要政客展开民调，发现大部分民主党政客，说客以及策略家都赞同同性婚姻合法化。当然了，不用说，大多数共和党一方面继续反对同性婚姻，一方面认为民主党干脆就应该“不甩”这个话题。

　　That might make electoral sense. Since it is the young who are most relaxed about gay marriage, standing²⁰ in its path might cost the Republicans dear in the future. The notion of denying gays the spousal rights available to others makes little sense to a generation that sees marriage at least as much as a union of soul-mates as a formal structure for child-rearing.

　　民主党此举对于自己的竞选来说大有裨益。现如今，年轻人对于同性婚姻最看的开，因此跟他们意见相悖对于共和党的前途很不利。有人认为，结婚是为了名正言顺的生儿育女，而婚姻之于年轻人来说主要是两个情投意合之人长相厮守， 至少，年轻人把两者看得同等重要，因此，其他人拥有结婚的权利，而同性伴侣却不能够，这种说法在年轻人这儿行不通。

　　To crusaders against gay marriage, however, the issue transcends²¹ electoral calculation. They say they are defending both God’s will and a vital child-centred institution that is already beleaguered²² enough. In this election cycle, Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman pursuing the Republican presidential nomination²³, has become a lightning-conductor on gay issues. In spite of having a gay stepsister, she has long put opposition²⁴ to same-sex marriage at the centre of her politics. In 2004 she likened the gay lifestyle to “personal bondage²⁵, personal despair and personal enslavement”. The fact that her husband runs a clinic offering to cure gays of their supposed affliction has caused both indignation and merriment among metropolitan²⁶ types.

　　然而，对于抵制同性婚姻的斗士来说，同性婚姻这个问题已经不是竞选能够丈量的了。他们称自己捍卫神的旨意，同时也在捍卫着“以孩子为中心”的重要社会习俗，而这一习俗已是受尽折磨，频临承受极限。米歇尔?巴赫曼是明尼苏达州国会女议员，她正奋力争取拿下共和党总统候选人资格，在这次选举周期里，她俨然成为了同性恋问题的一把“避雷针”。尽管自己的一个同父异母的姐姐就是同性恋，米歇尔一直以来还是把反对同性婚姻问题作为自己的核心政治立场。早在2004年，她就将同性恋生活方式与“人身依附”，“痛苦绝望”以及“个人奴役”画上了约等号。米歇尔的丈夫开了一家诊所，他们认定同性恋者饱受痛苦，于是为他们提供这方面的治疗，生活在大都市中的人们对于这一举动可谓是既愤慨又欢迎。

　　Attitudes like Mrs Bachmann’s may do her little harm with the Republican base, but strike parts of the wider electorate²⁷ as antiquated²⁸ or downright bigoted²⁹. That may be why Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York who ran for the presidency³⁰ in 2008 and may yet do so again, has warned fellow Republicans to “get the heck out of people’s bedrooms”. It could also explain why Rick Perry, the governor of Texas now pondering a presidential run of his own, says that he has no quarrel with New York’s new law. Pleading the tenth (states’ rights) amendment³¹, he argues that New York’s stand on gay marriage is its own business.

　　在共和党内，巴赫曼所持的这类看法于她来说无伤大雅，但走出共和党阵营，她还要面对广泛选民，而在一部分人看来，她的观点过于守旧，或者说是无比顽固。这也就是为什么前纽约市市长朱利安尼提醒共和党人，不要瞎搀和人家家卧室里的私事。朱利安尼曾于2008年竞选总统，这次他可能还将参选。正考虑参选下届总统的德克萨斯州州长裴礼表示，自己对于纽约州承认同性婚姻没有什么意见，同样也是出于这个道理。裴礼搬出了《美国宪法第10修正案》（第10修正案保护各州的权利），坚称纽约州对于同性婚姻持有什么立场完全是他们自己的事情。

　　In point of fact, neither Mr Giuliani nor Mr Perry favours gay marriage. Mr Giuliani says civil unions are good enough for gays. Mr Perry has not only been a vehement³² opponent of gay marriage but also gone so far as to defend Texas’s anti-sodomy law, which the Supreme³³ Court has ruled to be unconstitutional. Such men have their beliefs, but they are also seasoned politicians. They can see which way the national mood is blowing.

　　事实上，朱利安尼和裴礼二人都不赞同同性婚姻。朱利安尼认为同性伴侣民事结合就足够了。而裴礼之前不仅强烈反对同性婚姻，甚至还捍卫德克萨斯州的《反鸡奸法》，而美国最高法院裁定《反鸡奸法》违宪。这些人有自己的主见，但是同时，他们又是颇为老练的政客。他们清楚民意所向。

1 connubial   

adj.婚姻的，夫妇的

参考例句：

• She had brought about danger to Edward's connubial happiness.她已经给爱德华幸福的婚姻带来危险。
• Hogan told me he had tasted the joys of connubial bliss.霍根告诉我他已经尝到了比翼双飞的快乐。

2 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

3 aristocrat   

n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物

参考例句：

• He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。
• He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

4 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

5 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

6 ail   

v.生病，折磨，苦恼

参考例句：

• It may provide answers to some of the problems that ail America.这一点可能解答困扰美国的某些问题。
• Seek your sauce where you get your ail.心痛还须心药治。

7 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

8 fraying   

v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。
• Support for the leader was fraying at the edges. 对这位领导人的支持已经开始瓦解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 abhor   

v.憎恶；痛恨

参考例句：

• They abhor all forms of racial discrimination.他们憎恶任何形式的种族歧视。
• They abhor all the nations who have different ideology and regime.他们仇视所有意识形态和制度与他们不同的国家。

12 stipulated   

vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的

参考例句：

• A delivery date is stipulated in the contract. 合同中规定了交货日期。
• Yes, I think that's what we stipulated. 对呀，我想那是我们所订定的。 来自辞典例句

13 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

14 buttress   

n.支撑物；v.支持

参考例句：

• I don't think they have any buttress behind them.我认为他们背后没有什么支持力量。
• It was decided to buttress the crumbling walls.人们决定建造扶壁以支撑崩塌中的墙。

15 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

16 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

17 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

18 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

19 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

20 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

21 transcends   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的第三人称单数 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• The chemical dilution technique transcends most of the difficulties. 化学稀释法能克服大部分困难。
• The genius of Shakespeare transcends that of all other English poets. 莎士比亚的才华胜过所有的其他英国诗人。

22 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

24 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

25 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

26 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

27 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

28 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

29 bigoted   

adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• He is so bigoted that it is impossible to argue with him.他固执得不可理喻。
• I'll concede you are not as bigoted as some.我承认你不象有些人那么顽固。

30 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

31 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

32 vehement   

adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的

参考例句：

• She made a vehement attack on the government's policies.她强烈谴责政府的政策。
• His proposal met with vehement opposition.他的倡导遭到了激烈的反对。

33 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。