America divided 美利坚“分”众国

Politicians are making Americans miserable. The mid-terms offer a chance to change 政客们让美国民众痛苦不堪，中期选举是一个改变的机会

As America prepares to go to the polls on November 6th, the country is more divided and angry than it has been in decades. 美国将在11月6日举行中期选举，几十年间，美国人从未如此意见不一、义愤填膺。

Campaigning for the mid-terms has been marred by politicians routinely treating each other as rogues, fools or traitors. 政客们照例都将对方当做无赖、白痴和骗子，破坏了中期选举。

In recent days a supporter of President Donald Trump has sent bombs to 14 of his opponents 近日，一名特朗普支持者向14名对手（美国民主党）邮寄了炸弹装置，

and a white supremacist has murdered 11 worshippers at a synagogue, in the worst anti-Semitic act in America's history. 一位白人至上主义者在犹太教堂杀害了11名礼拜者，这是美国史上最严重的反犹太主义事件。

Toxic federal politics is America's great weakness. 有毒的联邦政治（攻击竞选对手的政治行为）是美国最致命的软肋。

It prevents action on pressing real issues, from immigration to welfare; 它阻碍了解决从移民到福利一系列紧迫的实际问题；

it erodes Americans' faith in their government and its institutions; 它侵蚀了美国民众对政府及其机构的信任；

and it dims the beacon of American democracy abroad. 它还使美国民主灯塔在别国黯淡无光。

The mid-term elections are a chance to begin stopping the rot—and even to start the arduous task of putting it right. 中期选举是一个停止这种腐败的机会——甚至是艰难纠正的开始。

Mr Trump did not begin this abasement. But he has embraced it as enthusiastically as anyone and carried it to new depths of his own devising. 尽管特朗普不是罪魁祸首，但是他像大家一样热情地接纳了它，并在自己的计划里把它带到了新高度。

All politicians stretch the truth. 政治家们都过甚其词。

Mr Trump lies with abandon—over 5,000 times since he was inaugurated, according to the Washington Post. 据《华盛顿邮报》报道，自就职以来，特朗普说慌已达5000多次。

His deceit is so brazen and effective that many of his supporters take his word above any of his critics', especially those in the media, and seemingly in the face of all the evidence. 他的欺骗手段厚颜无耻却行之有效，以至于很多支持者把他的言论看得比批评家们的言论还重要，尤其是媒体的批评家。支持者认为似乎特朗普掌握了所有证据。

That suits Mr Trump because, once nobody is believed, he cannot be held to account. 那很适合特朗普，一旦大家都失去民众的信任，他就不用为说谎负责。

But it is disastrous for America. 但这对美国来说是灾难性的。

Once reasoned debate loses its power to win arguments, democracy cannot function. 一旦争辩失去理性依据，民主就不能生效。