The new American Dream | Courtney Martin

譯者: Aaron Shoo 審譯者: Regina Chu

I'm a journalist,

我是一名記者，

so I like to look for the untold stories,

所以我喜歡發掘故事，

the lives that quietly play out under the scream of headlines.

和那些聳動標題下的人生百態。

I've also been going about the business of putting down roots,

我同時也想定下來，

choosing a partner, making babies.

找個好伴、生下孩子。

So for the last few years,

所以過去幾年，

I've been trying to understand

我一直試著去了解

what constitutes the 21st-century good life,

21 世紀的美好生活如何組成。

both because I'm fascinated by the moral and philosophical implications,

我想知道背後的道德和哲學意涵，

but also because I'm in desperate need of answers myself.

也迫切想為自己的人生找答案。

We live in tenuous times.

我們身處在不安的時代。

In fact, for the first time in American history,

事實上，美國史上第一次，

the majority of parents do not think that their kids will be better off

多數家長不認為下一代會更好。

than they were.

This is true of rich and poor, men and women.

無論貧富、男女皆然。

Now, some of you might hear this and feel sad.

你們有些人可能聽過會覺得沮喪。

After all, America is deeply invested

畢竟美國人深信

in this idea of economic transcendence,

經濟向上流動的概念：

that every generation kind of leapfrogs the one before it,

每一個世代都會青出於藍，

earning more, buying more, being more.

賺更多、花更多、各方面更加富足。

We've exported this dream all over the world,

我們把這種夢想出口全球，

so kids in Brazil and China and even Kenya

巴西、中國甚至肯亞的孩子

inherit our insatiable expectation

懷抱著這種憧憬和渴求長大。

for more.

But when I read this historic poll for the first time,

但當我第一次看到這份民調，

it didn't actually make me feel sad.

我其實沒有很沮喪。

It felt like a provocation.

反而是一種啟發：

"Better off" -- based on whose standards?

「更好」的標準是什麼？

Is "better off" finding a secure job

「更好」是找到一份鐵飯碗，

that you can count on for the rest of your life?

然後下半輩子衣食無虞嗎？

早就不是這麼回事了。

Those are nearly extinct.

People move jobs, on average, every 4.7 years,

美國人平均每 4.7 年換一份工作，

and it's estimated that by 2020,

而且預計到了 2020 年，

nearly half of Americans will be freelancers.

將近半數的美國人會從事自由業。

OK, so is better off just a number?

所以「更好」從數字看得出來嗎？

Is it about earning as much as you possibly can?

是賺越多錢越好嗎？

By that singular measurement, we are failing.

若單看收入多寡，我們沒有比較好。

Median per capita income has been flat since about 2000,

人均所得中位數扣除通膨因素，

從 2000 年就沒有成長。

adjusted for inflation.

All right, so is better off getting a big house with a white picket fence?

「更好」是要我們住在 有白色藩籬圍著的大房子？

Less of us are doing that.

誰還住那種房子。

Nearly five million people lost their homes in the Great Recession,

將近五百萬人 在金融海嘯後無家可歸，

and even more of us sobered up about the lengths we were willing to go --

更多人從買房的迷思中清醒，

or be tricked into going, in many predatory cases --

或者是從鼓吹買房的陷阱中清醒。

to hold that deed.

Home-ownership rates are at their lowest since 1995.

擁房率降至 1995 年以來最低。

All right, so we're not finding steady employment,

所以就業率不穩定，

we're not earning as much money,

我們賺不到什麼錢，

and we're not living in big fancy houses.

也沒有住在漂亮的大房子裡。

Toll the funeral bells

這簡直就是美國夢的終結。

for everything that made America great.

But,

可是，

are those the best measurements of a country's greatness,

這些是衡量國家強盛，

或是生活品質的最好指標嗎？

of a life well lived?

What I think makes America great is its spirit of reinvention.

我認為再創造的精神 才是美國強盛的原因。

In the wake of the Great Recession,

金融海嘯之後，

more and more Americans are redefining what "better off" really means.

越來越多美國人 在重新定義「更好」的意義。

Turns out, it has more to do with community and creativity

結果發現社群和創意，

than dollars and cents.

遠比幾塊錢、幾分錢重要。

Now, let me be very clear:

我把話說清楚：

the 14.8 percent of Americans living in poverty need money,

14.8% 的美國人貧困缺錢，

plain and simple.

這不用多解釋。

And all of us need policies that protect us from exploitation

然後我們都需要政策保障

不受雇主或金融機構剝削。

by employers and financial institutions.

Nothing that follows is meant to suggest that the gap between rich and poor

這也不經意點出了貧富差距

is anything but profoundly immoral.

在道德上的不合情理。

But,

可是，

too often we let the conversation stop there.

我們的討論常常到此為止。

We talk about poverty as if it were a monolithic experience;

我們把貧窮說成一種單一經驗；

about the poor as if they were solely victims.

只把窮人當成受害者。

Part of what I've learned in my research and reporting

我從研究和報導的過程中學到，

is that the art of living well

那些最弱勢的人

is often practiced most masterfully

往往更能駕馭

by the most vulnerable.

美好生活的藝術。

Now, if necessity is the mother of invention,

若說需求是發明之母，

I've come to believe

那麼我相信，

that recession can be the father of consciousness.

衰退就是覺醒之父。

It confronts us with profound questions,

它將最關鍵的問題擺在我們眼前，

questions we might be too lazy or distracted to ask

那些安逸時我們懶得回答的問題。

in times of relative comfort.

How should we work?

我們該如何工作？

How should we live?

我們該如何生活？

All of us, whether we realize it or not,

我們所有人，無論察覺與否，

seek answers to these questions,

都在尋找這些問題的答案，

with our ancestors kind of whispering in our ears.

就像先人在耳邊不斷耳語。

My great-grandfather was a drunk in Detroit,

我曾祖父是住在底特律的酒鬼，

who sometimes managed to hold down a factory job.

他三不五時會去工廠打個工。

He had, as unbelievable as it might sound,

聽起來很不可置信，

21 children,

他有 21 個小孩，

with one woman, my great-grandmother,

都是跟同一個女人生的，我曾祖母，

who died at 47 years old of ovarian cancer.

她 47 歲時卵巢癌過世。

Now, I'm pregnant with my second child,

我現在在懷第二胎，

and I cannot even fathom what she must have gone through.

還是完全無法了解她經歷的過程。

And if you're trying to do the math -- there were six sets of twins.

如果你仔細算，其中有六對雙胞胎。

So my grandfather, their son,

所以我爺爺，他們其中一個兒子，

became a traveling salesman,

變成四海為家的業務員，

and he lived boom and bust.

過著揮金如土的生活。

So my dad grew up answering the door for debt collectors

所以我爸小時候一開門 外面就是討債的，

and pretending his parents weren't home.

他都要假裝爸媽不在家。

He actually took his braces off himself with pliers in the garage,

他還從車庫找鉗子自己拆牙套，

when his father admitted he didn't have money

因為我爺爺說他沒錢 給我爸看牙醫。

to go back to the orthodontist.

So my dad, unsurprisingly,

所以我爸，毫不意外，

became a bankruptcy lawyer.

當上處裡破產的律師。

Couldn't write this in a novel, right?

這應該不能寫進小說吧？

He was obsessed with providing a secure foundation

他很在意要打下穩固的基礎

for my brother and I.

給我哥和我。

So I ask these questions by way of a few generations of struggle.

我的疑問來自數個世代的掙扎。

My parents made sure that I grew up on a kind of steady ground

我父母確保我健全長大，

that allows one to question and risk and leap.

能夠去質疑、冒險、大膽嘗試。

And ironically, and probably sometimes to their frustration,

諷刺的是，我的這些反思

it is their steadfast commitment to security

來自他們提供的穩定生活，

that allows me to question its value,

讓我有餘裕去思索生活的價值，

or at least its value as we've historically defined it

至少是 21 世紀被定義的傳統價值。

in the 21st century.

So let's dig into this first question:

讓我們來看第一個問題：

How should we work?

我們該如何工作？

We should work like our mothers.

去學學自己的媽媽。

That's right -- we've spent decades

沒錯，我們花了數十年，

trying to fit women into a work world built for company men.

想把女性塞進男性創造的職場。

And many have done backbends to fit in,

很多女人為了適應犧牲良多，

but others have carved a more unconventional path,

但更多人不得不鋌而走險，

creating a patchwork of meaning and money

為了幾分錢絞盡腦汁，

with enough flexibility to do what they need to do

吃足苦頭放下身段，

for those that they love.

只為了最愛的家人。

My mom called it "just making it work."

我媽說那叫「但是又何奈」。

Today I hear life coaches call it "a portfolio career."

成長顧問說這叫「多元化發展」。

Whatever you call it,

不管你怎麼說，

more and more men are craving these whole, if not harried, lives.

越來越多男性選擇這種生活方式。

They're waking up to their desire and duty to be present fathers and sons.

他們聽見需求的呼喚， 同時想當好父親和好兒子。

Now, artist Ann Hamilton has said,

藝術家安漢米爾頓曾說：

"Labor is a way of knowing."

「勞動讓你有所察覺。」

Labor is a way of knowing.

In other words, what we work on

換句話說，你的職業

is what we understand about the world.

就是你所了解的世界。

If this is true, and I think it is,

如果這是真的，至少我是這麼相信，

then women who have disproportionately cared for the little ones

曾經過度對小朋友、

and the sick ones and the aging ones,

病患和年長者付出的女性，

have disproportionately benefited

如今反而大大受益於

from the most profound kind of knowing there is:

這個最根本的一項認知：

knowing the human condition.

體認到人類現在的處境。

By prioritizing care,

在這個轉捩點上，

men are, in a sense, staking their claim

男人等於某種程度賭上了

to the full range of human existence.

全人類的存續。

Now, this means the nine-to-five no longer works for anyone.

習以為常的朝九晚五不再適合。

Punch clocks are becoming obsolete, as are career ladders.

照表操課、職業階層都不重要了。

Whole industries are being born and dying every day.

每天都有產業興起或衰落。

It's all nonlinear from here.

一切都說不準了。

So we need to stop asking kids,

所以不要再問小孩：

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

「你以後長大要做什麼？」

and start asking them, "How do you want to be when you grow up?"

而要開始問： 「你以後長大要怎麼做？」

Their work will constantly change.

以後的職業選擇千變萬化。

The common denominator is them.

唯一不變的是他們本身。

So the more they understand their gifts

他們越了解自己的才華，

and create crews of ideal collaborators,

去找到相輔相成的對象，

the better off they will be.

才會過得越好。

The challenge ahead is to reinvent the social safety net

眼前的挑戰是重建社會安全網，

to fit this increasingly fragmented economy.

去配合日益脆弱的經濟體。

We need portable health benefits.

我們需要更靈活的健保。

We need policies that reflect that everyone deserves to be vulnerable

我們需要能涵蓋自身風險，

or care for vulnerable others,

以及保障保戶無虞的保單設計。

without becoming destitute.

We need to seriously consider a universal basic income.

我們要認真考慮全面的基本工資。

We need to reinvent labor organizing.

我們要重新設計勞工組織。

The promise of a work world that is structured to actually fit

創造出一個符合

our 21st century values,

21 世紀價值的勞動環境，

not some archaic idea about bringing home the bacon,

只想養家餬口的觀念早就落伍了，

is long overdue --

just ask your mother.

不信去問你媽。

Now, how about the second question:

至於第二個問題：

How should we live?

我們該怎麼生活？

We should live

我們應該過得像飄洋過海的先人。

like our immigrant ancestors.

When they came to America,

當初他們來到美洲大陸，

they often shared apartments, survival tactics, child care --

共享住所、生存技巧、照護幼兒，

always knew how to fill one more belly,

盡力餵飽每一張嘴，

no matter how small the food available.

無論資源有多匱乏。

But they were told that success meant leaving the village behind

但後來成功卻變成自掃門前雪，

and pursuing that iconic symbol of the American Dream,

不斷追尋美國夢的經典象徵：

the white picket fence.

白色藩籬的大房子。

And even today, we see a white picket fence

時至今日，院子的白色藩籬

and we think success, self-possession.

還是給人成功、穩健的形象。

But when you strip away the sentimentality,

但當你把這些表象拋開，

what it really does is divides us.

發現藩籬只是人際交流的阻礙。

Many Americans are rejecting the white picket fence

許多美國人抗拒白色藩籬，

and the kind of highly privatized life that happened within it,

和那種高度封閉的私人生活，

and reclaiming village life,

想要重新繫起人群，

reclaiming interdependence instead.

進而增進相互的依賴。

Fifty million of us, for example,

舉例來說，有五千萬人

live in intergenerational households.

是住在多代同堂的家裡。

This number exploded with the Great Recession,

金融海嘯時的人數更多，

but it turns out people actually like living this way.

但大家其實很喜歡這種生活模式。

Two-thirds of those who are living with multiple generations under one roof

三分之二多代同堂的人說

say it's improved their relationships.

家人之間的感情更好了。

Some people are choosing to share homes not with family,

有些人跟家人以外的人一起住，

but with other people who understand the health and economic benefits

互相提供健康和經濟的援助。

of daily community.

CoAbode, an online platform for single moms looking to share homes

「CoAbode」是一個線上平台，

讓單親媽媽們互相找伴租屋，

with other single moms,

has 50,000 users.

已經累積五萬名用戶。

And people over 65 are especially prone

65 歲以上的人特別傾向

to be looking for these alternative living arrangements.

去找這樣的另類住宿方案。

They understand that their quality of life

他們了解自己的生活品質

depends on a mix of solitude and solidarity.

仰賴一定程度的獨處和合作。

Which is true of all of us when you think about it,

但仔細想想我們也是一樣，

young and old alike.

無論老少。

For too long, we've pretended that happiness is a king in his castle.

長久以來，我們假裝 幸福就是窩在自己的城堡。

But all the research proves otherwise.

但研究顯示事實並非如此。

It shows that the healthiest, happiest and even safest --

最健康、最幸福也最安全的情況，

in terms of both climate change disaster, in terms of crime, all of that --

假如說天災或是有突發狀況，

和鄰居做好守望相助很重要。

are Americans who live lives intertwined with their neighbors.

Now, I've experienced this firsthand.

我自己也有切身體驗。

For the last few years, I've been living in a cohousing community.

過去幾年我都住在一個共居社區。

It's 1.5 acres of persimmon trees,

有 1.5 英畝的柿子樹林，

this prolific blackberry bush that snakes around a community garden,

黑莓樹在社區花園蜿蜒，

all smack-dab, by the way, in the middle of urban Oakland.

我們就坐落在奧克蘭城區。

The nine units are all built to be different,

九棟建築設計迥異，

different sizes, different shapes,

不同坪數，不同外形，

but they're meant to be as green as possible.

但都盡可能綠化。

So big, shiny black solar cells on our roof

所以我們屋頂上有裝太陽能板，

mean our electricity bill rarely exceeds

所以我們每個月電費基本上

more than five bucks in a month.

不會超過五塊美金。

The 25 of us who live there are all different ages and political persuasions

我們總共 25 位住戶

年齡、政治傾向、職業都不同，

and professions,

and we live in homes that have everything a typical home would have.

但我們住的地方五臟俱全。

而且，

But additionally,

我們共用一個工業級廚房和用餐區，

we share an industrial-sized kitchen and eating area,

where we have common meals twice a week.

每周有兩次共餐。

Now, people, when I tell them I live like this,

通常我跟人家介紹時，

基本上有兩種極端反應：

often have one of two extreme reactions.

要嘛就說：「大家都應該這樣住啊！」

Either they say, "Why doesn't everyone live like this?"

Or they say, "That sounds totally horrifying.

不然就是：「聽起來有點可怕。

I would never want to do that."

我應該死都不會住進去。」

So let me reassure you: there is a sacred respect for privacy among us,

但我跟你保證， 我們絕對尊重互相的隱私，

but also a commitment to what we call "radical hospitality" --

也致力於所謂「極致的待客之道」，

not the kind advertised by the Four Seasons,

沒有五星級酒店廣告這麼誇張，

but the kind that says that every single person is worthy of kindness,

但確保每一個人都被善意款待，

full stop, end of sentence.

就這麼簡單。

The biggest surprise for me of living in a community like this?

住在這種社區最大的驚喜？

You share all the domestic labor -- the repairing, the cooking, the weeding --

大家一起分擔家事， 修繕、烹飪、園藝，

有時也分擔心理的壓力。

but you also share the emotional labor.

Rather than depending only on the idealized family unit

與其依賴少數幾個家庭成員，

to get all of your emotional needs met,

去負擔你所有的情緒，

you have two dozen other people that you can go to

這邊你有二十幾個人可以找，

to talk about a hard day at work

聊聊今天工作多勞累，

or troubleshoot how to handle an abusive teacher.

或是請教怎麼處理學校的壞老師。

Teenagers in our community will often go to an adult that is not their parent

社區的青少年通常會去尋求

父母外成年人的建議。

to ask for advice.

It's what bell hooks called "revolutionary parenting,"

這是作家 bell hooks 說的「新式教養」，

this humble acknowledgment

我們相信這些孩子有更多榜樣

that kids are healthier when they have a wider range of adults

去依賴和模仿會更健康。

to emulate and count on.

Turns out, adults are healthier, too.

而且成年人也會更健康。

It's a lot of pressure,

其實要變成白色藩籬裡

trying to be that perfect family behind that white picket fence.

人人稱羨的完美家庭壓力很大。

The "new better off," as I've come to call it,

我今天要講的「新的更好」，

is less about investing in the perfect family

不是要你努力變成完美家庭，

and more about investing in the imperfect village,

而是要擁抱不完美的社群，

whether that's relatives living under one roof,

無論是遠近親戚同堂，

a cohousing community like mine,

或是像我那樣的共居社區，

or just a bunch of neighbors who pledge to really know

甚至只是幾個鄰居開始提議

and look out for one another.

互相關懷、互相照料。

It's good common sense, right?

這是好的常識吧？

And yet, money has often made us dumb

但經濟常常是 我們裹足不前的原因。

about reaching out.

The most reliable wealth

最可靠的財富

is found in relationship.

其實就是人際連結。

The new better off is not an individual prospect at all.

「新的更好」重點不在個人。

In fact, if you're a failure or you think you're a failure,

如果你一事無成，或是你這樣覺得，

I've got some good news for you:

我這邊有個好消息：

you might be a success by standards you have not yet honored.

用某個你不知道的標準看 你可能是勝利組。

Maybe you're a mediocre earner but a masterful father.

你可能不太會賺錢卻是超級好爸爸。

Maybe you can't afford your dream home,

你可能買不起夢寐以求的房子，

but you throw legendary neighborhood parties.

但你辦的社區派對史上最猛。

If you're a textbook success,

如果你要的是課本上的成功，

the implications of what I'm saying could be more grim for you.

我講的對你就太殘酷了。

You might be a failure by standards you hold dear

你可能很失敗，

如果用你深信 卻一直得不到回報的某個標準看。

but that the world doesn't reward.

Only you can know.

但只有你知道。

I know that I am not a tribute

我知道我對不起曾祖母，

to my great-grandmother,

who lived such a short and brutish life,

她的一生短暫又令人不捨，

if I earn enough money to afford every creature comfort.

如果我只是要賺錢養家糊口。

You can't buy your way out of suffering or into meaning.

但苦難和人生的意義 是錢解決不了的。

There is no home big enough

再大的房子都蓋不掉她承受的苦。

to erase the pain that she must have endured.

I am a tribute to her

我對得起我的曾祖母，

if I live a life as connected and courageous as possible.

如果我敞開心胸不斷努力。

In the midst of such widespread uncertainty,

在這樣一片不確定之中，

we may, in fact, be insecure.

我們也許感到很不安。

But we can let that insecurity make us brittle

但我們可以選擇要硬抗或順服。

or supple.

We can turn inward, lose faith in the power of institutions to change --

我們大可封閉自我、 對大環境的改變失去信心，

even lose faith in ourselves.

甚至對自己失去信心。

Or we can turn outward,

或著我們敞開心胸，

cultivate faith in our ability to reach out, to connect, to create.

培養自己探索、連結和創造的能力。

Turns out, the biggest danger

你會發現最大的危機，

is not failing to achieve the American Dream.

不是我們無法達成美國夢。

The biggest danger is achieving a dream

最大的危機是你達成了一個夢想，

that you don't actually believe in.

但你壓根不相信的。

So don't do that.

所以千萬不要這樣。

Do the harder, more interesting thing,

去做有挑戰、有趣的事，

which is to compose a life where what you do every single day,

用心過每一天的生活，

the people you give your best love and ingenuity and energy to,

用最真的愛、創意和精力待人，

aligns as closely as possible with what you believe.

不斷追上你心中相信的價值。

That, not something as mundane as making money,

這樣，不是賺大錢，

is a tribute to your ancestors.

才是回報先人的方式，

That is the beautiful struggle.

這種全力以赴的精神。

Thank you.

謝謝。

（掌聲）

(Applause)