非同寻常的特朗普就职典礼

American presidential inaugurations, with all their pomp and splendour, are a rite of passage but not necessarily memorable. A handful stick out for the first words of the new national chief executive — Franklin D. Roosevelt’s, in 1933 in the depths of the great recession, for “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” and John F. Kennedy’s, in1961, for “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”. Some have grace notes that remain in the mind — as when, in 1977, Jimmy Carter thanked Gerald Ford for all he had done “to heal our country” in the wake of Watergate.

盛大而隆重的美国总统就职典礼是一项权力交接仪式，但不一定令人难忘。少数就职典礼之所以令人印象深刻，是因为新国家元首的首次讲话——1933年美国深陷大萧条时富兰克林•D•罗斯福(Franklin D. Roosevelt)在就职典礼上所说的“我们唯一要恐惧的，就是恐惧本身”，以及1961年约翰•F•肯尼迪(John F Kennedy)所说的“不要问你的国家能为你做什么，而要问你能为你的国家做什么”。一些人的优雅言辞仍然留在人们的脑海里——比如1977年吉米•卡特(Jimmy Carter)感谢杰拉尔德•福特(Gerald Ford)在“水门事件”(Watergate)后为“治愈我们的国家”所做的一切。

Most have had a feel-good quality, combined with a sense of anticipation, because the US likes to feel good about itself and believes in looking forward not backwards. That was certainly true of Ronald Reagan’s in 1981, a triumph of a new form of conservatism, with Hollywood glamour the icing on the cake; and Barack Obama’s in 2009, reflecting national pride in the election of America’s first non-white president.

大多数就职典礼都营造了一种感觉良好的氛围、并给人们留下了一些期许，因为美国喜欢自我感觉良好并且主张展望未来、而不是回顾过去。1981年罗纳德•里根(Ronald Reagan)的就职典礼正是这样，那是新形式保守主义的胜利，还有好莱坞魅力为之锦上添花;2009年巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)的就职典礼则体现了选出首位非白人总统的国家自豪感。

The accession of Donald Trump this week simply feels different, less because of the bitterness of the campaign that elected him — though much of that is still palpable — but because no one, including the new president, knows what he will do in office or how he will conduct himself. Governing by Twitter, for example, has no precedent.

唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)的就职典礼会有不一样的感觉，不全是因为选出这样一位总统的痛苦——尽管这种感觉仍然存在——更是因为包括这位新总统在内，没人知道他上台后会做些什么，也不知道他将如何行事。比如，史无前例的Twitter治国。

Nowhere is the sense of apprehension as keenly felt as in the nation’s capital, the belly of the beast of a barely functional democracy, where only 4.1 per cent of its population voted for him and where many are planning to be out of town or drowning their sorrows on the day. That is reflected in big things and little. None of the city’s school marching bands, a staple of inaugural parades, volunteered their services this time; even the National Cathedral choir, which will perform, may do so minus a few sopranos and tenors, according to local news reports.

任何地方的忧虑感都比不上美国首都强烈。作为大体失效的民主这只怪兽的腹地，华盛顿仅有4.1%的人口把选票投给了特朗普，很多人打算在就职典礼当天出城或借酒浇愁。大事小事上都能体现出这种情绪。全城没有任何一所学校的乐队(marching band)自愿为此次就职典礼演奏，这本是就职游行中的重要内容;而且，据当地新闻报道，将为典礼演出的国家大教堂(National Cathedral)唱诗班可能会有一些女高音和男高音缺席。

Further afield, superstars such as Elton John and Andrea Bocelli have declined to warble, either out of disapproval of Mr Trump or persuaded not to by public protests. There will be no poets present of the calibre of Robert Frost at JFK’s inaugural, or Maya Angelou at Mr Obama’s. In their place will be a bunch of obscure entertainers from reality TV shows and the rockabilly music genre.

此外，埃尔顿•约翰(Elton John)、安德烈•波切利(Andrea Bocelli)等巨星拒绝献唱，要么是因为反对特朗普，要么是被公众抗议所说服。肯尼迪就职典礼上有罗伯特•弗罗斯特(Robert Frost)，奥巴马就职典礼上有玛雅•安吉罗(Maya Angelou)，而特朗普的就职典礼上不会有地位相当的诗人。上场的将是一群没有名气的真人秀演员和乡村摇滚歌手。

Many politicians, too, have scant enthusiasm for the occasion. The Democratic congressman John Lewis from Georgia, the civil rights icon, has questioned whether Mr Trump is a “legitimate” president, given the Russian hacking attacks, which incited an inevitable early-morning Twitter storm from the president-elect.

很多政治人士对此次就职典礼也缺乏热情。鉴于俄罗斯进行的黑客攻击，乔治亚州的民主党议员、民权偶像约翰•刘易斯(John Lewis)质疑特朗普是否是“合法”总统。不出所料，这招致特朗普于凌晨时分在Twitter上发起了一波攻击。

To Mr Trump’s supporters all this smacks of pique and bad manners out of place for a day of celebration. Even some thoughtful progressives are ambivalent about how far to go by way of protest, arguing that it is better to keep the powder dry until there are real policies to oppose rather than shooting off volleys into the air in premature frustration.

对于特朗普的支持者来说，这一切都带有与庆祝日不相宜的愤怒和不礼貌的味道。甚至一些有见地的进步人士对于抗议程度也很矛盾，认为最好先做好准备，直到真正出台政策时再起来反对，而不是因为过早产生挫折感而对着空中乱放子弹。

Still, on the day after the inauguration, hundreds of thousands of women will be marching in Washington, and around the country, against the new president not least because he could reshape the Supreme Court in such a way as to imperil their reproductive rights. But, then, one week later the March for Life, which wants abortion outlawed, will also be filling the streets. Such is America today.

在就职典礼次日，数十万女性将在华盛顿以及全美各地游行反对新总统，主要因为他可能会在最高法院(Supreme Court)做出某种改变以致危及女性生育权。不过，一周后，反堕胎组织March for Life也将组织人们走上街头游行。这就是如今的美国。

Mr Trump’s first words will attract much attention, as they should. With his limited vocabulary and inclination to attack anyone who dares criticise him, eloquent oratory and lofty sentiments cannot be expected. He is much more likely to be true to himself and appeal to his base than to the better angels of America’s nature, but the element of surprise cannot be discounted.

特朗普作为美国总统的首次演讲将吸引广泛注意，理应如此。以他有限的词汇量以及他对任何敢指责自己的人进行攻击的倾向，不能指望他展现什么辩才或高尚情操。他更可能会真实表现自我，吸引他的支持者、而不是吸引美国“天性中的善良天使”，但也不能低估出现意外的可能。

In truth, a president’s last words are often more interesting than their first. Classic examples must include Dwight Eisenhower’s valedictory warning about the growth of the military-industrial complex, Mr Carter’s on the dangers of the nuclear age and, just last week, Mr Obama’s on the importance of civic engagement in times when authoritarianism is on the rise, as it is today.

事实上，总统离任前的最后演讲往往比上台时的首次演讲更有意思。经典例子包括德怀特•艾森豪威尔(Dwight Eisenhower)在告别演说中警告军工综合企业的发展，卡特警告核时代的危险，还有上周奥巴马强调在威权主义抬头的时代——像今天这样——公民参与的重要性。

But yesterday’s men always command less attention than the next big thing, who happens to be a reality TV/real estate mogul. That may be a brave new world but it may also be a scary one, which is why this inauguration day feels like none that have gone before.

但过去时的领袖受到的关注总是不如下一个大人物，这次碰巧还是一位真人秀明星及房地产大亨。未来或许是一个美丽新世界，但也可能是个可怕世界，这也正是此次总统就职日如此不同以往的原因。