The Statue of Liberty's Gloomy Mood

Published in Xinhua International
(China) on 2008-08-04
by Yusheng Wang (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Weihao Zhang. Edited by .
Recently, the British media published a thought-provoking cartoon: the erect American Statue of Liberty monument, gone. Instead, the torch and the Declaration of Independence, which symbolize light and freedom, are put aside, and Lady Liberty sits on the base of the monument, contemplating.

The British publication, "The Economist", has explained the cartoon in its news story, "Unhappy America": "Now the United States, normally the world’s most self-confident place, is glum. Eight out of ten Americans think their country is heading in the wrong direction." Compared to China, India and other developing countries, the American-style capitalism is performing poorly, a fact Americans find painful to accept. Now the world is becoming even more multipolar, still the United States continues to size up the strength of its opponents, especially countries like China, in order to find “scapegoats” for their own failure. America itself is not sure of "what it needs to change, and what it needs to accept," which causes Americans to panic. It starts to harm itself on domestic policy and hurts its allies and partners with its foreign policy. In such circumstances, the "happy America" is nowhere to be found. An "unhappy America" seems to make more sense.

A recent book review from one of the United States' own mainstream newspapers, The New York Times, seems to provide another very good interpretation. Ted Widmer, who used to write speeches for President Clinton, recently published a new book called Ark of the Liberties: America and the World. The book gives an overview of U.S. foreign policy and the ideas that hastened them. It focuses on how the United States does very harmful things in the name of "promoting freedom" which is a problem because “sparks and light are already in painfully short supply”. On the issue of the Iraq war, the author angrily blames the Bush administration's foreign policy failures for allowing the United States to "seriously deviate from the noblest traditions of foreign policy." The Book Review especially reminded readers to pay attention to the unforgettable last sentence of the book, which is the perfect concluding remark: "Re-reading the Declaration of Independence may be an uncomfortable experience in the 21st cenury for in a certain late afternoon light it can read like a declaration against ourselves (the United States).” Indeed this statement is either impressive or thought-provoking; it gives the perfect answer for why the Statue of Liberty is glumly contemplating.


近日,英国媒体发表一幅发人深思的漫画:美国“自由女神”耸立的丰碑不见了,她放下了象征自由与光明的火炬和《独立宣言》,坐在丰碑的底盘上,托腮沉思。

偌大的一个美国,不论是在经济上、军事上还是科技创新等很多方面,在全世界都是超强的,而自由女神更是“魅力十足”,代表着“快乐的美国”和一片“圣洁的国土”。前几年,由于美国虐囚事件,“自由女神”被弄得羞辱不堪,伤心落泪。如今她又走下自己的“圣坛”,甚至放下象征自由与光明的火炬和《独立宣言》,愁绪满怀,何故?

发表这幅漫画的英国《经济学人》在“不快乐的美国”一文中似乎作了一些解读,认为“现在美国这个全世界最自信的国家正处于低潮期,10个美国人里有8个认为他们的国家正朝着错误方向前进”;相比于中国、印度等发展中国家,“美国式资本主义表现逊色”,这令美国人既“痛苦”又“心烦”;“现在,整个世界更趋向多极化”,而美国却仍在“热衷于计算”自己对手的实力、特别是中国这样国家的实力,寻找自己失败的“替罪羊”,搞不清自己到底“需要做出什么改变、需要接受什么现实”,从而感到莫名的恐慌,在政策行为上既伤害自身,又伤害盟友与伙伴。在这样的情况下,“快乐的美国”从何谈起?“不快乐的美国”,似乎比较顺乎自然。

美国自己的主流媒体《纽约时报》最近的一篇书评好像也作了很好的“补充解读”。当年为克林顿总统撰写讲稿的特德·威德默先生不久前出版了一本新书:《自由的方舟:美国与世界》。该书纵览了美国外交政策和催生这些政策的理念;着重分析了美国以“倡导自由之名”干的一些“害人不浅”的实事,从而导致自由的“火花和光亮已经无处可寻”。在谈到伊拉克战争问题时,作者表露了对布什政府外交政策失败的愤怒,认为美国“严重背离了最崇高的外交政策传统”。书评特别提醒读者注意新书最后一句令人难忘和精彩的结束语:“在21世纪初,重读《独立宣言》可能会令人感到不快。在傍晚的光线中,它读起来可能像是讨伐我们自己(美国)的宣言。”

诚然,这句话不仅令人难忘,更发人深思,好像是对“自由女神”何以愁绪满怀早已准备好了的经典答案。
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