A Biblical Seven Years – a great China in the eyes of columnist Thomas L. Friedman

New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman

After attending the spectacular closing ceremony at the Beijing Olympics and feeling the vibrations from hundreds of Chinese drummers pulsating in my own chest, I was tempted to conclude two things: "Holy mackerel, the energy coming out of this country is unrivaled." And, two: "We are so cooked. Start teaching your kids Mandarin."

在出席完北京奥运会气势恢弘的闭幕式之后，数百名中国鼓手击打的阵阵鼓声依旧在我胸中振荡，我差点得出这样两条结论："好家伙！这个国家所散发出的能量绝对无与伦比！"其二，"我们完蛋了！赶快教你的孩子学普通话吧！"

However, I've learned over the years not to over-interpret any two-week event. Olympics don't change history. They are mere snapshots — a country posing in its Sunday bests for all the world to see. But, as snapshots go, the one China presented through the Olympics was enormously powerful — and it's one that Americans need to reflect upon this election season. 

然而，多年的经验告诉我，不要过分解读任何只持续了两周的事件。历史并不会因奥运而改变。这仅仅是历史的若干张快照而已——这是一个穿上节日盛装，供全世界观赏的国度。但是，奥运会所展示的中国是如此的强大——面对这样一个中国，正在经历大选的美国人需要认真反思。

China did not build the magnificent $43 billion infrastructure for these games, or put on the unparalleled opening and closing ceremonies, simply by the dumb luck of discovering oil. No, it was the culmination of seven years of national investment, planning, concentrated state power, national mobilization and hard work.

中国为这届奥运会建造了价值430亿美元的壮丽设施，开闭幕仪式可谓盛况空前，这一切靠的绝不是发现石油的好运气。不，这是七年的国家投资、规划、集中国力、全国性动用以及辛勤工作的结晶。

Seven years … Seven years … Oh, that's right. China was awarded these Olympic Games on July 13, 2001 — just two months before 9/11.

七年… 七年…哦，的确是这样。中国在2001年7月13日获得奥运会承办权——距离911事件发生仅仅2个月。

As I sat in my seat at the Bird's Nest, watching thousands of Chinese dancers, drummers, singers and acrobats on stilts perform their magic at the closing ceremony, I couldn't help but reflect on how China and America have spent the last seven years: China has been preparing for the Olympics; we've been preparing for Al Qaeda. They've been building better stadiums, subways, airports, roads and parks. And we've been building better metal detectors, armored Humvees and pilotless drones.

当我坐在鸟巢的座位上，欣赏闭幕式上数千名中国舞蹈演员、鼓手、歌手以及踩着高跷的杂技演员魔幻般的精彩演出时，我不由得回想起过去这七年中美两国的不同经历：中国一直在忙于奥运会的准备工作；我们忙着对付基地组织；他们一直在建设更好的体育馆、地铁、机场、道路以及公园。而我们一直在建造更好的金属探测器、悍马军车和无人驾驶侦察机。

The difference is starting to show. Just compare arriving at La Guardia's dumpy terminal in New York City and driving through the crumbling infrastructure into Manhattan with arriving at Shanghai's sleek airport and taking the 220-mile-per-hour magnetic levitation train, which uses electromagnetic propulsion instead of steel wheels and tracks, to get to town in a blink. 

差异已经开始显现。你可以比较一下纽约肮脏陈旧的拉瓜地机场和上海造型优美的国际机场。当你驱车前往曼哈顿时，你会发现一路上的基础设施有多么的破败不堪。再体验一下上海时速高达220英里的磁悬浮列车，它应用的是电磁推进技术，而不是普通的钢轮和轨道，眨眼工夫，你已经抵达上海市区。

Then ask yourself: Who is living in the third world country?

然后抚心自问：究竟是谁生活在第三世界国家？

Yes, if you drive an hour out of Beijing, you meet the vast dirt-poor third world of China. But here's what's new: The rich parts of China, the modern parts of Beijing or Shanghai or Dalian, are now more state of the art than rich America. The buildings are architecturally more interesting, the wireless networks more sophisticated, the roads and trains more efficient and nicer. And, I repeat, they did not get all this by discovering oil. They got it by digging inside themselves.

是的，如果你驱车前往北京城外，一小时之后，中国极其穷困的第三世界的一面就会展现在你面前。但是，你会发现这样一个崭新的事实：就技术发展水平而言，中国的富裕地区，特别是北京、上海以及大连这些城市的现代化地区如今要比富裕的美国更加先进。高楼大厦的建筑风格更加有趣，无线网络技术更加尖端，道路和火车更加便捷美观。我再次重申，这一切并不是靠发现石油，而是通过充分发掘自身潜能得来的。

I realize the differences: We were attacked on 9/11; they were not. We have real enemies; theirs are small and mostly domestic. We had to respond to 9/11 at least by eliminating the Al Qaeda base in Afghanistan and investing in tighter homeland security. They could avoid foreign entanglements. Trying to build democracy in Iraq, though, which I supported, was a war of choice and is unlikely to ever produce anything equal to its huge price tag.

我知道区别所在：我们经历了911事件；他们没有。我们有真正意义上的敌人；而他们的敌人规模很小，并且大多数都在本国内部。我们必须应对911事件，至少要消灭基地组织在阿富汗的基地，要投资打造更加紧密的国土安全体系。他们可以避免外国瓜葛。然而，试图在伊拉克建立民主制度（对此我非常支持）是一场自我选择的战争，它不可能产生出与我们的巨大付出相匹配的成果。

But the first rule of holes is that when you're in one, stop digging. When you see how much modern infrastructure has been built in China since 2001, under the banner of the Olympics, and you see how much infrastructure has been postponed in America since 2001, under the banner of the war on terrorism, it's clear that the next seven years need to be devoted to nation-building in America.

然而，洞穴理论的首要规则就是，当你身处洞穴之中时，就不要再挖了。当你看到自2001年以来，中国以奥运会名义，建设了如此多现代化的基础设施时，你也会发现，自2001年以来，我们以反恐战争的名义，推迟了如此多的基础设施建设。很显然，接下来这七年，我们需要致力于美国自身的国家建设。

We need to finish our business in Iraq and Afghanistan as quickly as possible, which is why it is a travesty that the Iraqi Parliament has gone on vacation while 130,000 U.S. troops are standing guard. We can no longer afford to postpone our nation-building while Iraqis squabble over whether to do theirs.

我们需要尽快终结伊拉克和阿富汗事务。当13万美军依旧在伊拉克驻守之际，伊拉克议会却在休假，这是何等荒唐！伊拉克人还在为是否进行国家建设争论不休，而我们不能再拖延我们的国家建设，我们耽搁不起。

A lot of people are now advising Barack Obama to get dirty with John McCain. Sure, fight fire with fire. That's necessary, but it is not sufficient.

如今，许多人建议巴拉克•奥巴马（Barack Obama）要不择手段地与约翰•麦凯恩（John McCain）竞争总统宝座，所谓以毒攻毒。这很有必要，但是仅仅这样做依然不够。

Obama got this far because many voters projected onto him that he could be the leader of an American renewal. They know we need nation-building at home now — not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan, not in Georgia, but in America. Obama cannot lose that theme.

奥巴马能走到今天是因为，许多选民对他给予厚望，认为他可以成为美国复兴的领袖。他们知道我们需要在国内进行国家建设——不是在伊拉克、不是在阿富汗、不是在格鲁吉亚，而是在美国。奥巴马不能丧失这一主题。

He cannot let Republicans make this election about who is tough enough to stand up to Russia or bin Laden. It has to be about who is strong enough, focused enough, creative enough and unifying enough to get Americans to rebuild America. The next president can have all the foreign affairs experience in the world, but it will be useless, utterly useless, if we, as a country, are weak.

他不能让共和党将这次选举的主题确定为：谁足够坚强去对抗俄罗斯与本拉登。主题应该是：谁足够强大，足够专注，足够有创造力，谁能够将美国人团结起来为重建美国而努力。下任总统或许具备世界上所有的外交事务经验，但是如果我们的国力虚弱，这种经验将毫无用处，一文不名。

Obama is more right than he knows when he proclaims that this is "our" moment, this is "our" time. But it is our time to get back to work on the only home we have, our time for nation-building in America. I never want to tell my girls — and I'm sure Obama feels the same about his — that they have to go to China to see the future.

当奥巴马宣称这是"我们的"时刻，这是"我们的"时间之际，他说的要比他意识到的更加正确。到了重新致力于建设我们唯一家园的时候了，我们在美国的国家建设应该开始了。我绝不想告诉我的女儿们——我确信奥巴马也有相同的感受——他们必须去中国观看未来的世界是什么模样。

Source: New York Times