又中又英｜Sitting out an election

With the US elections only five months away, friends are asking if I will vote for President Joe Biden or Republican Donald Trump. Such questions were much easier before, when America did not have the toxic (poisonous, harmful) politics it now has. Presidents in the past were strong-minded, had clear visions, and always put the country\'s well-being first. Those who spring to mind include Democrat President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963 after serving less than three years, and the late Republican President Ronald Reagan, who is credited with winning the Cold War against the Soviet Union.

To spring to mind means to immediately think about something. The first time I voted was in 2000 for Democrat Al Gore in his contest against Republican George W. Bush. Both sides claimed victory, causing a hostile court battle. When the Supreme Court ruled Bush had won, Gore gracefully conceded. To gracefully concede means to politely admit defeat. That makes Gore poles apart from Trump, who refused to admit he lost to Biden in 2020 even though many courts rejected Trump’s claim that Biden cheated. To be poles apart means to be completely different from another person.

I voted for Democrat Barack Obama but sat out the contests between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Trump in 2016, and Biden-Trump in 2020. To sit out an election means to not take part. Many Americans believe sitting out an election is a cop out, which means avoiding doing something you should do. It doesn’t matter to me if a candidate is a Democrat or Republican. I vote when I like a candidate’s policies. I don’t like the policies of either Trump or Biden.

還有不過五個月就是美國大選了，朋友們都問我到底會投現任總統祖‧拜登抑或共和黨的唐納德‧特朗普。以前美國未有現在那些有毒的政治（toxic politics）時，這一類的問題較易回答。過往的總統都是意志堅定、有清晰願景，總是會將國家福祉放於第一位的。立即在腦海中浮現的（spring to mind）就包括有民主黨總統約翰‧甘迺迪，就任不夠三年便於一九六三年遇刺身亡；另外還有已故的共和黨總朗奴‧列根，美國得以在冷戰中戰勝蘇聯，他居功至偉。

To spring to mind是指立即想到某事。我第一次投票是在二零零零年，當時是民主黨的阿爾　‧戈爾對戰共和黨的喬治‧布殊，雙方都聲稱自己勝出選舉，引來一場懷有敵意的法律訴訟戰。當高等法院判布殊勝出時，戈爾 gracefully conceded——to gracefully concede是指得體地認輸。這就形成戈爾與特朗普南轅北轍（poles apart）的對比，後者於二零二零年拒絕承認自己輸了給拜登，即使許多法庭都否認特朗普指控拜登作弊。To be poles apart是指跟另一個人截然相反，大相逕庭。

我當年投票選了民主黨的巴拉克‧奧巴馬，但沒有參與（sat out the contests）二零一六年民主黨希拉莉‧克林頓對特朗普，以及二零二零年拜登對特朗普之戰。To sit out an election 是指沒有參與選舉的任何一部分。許多美國人相信，坐着觀戰選舉而不參與（sitting out an election）是一種 cop out，意思是逃避做一樣你應該做的事。候選人是民主黨抑或共和黨，對我來說都不重要，只有在我喜歡一個候選人的政綱時，我才會投票。但特朗普或拜登的政綱我都不喜歡。

 
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻