The Decline in Moral Standards

       The decline in moral standards — which has long concerned social analysts — has at last captured the attention of average Americans. And Jean Bethke Elshtain, for one, is glad.

       长期被社会分析师所关注的道德标准的下降如今已经吸引了美国普通民众的注意力。Jean Bethke Elshtain，作为其中之一，很高兴。

       The fact the ordinary citizens are now starting to think seriously about the nation's moral climate, says this ethics professor at the University of Chicago, is reason to hope that new ideas will come forward to improve it.

       事实上普通市民现在开始严肃地考虑国家的道德气候，这位芝加哥大学伦理学教授说，这有理由希望新的意见将出现来改善它。

       But the challenge is not to be underestimated. Materialism and individualism in American society are the biggest obstacles. "The thought that 'I'm in it for me' has become deeply rooted in the national consciousness," Ms.Elshtain says.

       但是挑战没有被低估。在美国社会，实用主义和个人主义是最大的障碍。Elshtain女士说，“我为我而活”这种思想已经在国家的意识形态中深深地扎下了根。

       Some of this can be attributed to the disintegration of traditional communities, in which neighbors looked out for one another, she says. With today's greater mobility and with so many couples working, those bonds have been weakened, replaced by a greater emphasis on self.

       她说，这些能被归因于传统社区的消亡，在那里邻居们互相串门。在当今巨大的流动性和那么多在职夫妇的情况下，这些联系已经被削弱了，取而代之的是更大的强调自身。

       In a 1996 poll of Americans, loss of morality topped the list of the biggest problems facing the U.S. And Elshtain says the public is correct to sense that: Data show that Americans are struggling with problems unheard of in the 1950s, such as classroom violence and a high rate of births to unmarried mothers.

       在1996年美国的一项民意测验中，道德沦丧被列为美国正面临的最大问题之首，并且Elshtain说，公众正确地感到：数据显示美国人正在和1950年代中无法想象的问题作斗争，诸如校园暴力和未婚妈妈的高增长率。

       The desire for a higher moral standard is not a lament for some nonexistent "golden age," Elshtain says, nor is it a wishful longing for a time that denied opportunities to women and minorities. Most people, in fact, favor the lessening of prejudice.

       渴望一种更高的道德标准不是一些不存在的“黄金时代”的挽歌，Elshtain说，也不是盼望一个拒绝给予妇女和少数派权利的时代。大多数人们，实际上支持偏见的减少。

       Moral decline will not be reversed until people find ways to counter the materialism in society, she says. "Slowly, you recognize that the things that matter are those that can't be bought."

       道德沦丧将不会被改变直到人们找到一种方法来面对社会上的实用主义，她说。“慢慢地，你会认识到，问题是那些不能被带来的东西。”