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.

还有不过五个月就是美国大选了，朋友们都问我到底会投现任总统祖‧拜登抑或共和党的唐纳德‧特朗普。以前美国未有现在那些有毒的政治（toxic politics）时，这一类的问题较易回答。过往的总统都是意志坚定、有清晰愿景，总是会将国家福祉放于第一位的。立即在脑海中浮现的（spring to mind）就包括有民主党总统约翰‧甘乃迪，就任不够三年便于一九六三年遇刺身亡；另外还有已故的共和党总朗奴‧列根，美国得以在冷战中战胜苏联，他居功至伟。

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，当时是民主党的阿尔　‧戈尔对战共和党的乔治‧布殊，双方都声称自己胜出选举，引来一场怀有敌意的法律诉讼战。当高等法院判布殊胜出时，戈尔 gracefully conceded——to gracefully concede是指得体地认输。这就形成戈尔与特朗普南辕北辙（poles apart）的对比，后者于二零二零年拒绝承认自己输了给拜登，即使许多法庭都否认特朗普指控拜登作弊。To be poles apart是指跟另一个人截然相反，大相迳庭。

我当年投票选了民主党的巴拉克‧奥巴马，但没有参与（sat out the contests）二零一六年民主党希拉莉‧克林顿对特朗普，以及二零二零年拜登对特朗普之战。To sit out an election 是指没有参与选举的任何一部分。许多美国人相信，坐着观战选举而不参与（sitting out an election）是一种 cop out，意思是逃避做一样你应该做的事。候选人是民主党抑或共和党，对我来说都不重要，只有在我喜欢一个候选人的政纲时，我才会投票。但特朗普或拜登的政纲我都不喜欢。

 
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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻