A couple of weeks ago, I chatted with Marco Rubio, the young American senator from Florida who is a possible Republican vice-presidential candidate. As we talked, an image of a Labrador sprang to mind: with his dark, gleaming eyes and glossy appearance, Rubio is a bundle of infectious, positive energy and bouncy good cheer. 
        几周前，我和来自佛罗里达州的年轻参议员马可?鲁比奥(Marco Rubio)进行了交谈，他有可能被民主党提名为副总统候选人。随着谈话的进行，拉布拉多犬的形象跃入我脑海：鲁比奥乌黑发亮的眼睛和光鲜的外表，使他看起来像是富有感染力的正能量与欢快好心情的打包组合。 

        He arrived clutching the ultimate political bone: a memoir, released just in time for the 2012 campaign, entitled An American Son. This is a classic of its genre: it relates how Rubio, 41, pulled himself up from a hardscrabble Cuban immigrant background to attend college, before marrying his (blonde, gorgeous, ex-cheerleader) wife, producing four (highly telegenic) children, and becoming a politician, while constantly thanking Jesus, loving his parents and extolling the American dream. Or as he writes: “I am the child of immigrants, an American with a history that began with a special place in his heart for the land of lost dreams his parents had left, so their children wouldn’t lose theirs.” 
        他来时手中拿着一本名为《美国之子》(An American Son)的个人回忆录，这是他政治生涯的终极梗概，出版时间刚好赶上2012年总统竞选。回忆录的内容非常具有典型性，讲述了今年41岁、来自贫穷古巴移民家庭的鲁比奥如何奋发向上进入大学，如何娶了一位金发貌美、曾是拉拉队长的妻子，生了四个极为上镜的孩子，以及如何踏入政坛的历程，书中还不断表达他对耶稣的感恩、对父母的热爱以及对美国梦的颂扬。正如所他写的：“我是移民的后代，是一个有历史感的美国人，在我心中，这种历史感始于我父母为使子女的梦想不再幻灭而离开的梦想失落之地。” 

        On one level, it is temptingly easy for someone like me to smile at this; in the British culture where I grew up (but no longer live), such unbridled optimism seems so alien that it automatically sounds fake – particularly when it is presented without any sense of irony at all, and wrapped in the clichéd phrases of America’s founding mythology and a political focus group. And yet, on another level, Rubio’s book also sparks a profound pang of sadness in me. For if there is one key thing that is missing in Europe right now – and which the continent desperately needs – it is precisely that sense of positive energy and mission that men such as Rubio embody, with their cheerleaders, immigrant roots and all. 
        在某个层面上，这话很容易戳中像我这样的人的笑点，因为在我成长（但不再居住）的英国文化中，这种漫无边际的乐观主义看上去如此陌生，以至于自然而然地显得很假——特别是其不带任何调侃意味的表现形式，以及有关美国建国神话和某个政治焦点小组的各种陈词滥调。然而在另一个层面上，鲁比奥的书在我心中激起了一股深沉的悲哀。如果说欧洲当下缺少一种关键因素，而这种因素正是欧洲所亟需的，那便是鲁比奥这种人身上的正能量和使命感，还有他们的啦啦队、海外移民背景，等等等等。 

        A couple of weeks ago, for example, just after reading Rubio’s book, I travelled to Austria, where I met Norbert Walter, a senior German economist and former high-flyer at Deutsche Bank. Walter confessed to me that he also recently published a book, Europa – Warum unser Kontinent es wert ist, dass wir um, ihn k?mpfen (rough translation: Europe – Why our Continent is worth fighting for). This also tries to set out a positive vision, by arguing, for example, that the euro is a great project, and Europe a continent “that has a lot to offer … a great treasure for the Europeans ... and Americans and the Asians”. But this message has been a tough sell. His book makes people laugh, since, as Walter says, “nobody wants to be so positive”. Dreaming is not a very German – or European – thing to do. 
        举个例子，几周之前在刚刚读完鲁比奥的书之后，我就去了奥地利，在那儿我见到了德国高级经济学家、德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)前高管诺伯特·沃特(Norbert Walter)。诺伯特向我透露，他最近也出版了一本书，《欧洲：为什么值得为之奋斗》(Europa – Warum unser Kontinent es wert ist, dass wir um, ihn k?mpfen)。该书也试图阐述一个积极的愿景——比如说，通过论证欧元是一个伟大的项目，以及欧洲“能够提供很多东西…是欧洲人…乃至美洲人和亚洲人的一个宝藏”。但这样的内容很难引起反响。他的书让人发笑，因为用沃特自己的话说：“没有人想要这么积极。”做梦不是德国人（或者说是欧洲人）所擅长的。 

        Indeed, being upbeat in any sense increasingly feels at odds with the European discourse. As economic pain grows, voters are increasingly choosing political parties out of a sense of anger and revulsion, not inspiration. And it is fear (of falling apart) now driving the elite to forge a solution to the single currency woes, not any sense of mission. Resigned pragmatism (at best) or angry terror (at worst) rules the day; the concept of a “euro vision” sounds more like a song contest than a platform. 
        的确，无论什么样的自信乐观，在感觉上都与欧洲人的言语格格不入。随着经济的不断恶化，选民日益出于愤怒和反感情绪（而非鼓舞）挑选政党。同时，正是出于对欧元区解体的恐惧（而非使命感）促使精英阶层拿出解决办法，应对单一货币的困境。接受现实的务实（最好的情况）或者是愤怒的恐惧（最坏的情况）是当今的主导。“欧洲愿景”的理念听上去更像一场歌唱比赛，而不是一个平台。 

        Of course, this cultural contrast is nothing new. America was founded by immigrants who were fleeing from places such as Europe precisely because they wanted to live a dream. Idealism, optimism and exceptionalism have always defined the nation. And today, if anything, those levels of idealism and optimism are markedly lower than in the past. Earlier this week, I met with senior politicians in Washington and heard endless handwringing about the level of negativity that is now afoot in the political campaigns. Fear, not vision, is driving much of the current 2012 political advertising. And many voters are deeply disenchanted with the political candidates, partly because that American dream looks increasingly tarnished. As polarisation and economic pain grows, social mobility is falling, along with the belief that the next generation will have a better life. There is a yawning gap between political rhetoric and reality. 
        当然，这种文化对比并不新鲜。美国是由一群从欧洲等地逃离出来的移民建立的，就是因为这些人希望实现梦想。理想主义、乐观主义、以及例外论一直是这个国家的特征。而今天如果要说有什么区别的话，那便是这些理想主义和乐观主义的程度显著低于以往。最近我在华盛顿见到一些资深政界人士，听到他们对政治竞选活动中存在的消极程度满是绝望。主导2012年政治广告的不是愿景，而是担忧。很多选民都对政治候选人失望透顶，部分原因是美国梦似乎越来越没有光泽。随着两极化和经济痛苦的加深，社会流动性正在下降，人们对于下一代将有更美好生活的信念也在变弱。政治高调和现实之间的差距越来越大。 

        Yet, while the slogans may seem hypocritical, the key point is this: even amid the handwringing, nobody in America really doubts that there should be a vision. Having a positive mission is seen as almost obligatory. Just look at how men such as Rubio or Obama keep producing their “memoirs” – or manifestos – brimming with dreams. And it is here, above all, where the contrast with Europe now lies. The deeper Europe sinks into its woes, the harder it feels even to dream of having a dream, never mind actually implementing a positive vision. Maybe that makes for pragmatic politics, but it also feels distinctly debilitating. Rubio’s book, in other words, might make me wince at times, or even chuckle. But I for one would desperately love to see a few energetic 41-year-old German, French or Spanish leaders today; especially if they described themselves as a proud “European son” – with their heads held high. 
        然而，尽管美国的竞选口号或许有些虚伪，但关键在于：即使是在这种绝望中，也没有任何美国人怀疑愿景的必要性。拥有一种积极的使命感几乎是义不容辞的。看看鲁比奥和奥巴马这些人，他们不断在写充满梦想的“回忆录”（或者说宣言）。而这点正是美国和欧洲的最重要差异。欧洲在困境中陷得越深，就越是觉得即使在梦里也难以有梦想，更别提采取行动去实现一种积极的愿景了。这或许为务实政治营造了氛围，但也让人明显感觉难以有所作为。换句话说，鲁比奥的书有时会让我皱眉甚至发笑，但我殷切希望看到德国、法国、西班牙能够有几个像这样精力充沛的41岁领导人，特别是当他们昂首挺胸地将自己描述为骄傲的“欧洲之子”的时候